Fellow students,

Lately, the volume of college coursework has laid heavy burden on me. I've had to search for ways to break from the stress of school without sacrificing my academic clout. I'm here to beseech you with my argument that you should do the same.

During the week, I, like many of you, move from one thing to the next in the interminable trudge through battle-torn school grounds and hallways that feel like graveyards for once-liberated souls. I get it; college sucks the rapturous bliss out of its captive students. Often, it can feel like too much. Newsflash: it can be if you're not careful.

I have a strict go-getter mentality and the dreaded perfectionist disorder. I know how easy it is to succumb to an unreasonably dogged work ethic. But, in the words of Jesus, "What good is gaining the world, if your forfeit your soul?" I know I'm a little predisposed to meaning in using one of Jesus' sacred quotes, but my point still stands. A wellspring of knowledge is a vat of hogwash to an unstable mind.

Students, if you don't allow yourself to put down the books and take periodical breaks, you will suffer a serious mental decay. I've seen it happen. I've witnessed the physiological effects no study breaks can have such as fatigue, headaches, and muscle tensions. I don't even want to breach the exhaustive reporting done on how creativity and productivity are decreased.

Students, beware of the descent down the spiral of despair college can bring. If you don't have an exit from the perilous strife of schoolwork, you will risk feeling despondent, disconnected and detached. Unless you're the energizer bunny on crack or an automaton whose only function is to work without rest, recuperation, or recreation, find your poison. College isn't designed to be "incense and peppermints." Sometimes it will feel the "sunken place" from Get-Out, where you're helplessly falling with no foreseeable end. I urge you, fellow students, not to lose yourself in the psychosis that work should be your only impetus for survival. Study breaks are like a defibrillation that jolts you back into a normal rhythm. Don't feel guilty for taking them.

I know it's hard to break from your monotonous agenda, but I urge you to find time away. This doesn't mean you need to schedule some extravagant out-of-the-country trip. It can be as simple as doing a 5-minute meditation. Sometimes I do that, but my signature means of a healthy balance are seeing movies on Friday nights, exercising during the week, and play intermural soccer on Saturdays. It's not much, but it's enough to fuel the engine of my self-determination machine.

Fellow students, you're doing so well. Before delving back into the world of studying, take a queue from the influential hip-hop artist, Chance the Rapper. Make his catchy Kit-Kat jingle, "Give me a break" your scholastic anthem.

Believe me. Your mind and body will thank you.