“It’s very important to take care of yourself. Everyone’s lives are so busy. Take at least an hour a day to recharge and do whatever makes you better. For grown-ups, whether it’s a spa, sitting in a park with a book, or coffee, take time for yourself.” -Ana Ivanovic
Being a college student, the holiday season is especially tough. There are the normal stresses of the season with family gatherings and the obligations associated with them. Then, there are also all the school deadlines and exams and finals. These two parts of your life are separate and neither side considers the other.
I am now a sophomore in college and am going through this issue for the second time. When I first started college, I went home more. Every time, I went home my days were planned for me, and I was told what we had to do. I was obligated to do certain things and visit certain family members even though I was home for less than 48 hours and had homework and needed to rest. I tried multiple times to explain this, but every time I was made out to be the bad guy, so I stopped going home except for longer breaks.
Even that doesn’t really solve the problem. This year, I went home for a week for Thanksgiving break. I didn’t end of spending the whole week either. Everyone keep telling me I needed to do this and that, and honestly, there wasn’t enough time in a week. Then, I was expected to go see family who didn’t invite me to Thanksgiving out of spite, and also flaked on giving me a ride back to college. I ended up having to go back days early on Thanksgiving day because that was the only ride I could get back. I had to cancel plans with friends and family and appointments. Even with all this somehow I’m horrible, but I didn’t have a choice. College is important to me and I can’t just let it go.
Then going back to school, there are tons of projects and deadlines and exams to wrap up the semester before Christmas break. It’s a really stressful time just for the school work. Then, you have family calling to tell you all the plans you have and who you need to buy gifts for. College Students don’t really have time to shop around finals. Also, they are pretty much broke until they get loans or scholarships for the spring semester.
I’m not saying family isn’t important because they are. However, they need to realize that college students have other important things going on, and they need to be understanding of that. My family makes me feel guilty for working hard at college, and that isn’t right. I need to be able to take care of myself too.
-Love, Dee
Flamingle 