Do you ever wish it were socially acceptable to go outside, raise your head to the sky, and just scream at the top of your lungs?
I sometimes wish it were so. Especially now during this time of year, when existential crises are all-too-prevalent: the week of finals is upon us, tensions are running high, and we need to make sure we're getting the best grades possible. Well, most of us are worried about that, anyway. We're calculating our current class grades (and maybe wishing we had calculated them sooner), drowning in final papers, studying for exams, and also worrying about the other Adult things we must deal with on top of all that.
Sometimes, I think screaming would be a nice release from all that. I've seen events posted on Facebook, announcing "Scream in Central Park" or things along those lines. The students at my university would really benefit from an event like that. We could offer bottles of water and cough drops for the students in attendance, as well as hugs, because, let's face it; if you need to scream, you probably also really need a hug. Or a punching bag.
Sometimes, we just want to scream in a rage about things that are not going well in our lives, or maybe even things that ARE going very well in our lives. Sometimes a scream might feel like the only adequate way we can express the negative things we hold inside. And sometimes, there are screams we carry silently inside our hearts, that we have not been able to release from our systems because of the weight they bear.
Humans weren't made to suffer through things alone. If you're having a hard time this week, and you have some silent, repressed screams built up in you, never forget that there are always people who you can turn to and pour your heart out. Turn to your friends, family, and loved ones, and talk to them about the things that concern you. Also, although studying is important, never underestimate the importance of getting your nose out of your books for just a few minutes and stopping to smell the roses or the free food that is likely being offered around campus (seriously though, take advantage of this). Or call up some friends and invite them to go hike up a towering mountain or frolic in the sunshine through an empty field and scream freely there (preferably in a place where no one thinks you're dying if they hear you).
It is easier said than done, but these difficult days, the source of seemingly endless stress and anxieties, can get the best of us if we're not careful. Remember to take care of your mental health, and if you can't scream freely, then laugh, cry, sing; make any noise that you can.
Maybe someday we'll all be able to join together and scream into the void. In the meantime, I'll settle for my pillow and scream my heart out into it.
