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Why Being an “Academic Weapon” is Dangerous

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Scranton chapter.

Right now, my favorite thing about studying is calling myself “an academic weapon,” but the more I use this phrase, the more I start to “unravel.”

My current routine is getting all my homework and studying done at night, so I can give myself breaks between classes that do not involve any schoolwork. And while I found this routine working for a while, I have found that it is creating negative effects on my life.

Currently, you can usually find me at my favorite study spot from 8pm to about 1:30am, and by the time I am finally going to bed, it’s 2:30am. And while doing this on occasion is okay, making it a habit has severely decreased my motivation to get out of bed in the morning, and I have been struggling to stay awake through my essentially boring classes.

And every time I stick to this schedule, I blame it on how I am “such an academic weapon.”

People always mention how the essentials to “student life” and studying for exams is eating well, getting enough sleep, and taking breaks. However, as an academic weapon, hardly all three of these get done every day. I am usually choosing whether I will eat three meals a day, get around seven hours of sleep, or taking a break to watch one of my favorite shows for an hour, but never choose all three.

I justify my poor choices by calling myself an “academic weapon” and telling people “I’m just hitting the study grind,” but in reality, I am prioritizing schoolwork over healthy, day-to-day practices.

Acceptance is the first step to everything, and I think that I am currently accepting that being an “academic weapon” sometimes is great, but not all the time.

And with acceptance comes change, meaning that I am now attempting to change my habits and create a healthy studying plan. Hopefully, within the next few weeks, I will be able to accomplish eating well, getting enough sleep, and taking breaks every day.

Cora McGuire

Scranton '27

Hi! I'm Cora and am from Towson, Maryland! I am a first year student at Scranton, and am majoring in Communications. I hope you like my articles!! :)