This is something my mother and father always said to me, especially around finals season. I feel as though a lot of the articles I write are about self-care and mental health/awareness, but in all honesty, it’s something I think is very crucial amongst college students, yet it is often forgotten. When was the last time you were able to relax without feeling guilty for it? I can tell you the last time I relaxed was this evening, but my relaxation was me stuffing half a sandwich down my face while responding to texts and emails about assignments. It’s important to note that that half of the sandwich was the first bit of substance I had eaten all day, and that was at 8 PM.
Courtesy of Pixabay
As it is important to me, and, I’m sure, a lot of other college students to get good grades in their classes, it can often be challenging to actually put schoolwork on pause to rejuvenate ourselves. We all know that editing the group paper that’s due tomorrow on an empty stomach with about four hours of sleep under our belt is not ideal for our grades, but sometimes we don’t have the choice. Deadlines assigned at the beginning of the semester get pushed farther and farther back until you’re rushing to get it done the night of submission. Last-minute projects and assignments are created out of thin air because the professors realized they gave us approximately two grades the whole semester. To put the cherry on top, these projects are usually handed in right before finals. Presentations this day and practicals this day. Put it all together and suddenly you have no time to eat, let alone shower. You begin to prioritize school over your own mental well-being and in turn, compromise your schoolwork. During the moments where a wave of overwhelmingness strikes, remind yourself that it is 100% okay to give yourself a break, and I mean a real one. If you’re up studying until 3 AM, but the last two hours you retained nothing, then you might be better off going to bed at 1 AM instead. Just wake up a bit earlier the next morning, grab a coffee, and head to campus for those last two study hours. Trust me, you’ll be better off cramming a little on the day of, then you will be cramming everything the night before and retaining nothing.
Not only is this a good time to prioritize your mental well-being, but it also a crucial time to prioritize your physical health. I’ve been known to “burn the candle at both ends” mentally and not realizing that I’m also doing it physically with all those late-night study sessions and coffee meal-substitutes. Some of the things I do to try to keep my health up is popping vitamin C like it’s candy and refilling my water bottle repeatedly throughout the day. Hydration is essential, and so is not getting sick from the countless times spent in the 24-hour room of the library. Go home and take a nap if your eyes are burning with exhaustion. Take a break and go grab an everything bagel from Dunkin’. Maybe get some fresh air. There are lots of little actions you can take to prevent feeling overwhelmed and drained both physically and mentally. Unfortunately, I believe this article will make its way up just after the finals week is ending, but honestly, these are all things we can work on and should prioritize throughout the year.
Courtesy of Pixabay
Don’t stress too much about checking ecampus for grades because y’all already know these professors are going to take forever to post out final grades, even with the scantrons…. shaking my head! Enjoy the holidays and I will see you in the new year!
Signing off from 2019,
Ash