Is it growing up or just exhaustion?
Lately, I keep asking myself if I’m getting old or if college is just changing me faster than I can keep up with. My life now looks nothing like it did even a semester ago. New responsibilities, new people, new expectations – it’s like every few months I’m adjusting to a whole new version of myself. And honestly, that kind of growth is exhausting, where you’re just constantly learning new lessons as a young person, simply figuring life out.
It’s not just that I get tired more easily now. It’s that I’m carrying more than I used to. College forces you to grow up without really giving you a choice. Suddenly, you’re managing school, work, friendships, your future, and your mental health all at the same time. And the things that used to feel easy, like staying out late or having a busy week, now hit way harder because there’s so much more going on behind the scenes.
But the truth is, I’m not getting old, I’m just changing, I’m growing, I’m learning, I’m taking on more than I ever have before. And that kind of shift drains you in a way you don’t notice until you’re in the middle of the spring semester, exhausted from doing things that used to feel simple.
Maybe that’s why I feel so tired all the time. Not because I’m old, but because I’m becoming someone new, and that takes energy.
There’s No Real Reset Between Fall and Spring
The fall semester has that “new year, new me” energy. You come in refreshed, excited, and ready to do your work. At the beginning of the spring semester, you don’t even realize it, but you’re already starting out tired. Winter break is great, and yes, you get a month to rest and recover, but honestly, you don’t get a chance to really reset and prepare for the chaos to start all over again at a harder level until you’re actually in it. You just get dropped right back into the chaos with whatever energy you have left.
Social Exhaustion Is RealÂ
Spring is when everyone suddenly wants to do everything. The weather is nicer, events pick up, people are out more, and there’s this pressure to be available for others. And even if you want to be social, it’s still draining.
It’s not the activities themselves – it’s the mental aspect. The constant switching between roles. The pressure to show up. FOMO. The emotional energy it takes to be present for people who are also stressed and tired and going through their own stuff.
You’re not just tired from doing things. You’re tired of being a person around other people.
Life Gets Heavier in the Spring
Spring is when everything starts to feel real. Internships, jobs, housing for next year, graduation for some people, major decisions – and it all piles up at once. You’re trying to keep up with school while also planning the next version of your life. And that’s a lot for anyone, especially when you’re already running on empty.
So Why Are We All So Tired?
We are all tired because we’re growing, because we’re changing, because we’re carrying more than ever before. Spring semester doesn’t make us tired – it just exposes the tiredness we’ve been holding in since fall.
At the end of the day, I don’t think spring semester exhaustion is really about school or schedules or how many things we have going on. College doesn’t give you a warning before it changes you. It just happens. One day, you wake up, and you’re carrying more than you used to, thinking about things you never had to think about before, trying to keep up with a life that keeps shifting underneath you. So no, we’re not old, we’re just growing, and honestly, that might be the scariest part of all.