We as college students have a lot to get done in a very limited amount of time. As a result, we find ourselves rushing from one place to the other, both physically and mentally.
This is an age and time when overwork is overtly glamorised. Excuse my sexism, but the pop-culture-induced image of a woman in a tight top-knot, computer in one hand and a cup of coffee from Starbucks in the other, rushing to her workplace, is seen as something that demands reverence and is ideal.
The influence of this is that we, as a part of society, subconsciously become like that. We think that being a part of three societies, the head of the college magazine, interning with a remarkable company, whilst maintaining a good GPA is ideal. When in reality, it is anything but ideal. We strain our bodies to such an extent that when we get back home, we fall on our beds like corpses and have just enough breath left in us to fall asleep. And it is the same thing over and over again, one day after the other.
We have been conditioned to say ‘yes’ to opportunities, they may potentially be the next big thing for us. We have become so accustomed to getting to college for a 5:30 practice session because it may potentially win us the next tournament, taking up the summer internship instead of going to your hometown because it will look good on your resume, getting less than five hours of sleep because there is always so much text to read.
I am not saying that we should reduce ourselves to doing the bare minimum, or hazardously doing nothing at all. Boredom is more exhausting than overwork. Rather, we could find the few things that truly interest us and then give our heart and soul to them, even if it means giving up on the one thing that everyone else seems to be after. What college students essentially lack is the art of saying no. There may be an underlying feeling of guilt or culpability of missing out on opportunities associated with the same.
My contention is that every person, ever more so the college students, should have at least a couple of hours every day where they can reflect on life, see if their reality is in line with their dreams. Life doesn’t need to be a mad race where we are ascending on a pedestal which is so far away from our own. We ought to say nowhere no is deserved, and when our health is in question, no opportunity is big enough that we may need to compromise.
Feature Image Credits: Le Soir
Maumil Mehraj
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