Dear College Student,
I, too, am a college student, and I know your pain. At any given point during the semester we face three papers, two midterms, and a lab report due all in the same week. And let's not forget internship applications, running from club meeting to club meeting, and trying (and failing) to get in a few workouts just to ensure that your body is positively lethargic by the end of the week. While college is a wonderful world full of freedom and friendship and responsibility, I know first hand how insanely difficult it can be, and I sympathize with you. No one is holding your hand. You can call your parents all you want, but it won't make that assignment go away. During weeks like these, it's a little too easy to feel like a complete failure. I have yet to start a paper due on Monday, I have another two due on Friday, and I only reached 10,000 steps on my FitBit once this week. When this type of week comes along and I feel absolutely helpless, I try to remind myself of a few things that I haven't heard in a while that usually help put things into perspective.
1. This is only temporary.
Not only is this a reminder that the assignment you're stressing about will be over soon, but unfortunately, so will college. So, while you're stressing and working harder than you ever have, just remember that you only have so much time in college before you're thrust into 'the real world.' Take advantage of the opportunities to learn, as you'll never be in an environment with so many different academic resources again. At the same time, acknowledge that this one assignment probably won't haunt you until the end of your college career. Remember that the work will come and go, just like it does every semester, but the wisdom we gain from putting ourselves through this experience is what makes college so worthwhile in the end.
2. You are entirely capable of success.
You wouldn't have gotten into college if you weren't completely capable of the intense work it takes to get through it. College is no walk in the park, but if you put in the effort, you won't walk away disappointed. Whether success to you is making it on to the Dean's List or making it through another Monday, your goals are incredibly possible so long as you put in the work to make them happen.
3. Talk less.
I've found that whenever I get overwhelmed, this is the best course of action to put things into perspective. So many of us spend all of our time talking about ourselves, complaining about our own work, ranting about what is missing in our lives. If we take the time to just shut up and listen to the people around us, our professors, friends, parents, it's surprising how many nuggets of wisdom and clarity we can find. By taking the focus off of yourself, you're also much less likely to overwhelm yourself with all of the negativity you may be putting out into the world, and more capable of checking yourself when you do so as a result.
4. You are trying your best.
And if you're not, you can try harder. It is okay to give yourself credit or even to ask a little more of yourself. The work we do in college is not easy, regardless of where you attend, and neither is deciding what we want to do with our lives while we're still 18-22 years old. Applaud yourself for your efforts, but also challenge yourself when you feel like you're falling behind the standards you have set for yourself.
5. You are still an adult-in-training.
We're all still just getting used to this, whether you're a freshman or a second semester senior. We're not adults yet, not really, and that's what college is for. All of the responsibility and work is training us for what's to come after graduation, so that we may hopefully be a little more equipped to deal with the rest of our lives. Give yourself a break and let yourself make the mistakes that come with growing up.
6. Your experiences are entirely dependent upon you.
At the end of the day, how you spend your time at school is entirely up to you. You have the ability to choose what classes you take, what you'd like to spend your down time doing, who you hang out with, and, most importantly, how you treat yourself. Whether or not you beat yourself up over a missed gym session here or an all-nighter there is up to you. This can be both liberating and absolutely terrifying. But the point is, you have the power to choose how you respond to what is put in front of you and run with it. Be open to the many experiences college offers, even experiencing failure, because these are the things that will shape us into who we are at the end of our four years.
College is a whirlwind of laughs, break-downs, heartbreaks and successes. When you feel like you've got no energy left to put into the world during a particularly hard week, just remember some of these bits of reality, and we'll all make it out okay in the end.
