The Path we Pave

College is not always a path set for everyone. Many people go through the motions of college, but never feel the rigorous beating of certain workloads. Others tend to go through college for the fun of it, while some have a set path made for them since they were born. Although many make their own path, making it hard for those who were brought up to do a path set by past generations, I personally chose a path in college that is meant to be very difficult and time-consuming. I struggle most of the time with meltdowns due to college course work. Not only because the course work is rigorous but also because my roommates seem like they are having the time of their lives in college especially during COVID. For me, I am not always doing what I want for someone my age, but for my future to be set. Since COVID prevented people from going out more, I feel even more chaotic about being in my dorm all the time struggling to get my work done while my roommates always go out and have fun due to less course work. Yeah, I cannot blame them that I feel this way, but school work does not help with this problem. Constantly studying to do good in school creates a great mental strain in people and in me. I have noticed that since last year, I was more to myself and sleepy whenever I stayed stuck in a dorm doing work all day or being safe to go outside. I direly needed the years of college without COVID to come back because at least I would go to study rooms with a group of my friends and make studying for my classes a fun hobby. Like I said before, college is not always a path set for everyone, but there are ways to be able to cope with situations like that. Below are some ways to stay at peace during COVID and advice to go about your path.

1. Take it one step at a time.

Find one specific way to bring your studies to your friends. For me, I started during COVID to study in a common area or at a safe place with my friends to make my studies a lot easier to bear. Although many cases come where your friends will possibly not have as much homework as you. That is when you take the opportunities they give you to study with them. Make it a habit to study with friends or peers at least once a day so you are not stuck in your room all day.

2. Take a break

I could not emphasize enough how much people need to take a break throughout the day to go for a nice walk or smell the air. Doing this would alleviate loneliness in a dorm especially if you are not at home and force you to go outside to possibly mingle. It might be hard to smell the air with your mask on, but going to the beach or the gym to relieve yourself of the air sucking bag on your face will help. Taking these breaks once in a while will make yourself feel like you are not always forced to be in the dorm and study.

3. Admit you are doing this for you 

Being able to admit that you are doing this specific major for yourself to set life in the future that you want will make you work harder. I realized that I am working hard right now to have a future I dream of for myself, husband, and kids. Knowing that what I do in college is how my life will be in the future motivates me to work even harder and understand that this is what I need to do and go through to have the perfect life I want. Once you can accept your present you can accept your fate.

4. Talk to someone

The main help was being able to talk to my friends about what I was going through with school and myself. Having breakdowns is normal for college students, but they can be prevented too. Being able to share your pain could possibly open doors to what other students may feel which would help you understand you are not alone. My big help was my boyfriend who helped me through the toughest classes as a Pre-Med student. He was a business major and always watched me as I did homework 24/7 and did research. He knew what I was going through with so much pressure and failures. Understanding who you can go to can help you drastically. 

As you can see, being a college student is not that easy. Especially if there are a lot of temptations that you are fighting for to set your path for the future. Being able to know who to contact if someone does not feel comfortable talking to your friends or parents would be (/thrive/students/get-help/). Many of these helpers have impacted people positively and will understand what students go through in college.