With classes coming to a close and finals week finally upon us, I’ve realized that I’ve ran out of weeks to get my life together this semester. In the beginning, I was so ready to make it count and unlock the true potential I knew I possessed as a student. I was ready to join the ranks of my fellow high-achieving classmates, with getting straight A’s and being involved in many organizations and events at UIC on my top priority list.
Instead I got trampled and beaten down.
My days were filled with long hours at work, sleepless nights, and endless clacking on the keyboard to finish last minute assignments. The CTA Blue Line became my second bedroom, Dunkin Donuts provided my home-cooked meals, and my phone served as my only source of communication with the outside world. I kept telling myself each week that scraping by was temporary and by next week I should have my life together.
However here I am writing this, finally out of weeks.
If there’s anything I can tell you, it’s that I probably haven’t fully learned my lesson and that I’ll most likely repeat my bad habits with procrastinating again. However, if there’s one thing I want to leave you with, it’s to hang in there. Hang in there for your grades. Hang in there for your career. Heck, hang in there for your future pet. Most of all, hang in there because it’s the only thing we can do. If you’re anything like me, there are many times when you feel like failure and aren’t “doing enough” like your fellow classmates. Nonetheless, I’m here to tell you that it’s alright to feel that way, just don’t quit.
Hang in there, things are about to get so much better.