To our fellow GEN-Z'ers, College is supposedly the best years of our lives. Yet, it seems like so many of us are rushing through. We are in the middle of a rat race: we keep going, and going, and going at 100 miles per hour trying to get ahead until we burn out. But, why are we trying to race past the greatest years of our lives? Our generation–or at least our campus– is extremely competitive. We want to push boundaries and push ahead, but at what expense? We've industrialized ourselves, but at the end of the day we are still human. It’s no surprise that mental health is a crisis on college campuses, especially in our community. The pace at which we live, and treat ourselves, is not conducive to a healthy or sustainable lifestyle. We face not only academic pressure, but the pressure to thrive socially, physically, and professionally too. Perhaps it’s not so sunny in California after all. We are at a terrifying intersection in our lives, where we feel the need to do so much to stay afloat and to be prepared for the next chapter of life. It almost seems as if you’re not busy, then you’re doing something wrong. College is about creating practices and habits that you can carry in your toolkit for the rest of your life. It’s about being able to sit and analyze, to ask questions of why things exist the way they do, and to learn about the world in its full. But being a student is not just about learning from books–it’s about so much more. College is about learning how to be a student of not just the world, but of yourself too. I’m constantly reminded that we have the rest of our lives to work and that college is a time to be present and live deeply, and soak up whatever life has to offer. It’s simply a moment in time. Look around, are you in tune with what’s happening around you? I’m riddled by anxiety when I don’t do work. I feel ashamed when I have free time. But recently I’ve been searching for someone to tell me that it’s okay to slow down and enjoy college and life. To take that nap, go to the beach, enjoy your time with your friends without being swallowed by the thoughts that you’re lazy. I struggled with the idea of slowing down. If I did, would I lose sight of those goals and ambitions I had worked so hard for?
We spend so much time and energy figuring out what we want to do with our lives. But do we know how we are going to do it? What I learned is, you have to slow down to speed up sometimes. The health of our body and mind is single-handedly the most important vehicle for happiness, success, and whatever else you wish for. We take it for granted, but it is all we have at the end of the day. This semester we woke up to this realization through the tragedy of losing beloved members in our community. It was a reminder to prioritize our humanity, our sanity, and our health. For a moment we all paused. You think about your plan of how you’re going to get to your dream career, but how are you going to get to your healthiest state? What are you doing for yourself right now to better yourself tomorrow, not get to where you want to be in 10 years. We cannot postpone prioritizing our health and happiness any longer; if you can’t take care of that then nothing else matters. The concept of wellness and well-being has become incredibly commodified. Taking care of yourself has become a blanketed statement. Are you getting enough sleep? Drinking enough water? In reality, to bloom into our fullest potential, to truly unlock what we are capable of, starts with prioritizing yourself: your mind, your body, and your soul. It’s about nurturing yourself in every way, shape, and form. What works for you? What doesn’t? And the answer for you doesn’t have to be the same as what it is for everyone else. Whether it is through nutrition, healthy relationships, and finding balance, our bodies and minds are the vehicles to get us to our biggest dreams. It’s about recycling our ambition and drive for the future to take care of ourselves now. It starts with you.
Love & Care, Anushka Eden • Sam
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