“You didn’t come to school to be average, so keep going.”
A Pinterest-worthy quote. It was written on the bathroom mirror in the library in blue…. I hope dry-erase marker.
Whether someone did it for fun, or just felt inspired, whoever wrote it thank you, it was the wakeup call I needed.
All to easily, we college students get distracted from our goals. We get hung up on friend problems, overwhelmed by pessimistic thoughts, self-doubt, or we find ourselves feeling unfulfilled, bored even with the life we are living. We also get caught up in good things too, because College is also pretty awesome, but sometimes there is a combination of all these elements clogging up our heads and we just can’t take it anymore. The result? We just get by, we settle, we try only to pass, not to understand. We find ourselves holding our breath asking questions like "Why am I doing this again? When will this start making sense?"
When we fall into this mindset its hard to find our way out. We don’t even notice how far we’ve wandered from our goals until we become overwhelmed with these "What is the point?!?" questions. Here are a few things to remember to help get you back on track.
1. Realizing that it is okay to get lost.
As long as we know when to reign ourselves back in. College is the perfect time to discover new things about yourself, take risks, and try (legal) things/activities to better yourself and explore the world around you. So do not be afraid if you’re feeling uncertain about where you are going, it may be the best way to discover what exactly you want in life.
2. Reconnecting with your hobbies.
A lot of times we are so focused on classes, grades, and deciphering which major/career path we want to take that the things that make us who we are, are pushed to the side because we simply don’t have the time to entertain them. The problem is this: Hobbies keep you sane. You need them to feel like yourself. If you’re only going to classes and doing homework you have nothing to relieve your stress. So indulge in your hobbies, whether it be playing an instrument, scrapbooking, even bird-watching. Whatever floats your boat, DO IT! Your life will have a better balance and you will be so much happier.
3. Falling back in love with your major.
There was a reason you wanted to pursue a specific degree. Needless to say, a set of rigorous college classes and a busy schedule on top of that might leave you feeling burnt out. This is the time when you may need to step back and remind yourself why you are studying (Insert meaningful subject to you here). If you can remind yourself why you are studying what you are, and what you hope to do with your specific college degree, you can fall back in love with your major. If you feel like it’s time for you and your current major to part ways, listen to your gut. If there is another major calling to you, go after it. This process should hopefully remind you why you are going to college and get you re-excited about your future!
