Since I’ve been feeling a ton of pressure this week, I decided to focus on that instead of our usual Greek Life article. When you get to college, they never tell you about the pressures you will face. Everyone usually tells you how fun and exciting college is, but they fail to inform you about the bad experiences you will face. Don’t get me wrong, college is fun, but I’m here to tell you about the pressures that also fall upon you.
1. The “Choosing a Major” Pressure
Everyone has faced, is currently facing, or will face this pressure. This is probably the most stressful pressure you will deal with. Most people say don’t worry, you have time to pick what you wanna do, so don’t feel pressured to choose right away. Your advisor, on the other hand, tells you to decide your major by sophomore year. I’ve picked a major and decided on another and continuously think is this what I wanna do. Keep picking and deciding because it’s your life and not anyone else’s. Pick a major that you love and not what someone pressures you to pick because you have a “deadline”. There is no deadline when it comes to picking a major because you are still exploring in college what you like and don’t like.
2. The “Competition” Pressure
This pressure is where you are competing against all of your classmates to out do them, so you are picked for that graduate school. I know this pressure all too well as a nursing major. I constantly work hard to do well in school, so I stand out for nursing schools. I know I’m not like all of my fellow nursing students, which is why I’m no longer competing against them, but working hard for myself. Work hard for yourself and not to beat someone. If you are constantly worried how others are doing and succeeding, then you are only hurting yourself. Worry about yourself and how you are going to succeed!
3. The “Don’t Disappoint Your Family” Pressure
This one is the hardest and biggest pressure in my opinion. You have families that are constantly on you to be perfect and get straight As or the families that love you no matter what. Regardless, when you disappoint your family, it’s the worst feeling in the world. When you get bad grades on your exams or a bad midterm grade, you feel disappointed in yourself and the disappointment from your parents. Do not beat yourself up over it, because at the end of the day you just have to keep trying your best and improving!
These are just a few of the pressures you will or have faced in college. Are these pressures nerve-wracking and stressful? Heck yes, but it’s how you handle them that makes the difference. You can let the pressures rule your life and make you unhappy and stressed or you can be like me: go with the flow and do the best you can. I’ve learned this week from the pressures I faced that I can’t let these pressures knock me down. I’ve looked at the positives in my life and realized that these pressures are just weights on my chest that I have to let go, so I can find relief, which I have. When you feel any pressures creeping up on you, just say to yourself: “I got this!”