Education is one of the most valuable toolsin society. Learning is an action that should be recognized as priceless and powerful. Being taught about other cultures, individuals, and concepts expands our knowledge to discern that there are other lives all around us and history is being made everywhere, at every minute.

Personally, school has played a huge role in my life because I always enjoyed it. I could learn all sorts of things from Banzhaf Power Index to the War of 1812 and rounding off at Krebs Cycle. Learning was intriguing and it was fun for me to teach others about these concepts when they were unaware of them.

So, what happens to us when learning becomes…dull? What do we do when we just can’t complete one more “busy” assignment, or when nothing in your classes is piquing your interest?

Recently, I’ve been struggling with these roadblocks and it kills me to feel bored with my school work. I love the feeling of discussing a subject with others or practicing it with a professor who genuinely loves what it is that they are teaching. Yet, when I start feeling sluggish and dazed out in class I feel I can’t fully appreciate the subject matter.

This very rarely has anything to do with the professor and almost always stems from a feeling similar to burn out on my end. I’ve considered the competitive atmosphere of college and how it doesn’t feel like learning is the priority as much as getting an A is. When I really want to delve into a subject and dedicate all of my time to one of my classes or a concept being taught in it, I worry that my grades will suffer. That being said, I’ll make sure to complete all of the required work for each class and I’ll be getting good grades, but then I end up where I am now—with this question in my mind of “am I really learning anything?”

It’s also frustrating to discuss this emotion because I know it comes from a place of privilege. I am extraordinarily lucky to be attending college and to be on the track towards receiving a bachelors degree. There are so many people who want nothing more than to be walking on a college campus and taking classes that are engaging and beneficial. What am I supposed to do to get this feeling off of my chest?

Typically, I would give you twelve reasons on how to overcome this or five tv shows that represent this feeling perfectly, but I don’t really have any solutions for feeling burned out. My main goal for writing this was to point out that it’s okay to feel like you don’t like college or that your studies are boring. Everyone feels this way at some point—and some people feel it more than others. You’re not alone if all you want is to get away from everything and just take a breath. What I do know is that this feeling does subside, you just have to give it time.