Feeling Stuck Doesn't Mean You Actually Are

My dad has always told me, "The most stressful time of my life was when I was in college."

It's what I make him tell me when I feel like I can't do it anymore. College is an exhilarating, exhausting, mentally draining time in one's life. One day, you're 17, getting ready for prom and not caring about the future or your future career. Then all of the sudden, you're a senior in college and need to figure out how your 80,000 dollars of debt is going to benefit you and your career path.

It's easy to feel like you're just a cog in a machine during your college years. Sometimes I sit in class, obviously a general education class that I am just getting scammed into taking, and wonder, "Why am I spending $1000+ to learn about how rocks are formed when I'm a communication major?" Lately, I've been feeling stuck. Stuck in the repetitive motion of school, classes, papers, homework, trying to live off of $20 a week for groceries. All of it. Because of this, it's easy to feel like life isn't moving during your time in college. It feels almost as if I'm in a bubble. A bubble where the only thing that matters is school and not failing, and when I go home for breaks and leave that bubble, I'm able to be reminded of what life is like outside of the college bubble. The real world.

So what do we do when we feel stuck? When this happens to me, I can't help but feel discouraged and tend to get into a trance of "I'm never going to graduate." But lately, I've been reflecting and figuring out how I can get myself out of this funk. I remind myself that there is a life and world outside of college that is waiting for me, and even if I feel like I'm going nowhere right now, I know that it's all waiting for me at the finish line. And once graduation hits, I'll be able to start experiencing the real world. Of course, I don't want to rush graduating because I know I'll miss this college life once it's over.

Feeling stuck can be overwhelming and definitely take a toll on your mentality. For me, feeling stuck literally paralyzes me on my couch, unable to move or do anything productive. The thought of feeling stuck can sit in my mind for weeks, days, even months. But what's most important is to remember that it's not temporary and that there is a life beyond college stress. And it's going to be well worth the wait.