Coming to college I already knew that it was not going to be all fun and games. I knew that I would be losing sleep, stressing out everyday, and probably grow white hairs. Is that really something we should see as normal? It's okay for me to suffer from sleep deprivation and go about my day looking like a zombie, right?
I do not remember the last time I had a full night sleep during the school year because my professors believe their class is the only class I am taking. College students can guarantee you that no one is ever "fine," instead they are "going through it." Every week professors assign essays, readings to annotate, and exams to prepare, but never consider that we as college students do not have that much time to finish all of those assignments. So what do we do? We pull all nighters, drink Redbull at 3 o'clock in the morning, skip meals to pass a class and still get up in the morning to attend class and even go to work. College focuses more on the work itself rather than students.
Who remembers thinking they were on top of their game, but the next day in class the professor assigns a lifetime of work?
This is the type of cycle that cause detrimental effects to students' mental health. I remember my freshman year of college as a Biology major I had weekly quizzes, four chapters to read every night, on top of other assigned essays. How do you think that went? Awful. Just plain awful. By the time November hit, I reached a new level of stress that almost made me want to cry everyday. Literally. My stress caused me be in a bad mood all the time and doubt my purpose of going to school. This was my experience, and I am certain that everyone with their own experience can relate on a similar level.
Let's not forget students who are working and studying at the same time. Why do they work?
Because college is EXPENSIVE.
There are students who are part-time and working full time or full-time students working full-time. As nice as it is to earn skills in a job and earn money, students unfortunately have so many expenses such as insurance, bills, food, rent, books, clothes, and most importantly tuition. Colleges are so expensive that not enough financial aid is given to students unless you're an athlete or a genius. Not to mention that college tuition raises every single year. UNBELIEVABLE.
I do not hate college if that's what you think by reading this article. Of course not, having an education is a privilege and a blessing to have and I love learning new things everyday. But the expectations college institutions set for students are extremely high and do not take into consideration of their mental health.
We talk about the importance of mental health on social media everyday, but never take action. According to the American Psychological Association, ninety-five percent of students of college counseling has mentioned a significant increase in the number of students with psychological problems. The survey reported that 41.6% of students have anxiety, 36.4% suffer from depression, 35.8% struggle with personal relationships. College students have barely even lived their life to go through this. Our parents say "that's how life is and it is hard," but does it have to be so hard to the point where we might end up hospitalized? No.
Going to college means having a love/hate relationship. It means to be grateful for going to school and feeling proud of all the hard work paying off. But it also means that to be successful means to work EXTRA hard and that comes with losing sleep, looking like a zombie on a daily basis, and having multiple mental breakdowns. I am not saying to give up, but if you know college does not care about you, then take care of yourself.
