Everything Kent

College doesn’t equal stress: Learning to relax in college

Lydia Taylor (Thrive collab)
July 31, 2020

“School is everything.”

This might be a common phrase that you hear once you get into college, and the people saying that aren’t necessarily wrong. You’re here for a purpose: to achieve your goals and pursue a career that you’ll thrive in.

But here’s something people might not have told you: Don’t take college so seriously. Five years ago, I wouldn’t have written that.

Here’s the thing: College is an important time in your life — a time you can explore and find out more about yourself. It’s also a foundation for starting your career.

I took school extremely seriously to an unhealthy level. I devoted all of my time to it; I made friends, but I would have much rather studied than hung out with them. I became stressed over the little things, although I tried my best. I would study for hours and still not feel satisfied with my progress. I wanted to make my family proud — who supported me in everything I did — and I wanted to make sure that once I left this place, I would have a great job to start my career.

During my undergraduate years, I had been obsessed with school; it’s all I cared about. I overloaded myself with classes and extracurriculars when I didn’t have to. Would I be who am I today if I didn’t do that? Probably not, because I wouldn’t be sitting here writing about it.

I was burned out. Better yet, I burned myself out. Here is how you can avoid burnout during your college experience.

After the all-nighters, lack of socializing and keeping all of this pressure inside — as some professors called me “The Pressure Cooker” — my mental health declined slowly yet rapidly, sending me into a spiral. I lost my sense of self, and I didn’t really have people around me at college to remind myself of who I am. There were a few, but I didn’t reach out to them as much as I should have. My family definitely helped, but they lived two hours away. I didn’t know how to tell people what I was feeling, so I just kept it to myself. I eventually developed physical health issues as well because of it. It wasn’t until my senior year when a few mentors of mine told me it’s alright to get it all out, and I did.

It’s important to make friends and have people you can trust in college. It took me a long time to find those people, but I finally have; they remind me of who I am daily. I’m finally appreciating life and all it has to offer. Sure, it’s not perfect and there will be bumps along the way but I know that whatever gets thrown at me, I’ll be able to handle it because of my support system. Focus on school but don’t be afraid to have some fun. My parents gave me some advice when I was a freshman here at Kent State, and I wished I listened to them sooner.

“Have a balance of school and fun because if you don’t, you’ll go mad. We don’t want that.”

Seven ways to destress and relax