Your degree is NOT a race

Have you ever felt like you are falling behind with your exams? Have you ever compared yourself with someone else and felt inferior to them?

These are only a few of the ideas that have gone through the heads of millions of university students, but unfortunately, not all of them got to enjoy the end of their hard work.

In the past few years the number of students that have committed suicide has gone up, here are a few of their stories:

A 23-year-old student last October committed suicide on the day of his graduation, but apparently, he was not going to graduate that day because he was still missing a few exams. He felt ashamed of his situation and didn’t want to admit it to his family.

A 19-year-old girl committed suicide in the bathroom of her university because she was feeling too much pressure from her peers.

A 26-year-old took her own life because of the amount of pressure caused by her studies.

Unfortunately, this is a growing phenomenon that will not stop unless we try and find a few ways to help each other and support each other through the journey that we as individuals have decided to partake in.

It might have happened to you to compare yourself to someone in your course and their grades, thinking to yourself “How is it possible that he is doing so good but I’m stuck here”, you might have also felt like you are failing and that you are never going to graduate.

Sadly these are all caused by the continuous pressure each student puts on himself and the feeling that everything is a race.

Whenever, reader, you feel this type of way or feel like everything in your studies is falling apart, remember that you chose to take on this adventure and focus your time on something that you enjoy and this doesn’t mean that you have to run at the same pace as everyone else, you can take your time. Remember that you are doing this because you love it and because it’s your dream so enjoy it. Take all the time you need to finish your degree, it doesn’t matter whether it will take you three, four, or five years. Your degree is NOT a race.

There is a saying that if you are going to compare yourself to someone else you have to compare all of yourself to all of themselves, this will be impossible because no one is equal to the other.

Here are a few coping mechanisms if you ever feel like everything is becoming too much:

Whenever you feel stuck on something, go out and enjoy some fresh air;

Have a good night’s sleep, try and sleep 8h at night so the next day you feel rested and refreshed;

Remember that it’s okay to take time for yourself and relax, watch a movie, go out with friends, spend some time with your family;

If you feel like it’s becoming too much, speak to someone close to you, it can be a close friend or family remember but please don’t keep it in;

Last but not least try and organize your study time, but remember that it’s okay if not every day goes as planned.

At the end of the day dear reader, remember that it’s okay to take your time during your degree, don’t feel pressured to be like everyone else because it’s your life, it’s your degree, enjoy it, don’t turn it into a stressful time, and remember to always have fun!