Syllabus week. The time when we reunite with friends, attend new classes and prepare for the school year. Naively allowing social media to guide my expectations, I assumed syllabus week would be a time of relaxation, no work, and perhaps the occasional party. This could not have been farther from the reality of this past week for me.
Looking at the work planned out for my entire semester, I felt overwhelmed. I already had assignments piling up and felt that I was somehow behind by the second day of class.
Luckily, one of my professors posted a welcome video for her students. Skimming through the syllabus, I felt swamped with books and access codes that needed to be purchased by the day prior. After watching her video, however, I felt instantly relieved. Not only did she make it clear that she cares for her student’s well-being, I also realized that my tactic for the semester would be to attack assignments one by one, day by day. An in-depth detailed list of all assignments for the semester was both overwhelming and helpful, as I saw all of the work that looms ahead of me, but also have the resources to plan ahead.
Trying to fall asleep, all I could think about this past week was whatever was on my agenda for the following day. I realized I was overthinking and stressing more than necessary, so I decided to organize my thoughts and assignments in order to take everything day by day. I planned in my agenda book, made a detailed Excel sheet of my due dates in my most demanding classes for the semester (thank you TikTok for the inspiration,) and made time to relax with my roommates.
My anxiety during syllabus week was a lesson not to allow social media to influence my expectations. More importantly, I recognized that I was over-stressing, and made a plan to schedule relaxation and fun (burnout is real, friends)! Syllabus week anxiety happens, and we do not all have the crazy fun “sylly” week social media often leads us to anticipate (but power to you if you did have an awesome week)! Regardless of how your first week went- or goes- remember to prioritize and schedule time for your own enjoyment. After all, we only experience college once!