Last night I was done with my homework and in bed by 10:00 pm. I also had time to shower, boil a cup of tea, and watch part of a movie before turning the lights off and closing my eyes. This isn't what happens most days, but if I budget my time properly, it's sometimes possible.
Walking to class the next day, I noticed the two other girls I was walking with were both complaining about how much work they had and how little sleep they got. I piped in that I had actually gone to sleep pretty early and got a good night's sleep. They both groaned about how lucky I was and continued to talk about how stressed they were. I found myself feeling slightly ashamed and like I had done something wrong. Why?
It's normal to be stressed, tired, and complaining about all the work you have 24/7. And if you aren't? Then you either are taking easy classes, not enough classes, or just aren't doing college right. But that isn't true! Just because everyone around you is talking about how stressed they are every day and how much work they have doesn't make it normal. Nor does it make it cool and relatable. In fact, if you're sleep deprived every day, that is definitely not normal.
Sure, some days are very stressful and I find myself only getting a few hours of sleep before dragging myself out of bed the next day for an early class. But that shouldn't be a feeling we associate with being a college student. There's a constant correlation with being a college student and being stressed out.
Some conversations I've had with other students seem like a competition on who has the most work to do and who is the most stressed out. We broadcast to the world about how late at night we were studying at the library and how few hours of sleep we got the other night. It'll start with one friend saying how she was at the library until 2 am and the next person quickly chiming in that he was there until 3 am to obtain some kind of superiority for that extra hour of missed sleep. And it's honestly extremely stupid. These aren't accomplishments. An accomplishment is prioritizing your work, scheduling your time, and getting to bed at a decent time. Of course, that just isn't feasible every day, but it's definitely more possible then people think. Getting a sufficient amount of sleep? That's a lot cooler than trying to memorize
You'll definitely see me walking to class some mornings with circles under my eyes and a large coffee in my hand, but I don't want to be the person who is telling anyone who will listen that I was studying for my ten different exams until 4 am in the library the other night. That isn't normal, and that definitely isn't cool.
