I feel like as a new college student you remember a lot of firsts that you didn’t expect to remember. You remember the first building you ever had class in, the first exam you ever took, or maybe the first meal you had on campus. It’s OK, it’s human nature to remember these important aspects of college that seem small but end up meaning more than you imagine. I say this because out of all the things I thought I would remember, I did not think the week of Thanksgiving break my freshman year would be one of the things that would embed itself in my memories after all this time.
My sister turned 16 that week, and my aunt from North Carolina came to visit. The three of us, along with my mom, decided to travel to Abingdon, Virginia for the first part of the week to see the Martha Washington Inn and watch a Christmas play at the Barter Theater. Looking back on it, it was a beautiful experience that allowed me to not only take some time away from school, but to clear my head of all the worries and difficult decisions I knew lied ahead. I was in a major that made me unhappy, and the classes didn’t seem to get easier no matter how much harder you willed yourself to learn the material. I also have had severe testing anxiety since my first SOL test in elementary school that only got worse as I got older. So, as you can imagine, thinking of the two exams I had to return to school for the day after break ended was the ultimate dread.
It was more than the exams, though. It was the fear of failing the exams, which would lead to a horrible GPA and not being able to get into graduate school and have a successful future. This is a common fear that, over the semesters, I’ve realized lots of college students have. Sure, we want to do well on the exam to say that we did well on the exam, but usually we are thinking about the bigger picture over the one score itself. As Thanksgiving break approaches during a semester that has enough unpredictability, stresses and fears, I want to let you all in on the thoughts I allow to take over my head to replace the ones that ruined my first Thanksgiving break in college.
Remind yourself of how successful you are and how far you still have to go. I tend to always push myself one step farther than I should because I would rather surprise myself by doing better than have high expectations for myself and end up disappointing. This usually includes getting ahead on schoolwork when I don’t need to. However, realizing how valuable you are without going the extra mile is a much better approach to have. Keep in mind that you are human and you will not always do things the right way in your own eyes. Nevertheless, you are an accomplished individual that should reflect on your past and present successes. This will provide you with a new perspective on your current situation and how you should approach your time off. Realizing that you deserve a break from your work is just as vital as actually taking the break away from your work. If you take life one day at a time, week by week, and realize you are allowed to breathe, you will have a healthier work ethic as well as a healthier mentality towards yourself.
My whole point is simply take care of yourself, and know that you deserve to take care of yourself. Also keep in mind this type of care is completely different for every person. Don’t get me wrong, I sleep better at night knowing that I have done a little bit of reviewing during my time off so that I will be ahead when Monday approaches. However, this isn’t the case for everybody. You know what you deserve and you know your limits. If closing your laptop and not opening it until your break is completely over, then go for it. Give yourself room to enjoy your time off, and don’t be hard on yourself if you can’t enjoy it as much as you would like to. It’s natural to struggle to see the bright side of things when you have constant negative emotions, but if you give yourself grace through it all, it’ll be easier to remember this. Remember the people that are in your corner. Be calm, breathe, and enjoy yourself. It is with all of this information that I truly believe you and I will survive.
