By Matt Kyle | Assistant News Editor
It is ironic that I write this after just having spent much of Thanksgiving break working on school assignments. Quite frankly, it seems impossible to take a break in college without falling behind.
Each night, I have close to 150 pages of reading, multiple writing assignments and my job. I always have multiple things that need to be completed, yet I am constantly preached a message to value my mental health and take breaks, and this message often comes from Baylor — the source of my stress.
It is hard to balance relaxation and work in college. It is honestly paradoxical. I have long accepted college is just plain stressful. College is a lot of work, and it is work that is really worth it. It is good preparation for the stress that comes with working a job in the real world™, and it teaches you many valuable skills.
There is nothing wrong with working hard and grinding for good grades. But as much as I will advocate for working hard to get good grades, remember grades are not all there is.
In 20 years, when you look back on your time in college, you will probably not remember grinding for an A in Christian Scriptures. You will not remember pulling an all-nighter to write an essay or study for a test. What you will remember is spending time with your friends and having meaningful experiences.
In other words, you will remember the stuff that made you happy and the stuff you had fun doing.
You are only young once. As my senior year winds down, my biggest regret of college is not taking the time away from work and school that I needed. I spent a lot of time pouring into school and work — granted, the pandemic did force me inside much more than I would have liked — and not enough doing things I enjoyed. I spent too much time stressed out and not enough time having fun.
It is important to find a balance. Pick up a hobby. Go to a campus event. Hang out with your friends. Chill out and play some video games, or watch a movie, or go for a hike. Do whatever it is to relax. Take breaks while studying, and don’t be afraid to ease off the studying in order to hang out with friends. Your grades don’t have to be perfect; a couple Bs won’t kill your GPA.
College is supposed to be the best years of our lives. We are at the precipice: only a few years away from being full-blown adults with degrees, but still young enough to not have a ton of big responsibilities. These years will be gone sooner than you think, and you will regret spending too much of them on school and work.
Your youth will be gone before you know it. Spend it having fun, not cooped up in the library.
