Kaitlyn Hart
Life Editor
Every night when I finally feel like I’ve stretched my brain to its limit and can finally justify getting some sleep after finding addresses for graduation announcements and finishing my final projects in a state of panic, the only way I can convince myself to legitimately rest is to pull the blankets over my head as if I’m somehow hiding from all of the stress, responsibilities and fear of failure thanks to this horrible, dreadful, no good spring 2021 semester.
Personally, I have never felt this kind of stress. It feels heavier than I can ever remember.
We’re living through a pandemic and scrambling to get vaccinated to keep ourselves and our communities healthy.
As seniors, we’re looking forward to graduation and the chance to show the world what we’ve got, while also trying to get all of our ducks in a row.
We’re finishing up internships with hopes of a full-time offer; otherwise, we’re clambering to find a job that will pay us anywhere near our worth.
Not to mention, every single one of us, no matter our grade-level, is dealing with our personal lives that can cause enough stress to take down an elephant itself.
“My wife just had a baby and I’m trying to finish my thesis while working full time,” says ISU graduate student, Andrew Smith.
And on top of all of that, we are living through this semester without our usual spring break.
This year, Idaho State’s spring break was pushed back until the week of April 26th, two days after Spring commencement. This means that most seniors won’t get a spring break to recharge their minds and prepare them for the gigantic life change we are about to experience.
We will essentially be left to continue struggling through our mental exhaustion, literally until the day we graduate.
For some of us, our classes don’t even end before graduation!
After we walk across that stage and seemingly complete our degrees, we still have more work to do!
I never realized how much spring break is worth until we no longer had one. Our professors are struggling too, trying to lighten our workload as much as they can, while still teaching us as much as they can gather, simultaneously watching us through Zoom, most of us with our cameras off to hide our stress-caused frown lines and the fact that we could barely get out of bed this morning.
Wanting to make sure I’m not the only one experiencing this life-altering feeling of despair during these last couple weeks of the semester, I took to The Bengal Newspaper Instagram page to see what my fellow students felt. Am I the only one who is wondering if it’s even worth it at this point? The answer is no.
Through the use of a Yes/No poll, I asked the question, “Do you feel more burned out this semester than any other?”
Out of 56 answers, 55 people voted, “Yes”.
It’s true, college is supposed to be stressful. It is supposed to teach you the meaning of hard work, boost your work ethic and push you to your limit. But this semester, many of us feel like we are being pushed past our limit.
“Not having our usual spring break has made it difficult because I have to continue just plowing through assignments one week after the next,” says ISU junior and public relations major, Taylor Kurz. “It takes a lot more perseverance to be dedicated to a class over Zoom. I was used to the comfort of being around people and it made it easier to be driven.”
As a senior, many of us have at least had some kind of build-up to prepare for large amounts of stress, but this is truly (don’t hate me for using this word) unprecedented. We’ve dealt with deadlines, stressed-out professors and difficult classes before, so we have developed the coping mechanisms and can have them ready to go at a moment’s notice. But for our ISU freshman, I can’t imagine what it is like to just now be beginning your college career.
If you’re a freshman right now, or even a sophomore, please give yourself some slack. It’s not always going to be this hard. Underclassmen this year have been put in a very delicate situation, many of them being away from home for the first time, which is scary enough.
“Because of my fear of contracting COVID-19, I have taken multiple online classes,” says ISU theatre major, Nathan Templeton. “I do better with in-person instruction but I had to make the difficult decision of putting my health over my education.”
In no world, should any of us have to choose whether we want to receive higher education, or possibly die trying.
Throughout these next couple of weeks, I am begging you, please do all that you can to take care of yourself. If that means asking your professor for an extension, do it. If that means going home for the weekend to recharge and see your loved ones, do it (safely). If it means making an appointment with the school counselors to get some stress off your shoulders, please do it!
According to ISU’s Mental Health page, “All students who are enrolled in the current semester (part-time or full-time) are eligible for free, confidential counseling services.”
Please, please, please take advantage of the mental health services on campus if you feel like it will help you in any way.
If you are in crisis, please call, 1-800-273-TALK(8255).
You can call these numbers to make an appointment (in-person or over the phone) with the Counseling Center:
Pocatello: (208) 282-2130
Idaho Falls: (208) 282-7750
Meridian: (208) 373-1719
Don’t let this semester win, and please for the love of everything, take care of yourself.
