Take a breather
It’s 5 p.m. on a Friday night in college. It has been a long week of homework, exams and studying. You just finished a killer workout at the gym, and you are basically waddling back to your apartment because your legs are so sore. All you want to do is take a shower and cuddle up and watch a movie with your roommates. But your phone buzzes with new Canvas notifications of things you need to get done. And in the back of your mind, you tell yourself that you should be reviewing your textbook because you have not quite done enough yet. You sigh and open your laptop. You convince yourself that you do not deserve to rest.
As a generation, we have persuaded ourselves that there is no time to relax. And not just academically, but socially as well. In college, there is a stigma that you always need to be hanging out with someone. If you are spending a Saturday night alone, you aren’t getting “the college experience.” All over social media, people post with their friends while out and about having fun, and it can be hard to just want a night in by yourself. It can also increase your feelings of loneliness or anxiousness when you are by yourself because you feel pressured to constantly be with others.
Along with socially, we push ourselves physically. Working out and lifting have become increasingly popular in our society. Although this is great for overall health, the levels we force ourselves to achieve have become almost unattainable. On apps like TikTok and Instagram, influencers post their seven-day workout routines when you are struggling to make it to the gym three times a week in between classes and homework. We tell ourselves that we don’t deserve a rest day because if everyone else can do it, you should be able to too, right?
I am here to tell you that you deserve that movie. You deserve that night in. And you deserve that rest day. Rest is a right, not a reward. Mentally and physically, you cannot be 100% productive all the time. I have always been an anxious gal. Sometimes, I would wake up and the minute I opened my eyes, I was stressed. If I had no plans that day, I automatically assumed that people were hanging out without me. Or if I opened a book to relax and enjoy, I would feel guilty because I could be studying.
It was only when I came to college that I realized forcing myself to be productive all the time wasn’t healthy. Filling my schedule just to keep myself busy wasn’t seizing the day, it was destroying it. College was a huge transition in my life, and although I have had my serious ups and downs, I have gained this new perspective of myself. Reaching goals is attainable with balance and forgiveness for yourself. I am worthy of rest, and I am deserving of time off, and so are you.