"Okay, I finished one of my assignments. I have one more to do this week before I have to start working on the ones for next Monday. That way, I'll get those out of the way so I have time to review a few lectures for the midterms in between those two meetings I have on Thursday. I really want to go to that info session, but it's right before my review session, so I'll have to leave early and just eat afterwards. I shouldn't skip another class to study, so I'll just study in class and sort of absorb whatever I hear of the lecture. And I still want to go to the gym!"
I know I'm exaggerating a bit, but this isn't too far off from what my thought process has been basically all of the time for the past few weeks. Constantly on-the-go, playing a metaphorical real-life game of Whack-A-Mole -- as soon as you've got one thing down, something else (maybe quite literally) pops up. Anyone who knows me knows I use the phrase "running around like a chicken with its head cut off" at least three times a week. Slowly, each day feels like it's chipping just a bit more off of who you are, and what you want to do, until you lose such sight of the big picture that you're only focused on getting through the day.
Like many, I came into junior year of college with high hopes and aspirations. I've been working on starting a campus organization -- ironically, to increase student wellness -- but like so many things, it's gotten pushed to the wayside for making it through the day. Through that one class, that one (or two, or three) midterm. Rigorous schools and rigorous programs (lucky me, I've got both) promise great rewards, but meanwhile, you've got to put in an exorbitant effort. And so that "meanwhile" becomes our focus. How could it not? You've got goals to achieve, and the only way you know how to go about them is by staying on the one-track path to success. Right?
Before I sound too much like your cliche -- but nevertheless important -- mental health article, let me just state that this is not what this is about. This is not about stigma, or depression, or even stress. This is about discovering your passion, maintaining that "do what you love" mentality when you're so focused on getting through the day. I've heard countless stories of people finding their true passions, their destinies, if you believe that, when they did something different. When the mindset changed. When the cycle of "class, work, study, meeting, party, sleep, repeat" finally broke. But how do you do that?
What so many of us don't realize is that we're trapped in a bubble. Your entire world is centered on your immediate campus surroundings, your life at college. There's a great big universe out there that could literally not give less of a sh*t what grade you got on your exam, what fraternity or sorority you're in, what internship or award you're applying for. So much of what we're so focused on has no depth outside of our immediate circle, and only plays a small part in who you really are -- and who you'll become. It happens to all of us -- we filter our Instagram pictures and Facebook posts to show off the carefree, perfect life we pretend to have, yet we're tired of the same cycle repeating. You've got to give yourself a reality check, and realize how much more potential you have to uncover.
Take a long weekend, go home, and meet your favorite teacher from high school for coffee. Grab a book -- or even your lecture notes -- walk off campus to the prettiest place you can find, and stay there for an afternoon. Get a tutor who can help you understand exam questions more efficiently, and use the extra time to meet with a professor whose work you really enjoy. Find a hobby -- and no, taking shots is not a hobby. Take an exercise class at the gym. Block Facebook from your computer for 24 hours and see what you can do. Exploit your favorite craft to make, and start up an Etsy shop on the side. Find a summer opportunity that *gasp* isn't an internship in your field of study. Immerse yourself in something unusual, and let new experiences sink in. Your passion need not be limited to what you anticipate your job trajectory to be. Nowadays, you can mix and match almost any two things to create a unique niche for yourself in the working world when you graduate.
Don't get me wrong -- I love my school, and I love what I'm learning here, and so many of us find out what we love doing through our experiences here. But we've got to recognize that there's so much to learn about ourselves that can't be contained in "the bubble." And at the risk of sounding like a weird Shia Lebouf, it's time we start branching out, and stop being afraid to do, really, what we love.
