Academic pressure is a lie. The feelings students go through because of built up stress, tension, burdens, or fear of failure, are fabricated, right? Not at all; a lot of students actually go through it. Have you ever felt the pressure to be a perfect university student? Very quickly our academic load becomes a burden, as it demands time and energy to achieve specific academic goals. Also, when we get to university, we have to confront the expectations of everyone around us. We must know what we are going to do; we must be the best in our fields, and we need to be competitive.
“The pressure to give A grades is intense. It comes from the students and increasingly from their parents as well”
Jon Appleton
A lot of students have those feelings, feeling like you’re falling behind or that you’re not doing your best, and instead of those comments making students want to be better, it just makes them feel worse, making it even more likely for students to become exhausted, not eat properly, or both. And that’s what also leads a lot of us to burn out and spiral.
Some academic expectations university students have are to get good grades and to participate in extracurricular activities outside of classes. People expect students to have good grades no matter what. This is something a lot of people struggle with, wanting to do well in their classes and have a good GPA. It gets to the point where having good grades is not enough motivation; it’s just these big expectations that if left unfulfilled, mean you’re nothing, or not getting anywhere.
Then comes the expectation that grades are not everything, and you need to do stuff outside of academia, do community service, join an organization, just do something! Maybe you decide to do both: you do things related to schooling and outside of it. Then comes the expectation that grades aren’t everything, and you need to do stuff outside of academia; do community service, join an organization, just do something! Maybe you’re brave, and decide to balance both: you do things related to schooling and outside of it. Amazing, your efforts are fruitful! But be careful, because sooner or later it’ll become too much, you’ll be forced to drop one of them, and you’ve found yourself right back where you started. It’s exhausting trying to please; it’s a constant “do better,” but it’s never enough”.
“We run the risk now of raising a generation that is stressed about being stressed, and anxious about being anxious.”
Lisa Damour
In the end, I know it’s hard to ignore the comments about being perfect, but nobody is. I know that’s the cheesy line people always say, “nobody’s perfect.” It’s hard to believe, but you will get there; we’re all going to get there. Eventually, you won’t feel scared or so stressed about how you did on a test; you’ll stop worrying about not sleeping well, and drinking so much caffeine that it leaves you shaking. It’s going to take time; that’s reality, but we need to be patient with ourselves and always remember we are trying, and that’s the most important.
Remember, be kind to others, but don’t forget yourself!
