Most of us are in university and are unfortunately a little too familiar with the feeling of having an overwhelming load of work piled up on our desks. And while there are times when some of us crave the chaos that comes with being too busy to do anything else, when that goes on for too long, it can create a redundant amount of stress and anxiety.
It’s the middle of summer. You’ve spent two months hanging out with your friends daily, occasionally working your summer job, working out and taking up a new activity or hobby of some kind. It’s around this time that you begin to feel —maybe not everyone, but some— boredom, which leads you to miss that feeling of being overworked because at least back then you didn’t feel useless and lazy.
And while I’d still take being swamped with mountains of work over a monotonous one any day, I’ve recently come to find out that being busy all the time has its own toxicity. Sometimes we become so engrossed in work that we forget to live or even breathe.
Nowadays with plenty of midterms and assignments coming up, I’ve noticed that I’ve lost myself completely. I haven’t seen my friends in a very long time, and I don’t take part in activities that used to give me joy because I’m constantly either at work or thinking about why I’m not at work. Generally speaking, finding the perfect balance between the expectations we have for ourselves, the set standards and continuing to live a full life doesn’t seem like a very realistic idea at the moment.
As much as I enjoy learning from my professors as well as gaining new experiences and making new connections at my job, in the fast-paced world we live in, I truly do believe that keeping up can sometimes become so unbearable. The question is, is it worth it? To exhaust yourself and put so much effort into getting the perfect marks, only to realize that after some time, that’s the only thing your life circulates around? I’m trying to figure out how I can read my novel, engage in meaningful relationships with people, find exciting recipes to cook and yet somehow keep up with this kaleidoscopic life in this day and age.