Managing the Tides
Sometimes being a college student is hard. Lately, I've been finding myself pulled into the undertow of homework, extracurriculars, work, and obligations of all sorts. Every time I start to get up, another wave comes to knock me down and suck me back into the surf.
They say drowning is peaceful, but not when you're drowning in a sea of schoolwork. That is a violent death. You'll skip meals and sleep to get just one more chapter read, one more page written. Just. One. More. (you'll say)
Eventually, this leads to a pathological obsession with catching up, and it'll never happen because sacrificing your sleep has left you more than bleary eyed - now you're sick and it's even harder to pump out that essay with coughs wracking your body to spasms every few minutes.
Sooner or later, there is a sense of helplessness and surrender. Don't do it, this is the real drowning.
Instead, take a second to get your bearings. Find the sky, find the beach. Keep going to the beach. One step at a time. If there's a wave, roll with it and don't struggle too much or you'll go under again. Instead, find a rhythm, find the beach.
I've been eating a normal amount and forcing myself to shut down for at least six hours of sleep a night. I'm no longer coughing or leaking from my face. Finally, I can breath. I just have to stay out of those treacherous waters and get my work done. One page at a time.
They say drowning is peaceful, but not when you're drowning in a sea of schoolwork. That is a violent death. You'll skip meals and sleep to get just one more chapter read, one more page written. Just. One. More. (you'll say)
Eventually, this leads to a pathological obsession with catching up, and it'll never happen because sacrificing your sleep has left you more than bleary eyed - now you're sick and it's even harder to pump out that essay with coughs wracking your body to spasms every few minutes.
Sooner or later, there is a sense of helplessness and surrender. Don't do it, this is the real drowning.
Instead, take a second to get your bearings. Find the sky, find the beach. Keep going to the beach. One step at a time. If there's a wave, roll with it and don't struggle too much or you'll go under again. Instead, find a rhythm, find the beach.
I've been eating a normal amount and forcing myself to shut down for at least six hours of sleep a night. I'm no longer coughing or leaking from my face. Finally, I can breath. I just have to stay out of those treacherous waters and get my work done. One page at a time.
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