Okay, so you’re pretty involved at school: you referee intramural dodgeball, you’re part of two clubs, you sing in the choir and you’re a faculty rep on student council, but you still have time for your friends. To add to this, you’re in school full-time, which comes with a full-time mountain of course work so you don’t have tons of free time but you do find time to relax. Now add your part-time job into your schedule and you’re pretty much booked up 24/7. It’s all okay though because you’re organized thanks to your colourful Kate Spade planner that you told yourself you desperately needed when you were back-to-school shopping in August.
Is this starting to sound familiar? If it is, then I’m talking to you. You know what it’s like to be the “busy one” of your friend group. Even in high school you were probably used to hearing, “wow I feel like I never see you,” or “OMG, you’re always doing something different,” and there’s nothing wrong with that. Being involved, especially in university, is great. You meet tons of new people who are interested in the same thing you are; you have new experiences you never would’ve been exposed to otherwise, and it’s the best time in your life to figure out what you like and to learn what you’re really interested in before you graduate and enter the “real world.” As long as you stay on top of everything and find time to destress, you’ll be fine – the issue is that doesn’t always happen.
Even if you have two papers due, a five-hour shift and your roommate’s boyfriend just broke up with her – sometimes you need to put yourself first. No matter how busy you are, if you don’t find time to relax you’re going to find yourself so overwhelmed that you won’t be able to do anything you’ve committed to. And no, I’m not saying hand in all your papers late or call in sick to work every other week because (as much as you don’t want to hear it) you did do this to yourself by committing to all these different things — but you need to remember to take a break. Maybe that means literally writing a time in your planner every week where you watch your favourite trash TV show, or call your best friend who lives two hours away to talk about your life or walking the dog with your mom every night as a half hour break between essays. You could blast Beyonce with your roommates as loud as possible or take a nap — just make sure you set an alarm or suddenly it goes from “taking a nap” to “going to sleep!” Whatever you do doesn’t matter, as long as you’re doing something for yourself.
Being busy and being involved in university is wonderful, but this is your reminder that you need to give yourself a break too because you’re just as important as anything or anyone else. University is meant to challenge us and push us, but we as students need to be aware when we’re putting too much pressure on ourselves. Learning to manage all your school work, your part-time job at the library, and plan your sorority socials is a great lesson in time management but everyone needs a break sometimes, and no one will think any less of you for it. Remember to put yourself first and never be afraid to take a break or to ask someone for help, especially with exam season fast approaching.