The Pressure to do it All

In this article, I wanted to address something that has been on my mind recently. I know that for students this quarantine has felt questionable. During this quarantine I’ve seen so many students start amazing projects to help their community or use their time to expand their knowledge. While this has been wonderful to witness, I also know that is putting an immense amount of pressure on most students.

As a fellow student, I too question if what I’m doing is enough. I constantly judge my decisions. Should I spend my day baking cookies or taking an online class at Yale? While I am not saying furthering your education is bad, I believe that if this mindset is becoming toxic for your happiness and mental well-being then you must let go of this thinking.

We have become so numb to this quarantine that it's become easy to forget that there is a pandemic going around. We all need to realize that this has not been an easy time for anyone. Now is not the time to sacrifice your mental health in order to become the “better student.” Your mental health is important and valued. I’m not saying to disregard that SAT textbook, but I am saying that it's okay to have fun and relax sometimes. You need it. We all need it. You do not need to feel guilty that you spent some of your hours in quarantine not being hyper-productive. The stress of being constantly with family or not being able to see your friends or missing out on important opportunities has been a hard hit on most of us, and we all need a little time to escape from everything that is happening right now.

I know the pressure to completely improve ourselves is daunting, and improvement is good. However, it is going to be hard to try to improve something that is also tearing itself apart at the same time. Take a deep breath and go easy on yourself. Whether that’s binge-watching a show on Netflix or reading a super cool blog called Student Space, always make time for yourself. I would suggest scheduling out your day to have allotted times for studying or doing work. Also space out your studies/activities throughout the week. Keeping those time boundaries is important so that you don’t feel pressured to do everything in one day. Lastly, if you ever feel overwhelmed, take a break and continue the task later.

Please be gentle. These are difficult times. If you ever need someone to talk to, leave us a comment on the website or dm us on Instagram.