I still remember the first activity I joined in college. It was week one of my first year, and The Weather Vane was recruiting staff writers. I desperately wanted a writing outlet in the midst of lots of biology classes, and the paper seemed like a good place to start.
More than that, though, a cheerful residence life staff member had urged a group of first-years, along with myself, to “get involved; it’s the best way to make friends!”
I took this person’s words to heart and trudged to the very first meeting.
I stuck it out until the end of the informational meeting, when someone started handing out story assignments. Then, somebody handed me a slip of paper where I was to indicate my area of interest.
I knew it was too much. I hyperventilated, threw the paper in the recycling, and darted for the door before some enthusiastic editor could capture me. It was the first, but not the last, time I dabbled in overcommitting myself.
And here I sit, writing an editorial for The Weather Vane nearly three years later.
College students are notorious for overcommitting themselves to the point of breakdowns. Up until several months ago, I though this was an inevitable part of “the college experience.”
These days, I’m not sure if I agree with my old position anymore.
As I understand it, those of us in college right now are just on the edge of Generation Z.
Beyond the usual “Gen Z is obsessed with the internet and we’re all going to die under their watch” commentary, sociologists and psychologists note that Gen Z reports some of the worst mental health in history.
Gen Z is perhaps more aware of their mental health conditions, in a way that prior generations may not have.
Psychologists also note gun violence, political issues, and climate change as central points of anxiety and depression for many young people.
However, other articles, like a Psychology Today piece by Dr. Marilyn Wedge, point to the chronic overscheduling and increased pressure that many young adults experienced as a source of poor mental health, particularly anxiety.
While jobs and obligations are a necessary part of adulthood, we often fail to balance those expectations with the life-giving, slower moments.
College is a space to discover passions and interests, but it can also quickly turn into a constant whirl of joyless activity. College must also be a space for reflection and unscheduled conversation with the people around us.
When we prioritize our collective obsession with involvedness at the expense of time to think, build, and dream, we lose a little bit of ourselves.
My advice? Pick the routinely scheduled, demanding things that you love, the things that give you meaning, and pour yourself into them.
Reject the notion that a life without scheduled, resume-building activity is a meaningless one.
Embrace the people who are a part of your life in college and make time for them.
When you inevitably overschedule yourself this semester, take a deep breath and notice the small spaces where you find life-giving activity.
Maybe that space will just happen to be during a job or a meeting.
