If you’re a college student, you know the meaning of the word tired. There have been many nights you haven’t slept a wink before having to tuck away the 3x5’s to make it to your 8 a.m. class. Countless nights in the library until an unreasonable hour have left you exhausted. If you are a college student you know that our daily lives are packed with classes during the day and various commitments each night. By the end of the day, if we have the chance to fall into bed, we are completely and totally drained.

Sometimes it seems that the most difficult part of college is relaying college experiences to adults who are no longer considered college kids. We explain that we are tired, but they quickly respond with “You don’t know tired until you have kids and a full time job.” While a piece of that may be true, I am certain that you can be without kids and without a full time job and still fully understand the meaning of the word tired.

Schoolwork, studying, exercise, work, extracurricular activities, and taking opportunities to invest in those around you take time and effort. This means that your full attention must be given in order to get the best outcome, and all of that times brain power, attention, and lots of energy. College is a full time job and should be treated like one. It is not something to just brush to the side, but something that requires commitment and hard work.

College is so much more than just attending classes every day. There are important life lessons you learn in college that you won’t learn anywhere else. Every day that you are in school can be spent learning something new, if you take full advantage of it and don’t pass college off as a joke. However, this takes effort and is guaranteed to leave you exhausted. Nevertheless, it will all be worth it in the end.

So, the next time you try to explain to an adult that you are tired, really take the time to describe to them all that you do. Remind them of your coursework, your jobs, your friendships that take time to invest in, your extracurricular activities, your homework, and everything else you are involved in. They might respond with a typical “you don’t know tired” statement or they might surprise you and ask more questions about your busy life. If not, you can always come talk to me about being tired, because I’m right there with you.