Are We Okay?
Zaire A. Davis
This past week has been extremely difficult for me. I have been swamped with classes, clubs, jobs, internships, and the whirlwind of chaos that a fresh semester usually brings. We all have to deal with the long financial aid lines, the uproar that is the housing department, and the stupidity of completely emptying our pockets to pay for textbooks that we will literally open once. I am no different from any student. We all have our own stress and issues. Maybe it is merely the fact that this is the atrocious final year of my undergrad collegiate experience that has drained all of the energy from my body. Is this adulthood? Have I finally cracked? There are always bags under my eyes. No amount of sleep will ever be enough. Yes, I eat, but it seems like it is just enough to get me through the day. I do not feel whole. Some of you are probably sitting to yourselves and wondering why I am being so dramatic. That’s the thing though, I’m really not. Something about being able to write and express the emotions I cannot describe aloud on paper, unwinds me. Sometimes, I do not feel like I am going to make it through the day and I will wither away like the fresh autumn leaves on the ground in the murky wind. How much is too much? In college while we are being drained of our sanity and financial stability, we hear corny expressions from professors like “fake it until you make it” and “it will all be worth it”. But we have to ensure that our mental health is secure first. I know I am not the only student has felt this way. We make jokes on Twitter about feeling empty and use dark humor as coping methods to hide the insecure feelings that we have about not reaching our full potential. No one ever told us that school was easy. Everyone just told us to go and become something great. So to all the students who are reading this, take care of yourselves. You matter. You are worthy and you will get to where you need to be.