Never leave to tomorrow that which you can do today!

"Never leave to tomorrow that which you can do today" is one of the most common sayings in Spain, and internationally as well; it was after all written for the first time by the great "Benjamin Franklin", which for those who may not know him (although the name might ring a bell), was one of the founding fathers of the United States of America. He was also known for being an inventor, looking to improve the quality of life of citizens (he focused mainly on the science of electricity, and as such it comes as no surprise that he invented, for example, the lightening rod, the odometer or the Franklin stove, ten times more durable than those present at the time); a writer, with one or two important works belonging to his biography, especially an interesting piece called “Electricidad, periodismo y politica”; and a political scientist, who after being elected a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1736, later on organized the first social militia to defend the region of Pennsylvania, becoming a mediator with the native Indians of the area.

It seems his greatest work for his country, the United States of America, was actively participating in its independence, traveling various times to London and even participating in a reunion of the " British House of Commons". In addition, he helped Thomas Jefferson and John Adams in drafting the U. S. Declaration of Independence in 1776; and let us also not forget that he was elected a year prior as the official representative of the country, tasked with promoting the independence of his beloved nation throughout Europe against its oppressor of the time, England. As if that was not enough, Benjamin helped in the drafting of the Treaty of Paris in 1783 in which the end of the American Revolutionary War was announced; after which he was finally elected governor of Pennsylvania, one of his childhood dreams.

But that's not all, as he was also one of the first abolitionist promoters working to rid the United States of slavery; he can also be considered a philosopher not only in word but in practice, as he was not only the President of the American Philosophical Society in 1743, but also, when he was just twenty years old (which we know thanks to his autobiography, of course), he wrote and tried to apply to his life a list of up to thirteen virtues, that would help him better his character and turn him into a man of good and virtue (something which he would accomplish). The list followed this order: Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, (since this word is less used than the previous ones, I will explain that here Benjamin provides some clarity with a convincing "make no expense but to do good to others or yourself", Industry ("be always employed in something useful"), Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquility, Chastity, (interestingly enough this is a point in which Franklin advices us to avoid too many sexual relations, since for him and as will later be demonstrated, each time one "goes" having sexual relations, they lose a great quantity of proteins that causes one not only to diminish in energy afterwards and during the day but also diminishes your capabilities for years to come) and lastly Humility.

Without a doubt, this is a list that if we all applied to our lives would make us great people, but of course, he himself confessed that throughout his life it has not always been possible to respect all of these virtues at the same time (logically, if someone was capable of following all of these virtues at once we would be speaking of the perfect man). His advice is that every week one focus on one of the thirteen virtues, until reaching a point in which body and mind accept these as their own and it takes absolutely no effort to bring them to fruition; until reaching a point in which your personality, character, and as a result, your values, match exactly those thirteen described above.

So, yes, Anthony, Benjamin Franklin was a great man, but... what does that have to do with Erasmus or with the students who are planning on studying abroad in the future? Well it has a lot to do with them, because one leaves to a new country with a new culture that is difficult to truly learn about by only reading books or searching the internet, and for this reason, whether we would like it or not, a certain, not small, uncertainty exists. It is for this reason that praising a series of values or virtues does not hurt, and bringing them to practice would be a great success for us all. My idea when starting this blog was not simply to retell my day to day; but to help those who not only were going on Erasmus, but others in general either because of curiosity or with didactic reason. I learn from writing some of these articles and I hope that along with me, someone else learns too. It is for this reason that I have seen it as my obligation to write this wide historical introduction to Benjamin Franklin, because I believe that the values which he promotes should be promoted not only by someone who plans on going on Erasmus in the future, but by everyone in general.

Franklin's philosophical resume can be summarized as: "respect and be respected; because with respect, sincerity, and tolerance towards others, you foster (and worth the redundancy), towards yourself respect from others, and with them we achieve the best behavior society can give. As such, the most important thing when you arrive to a new country is to respect the place and those who live there; until you become accustomed to this new place and know how to roam with ease, the most important thing is to proceed with caution and respect. We must realize that although there are many "douchebags" loose in the world, if you treat the people of your Erasmus with respect, it would make sense that you will not receive bad treatment from them. Therefore, throwing trash on the floor or spitting in the street are not good ideas, seeing as to how we do not know how these things may harm the place in question or what is the preferred public image of the citizens of that city.

But focusing on the saying which titles this article, "never leave for tomorrow that which you can do today, " i'm referring in that respect to Erasmus, to the fact that of course we are going to encounter many obligations despite the year of liberty that we have at our disposal and because of this, given that we have less obligations in Spain (normally; always with exceptions such as the case in Denmark and Finland), we must not jumble and worsen things; as such the sooner we get rid of an issue or problem the better. Do not leave it behind or you will forget about it and will not have enough time to finish it.

It is the typical case when it comes to class hours, that at first you will be very lost based on the fact that many courses will trample you; others no longer exist when they had the year before; and many others that, due to the simple fact that they start at eight in the morning, deserve to be changed for other courses with more "human" hours; which is why we will have to use the process of first finding out exactly where, when and which subjects needed for our study contract are still being taught. For that, we must visit our faculty studies coordinator (normally you will be enrolled mostly in courses pertaining to your faculty), who will answer our questions in a semi-quick manner, and who we will ask for the paper to modify our study contract, which, trust me, sooner or later you will have to redo.

And it's just that this thing, of there being plenty of us who are of the mentality of leaving everything until the last minute and in the end if whatever problem arises such as your coordinator not coming for a week, well at the end the one left suffering is you. ¿Why did you not go two weeks ago when you found out who you needed to talk to? Well because our exaggerated optimism allows slip ups to pass every once in a while, and we think that we will always arrive on time to places and that overall we are doing good. And in the end what needs to happen, happens and it is nothing else but the fact that all that time that before seemed vast and never ending; ends up being reduced to such a point that we seem to be lacking in it, and we tell ourselves: "Oh, if only I had gotten it done the week before.... "

Now arriving to this point there is no turning back and it means doing it at the last minute, rushing, and surely not as well as we could have done it if we would have done it earlier; whether this be a job, a presentation, studying, sending your papers in for Erasmus, etc.

But that is not the worst consequence, as there is a worst one which is forgetting we have something to do. For example, imagine that you arrive to your Erasmus and you know upon setting foot on this new land that the first thing to do is go to the University and ask for the certificate of arrival. But of course, the days pass and you think: "well, we are only at the 16th of September, it is very early, nothing will happen if I go within a couple of days". And of course, the real issue arises when, after months, everyone begins to receive their diplomas and you are left asking yourself why you have not received yours. Well there is your answer, you let so much time pass without fulfilling your obligation, that you forgot about it completely. Now how are you going to fix your situation, because remember that there are many things that have a solution, and others that do not.

"Never leave for tomorrow that which you can do today" is a great proverb that pushes us to take initiative and to take advantage of time. When you receive an obligation or homework that must be done and you take it and get rid of it as soon as you can, you are gaining time in your life to take advantage of hundreds of other things. Franklin took advantage of this time to fight against the injustices he saw around him, and each and everyone can use this time as they please; because remember that finishing a piece of work way before it is due, not only gives us time but also makes us feel full of energy and vitality, which increases our capacity to think and begin new projects.

Conclusion?

Do not take unnecessary risks, go to class if you have to go, do your work ahead of time, turn in the papers or send the emails which you need to send sooner rather than later and that way your busy schedule will cease to be and you will begin to have less worries and more free time.

Photo gallery