Why Are You Pressing to Be Stressing?

I have one simple question: Why is this generation obsessed with being a busybody? Why are we working 40+ hour work weeks with no 9-5 involved? Why are we going out of our way to stay constantly busy 24/7 just to utter “I’ve been so busy,” in passing after our peers ask us where we’ve been? What? Is? The obsession? With? Being so?? busy??? Okay granted, that was like six questions but never the less, the obsession with constantly running ourselves to the point of exhaustion is something I see all too often amongst my peers.

Let’s break this down into more comprehensive bite-size pieces: You wake up at 9:30 A.M because you have classes from 11 AM to 3:15 PM back to back to back. After you break free from those classes, bringing along several assignments, you have a meeting for an organization that you’re apart of; just to dash across campus to yet another organization for an event they’re holding that evening. Not only are you in this organization but you’re on the executive board meaning you have obligations to fulfill. By this point, it’s 7 P.M and you come to the realization that you haven’t eaten ALL DAY. Well, forget it, you’re about to be on your way home anyway so you can snag some fast food in-route just to fill the void. It’s 8 P.M by the time you get there and after scrolling through your GroupMe, it dawns on you that you have an assignment due at 11:59 so it’s ‘drop everything time’ in order to get it done. Your fast food sits in a greasy, metaphorical heap of dust on your desk as you race to get your work done. When the assignment is done, it’s 12:31 AM and your stomach has gotten so frustrated with you, it’s lost its own appetite. You pour yourself into bed drained but yet impressed with the “idea” that you’ve had a productive day. Just to wake up tomorrow morning and do it all over again.

Does that even sound healthy? Rushing through your day similar to a race to the finish mentality? I know this sounds cliché but take one day at a time and even more so, savor your hours from the time you wake up in the morning to the time you put your bonnet on and lay yourself in bed.

When talking to my peers, there almost seems to be a glimmer in their eyes when they generate the most generic excuse to, “Where you been?” I am the first to admit that being busy is extremely romanticized, especially in college. This obsession with being involved isn’t a bad thing but when it’s taking a toll on your physical and mental health, that’s when it’s time to look inwardly.

Time for my testimony, sit tight. Last semester I was the textbook example of a busybody. I was involved on-campus in 7 organizations, taking 15 credits and constantly trying to get the leg up on my peers. I was infatuated with being indebted to these on campus organizations and being in leadership positions while also trying to raise my GPA. I was rushing through my days, forgetting to eat and drink, but committing my time to this unspoken busyness competition. Even while I had downtime, I had restless leg syndrome, thinking of what I should or rather could be doing. Jump cut to: THE WAKE-UP CALL. From the error in my ways, I landed myself in the hospital after neglecting my own physical health and ended up with the flu. Dehydrated and running on E, I had IVs streaming from my arm with my mom worried. A readjustment period was on the horizon.

Not to be dramatic but, insert incredibly dramatic statement, being busier is not always better. Taking care of yourself is. It’s always admirable to be invested in your own future. Apply for those internships, invest in your future, sit on that executive board and make a difference in your community, but make sure you make and take time for yourself.