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| photo of woman from pngfuel |
When I was in high school, I knew someone who was literally obsessed with how high or low she scores over our summative and periodic exams. Even in some of our pop quiz, she would sit alone in a corner whenever she finds out that her score didn’t reach her expectations – or maybe her parents’ expectations.
Aside from zoning herself out
for quite some time, she would also scratch her skin off until her arms would
form red claw marks on it. I saw her do it in front of me. She would cry and
pull her hair in different directions. You can tell how frustrated she is from
the looks of her hot teary-eyed. I tell her the universal phrase used in
comforting people in such situation, “it’s okay”.
I can’t blame her if deep inside she knows it’s never going to be okay.
As long as she thinks she's disappointing her well-accomplished parents who
wanted her to excel so much in her
academics, it’s never really going to be okay.
But how far can someone really go for the sake of grades? How far can
parents push their children in performing real good in their studies? How much
more stress can a professor inflict on his or her students to finally realize that
GRADES DON'T MEAN ANYTHING AT ALL IF THE MENTAL HEALTH OF THE STUDENTS IS AT STAKE?
There’s nothing wrong about a professor giving students a
handful of requirements to pass the semester. After all, that is what the
college culture is all about. However, the cup of a student can also overflow
at some point. Their inner self could get pulled in different directions; it
could get out of hand without anyone noticing it. And it’s sad to know that no
one could understand how hard it is to put together all the scattered pieces of
their newly-exploded brain.
While we were all growing up, we were taught that doing well in school
is VERY important. If we get good grades, we make our parents happy and if we
make our parents happy, they’d most probably give us things that we want. As a
kid, we were told that our school works comes first before anything else; even
before doing things that would make us truly happy.
It’s upsetting to know that students live in a cut throat world where
they are forced to compete not only with their peers but also with themselves
just to get better grades, to land on better jobs, and to please their professors
and parents. All these things matter, but guess what…. YOUR MENTAL HEALTH IS
MORE IMPORTANT.
Your mental health is as equally important as your physical health.
However, some people are too shallow to believe that people who are mentally
unhealthy are plain weak because of their inability to handle reality. If your mental health is
going through a rough time because of the stress brought to you by your parents
and your academics, you don’t need to have shallow and insensitive people sitting right next to
you. You need to be with someone who understands the importance of mental
health and the things at stake if a serious matter like this gets to be
ignored. Remember that depression and anxiety caused by stress is no joke. It’s a serious matter that needs to be given
attention as early as possible.
Your mental health is also an extremely beautiful part of you that
needs to be taken care of in every tick of the clock. If your mental health
suffers because you put up an all-nighter to review for an exam, you’ll
technically be unable to function very well the next day. Remember to always
take time to look for a room to breathe. Every student deserves a break because
just like professors and parents, students are not super humans. Yes, you
should pass the exam. No, you shouldn’t torture your physical and mental health
just to get high grades.
Your mental health will help you reach the finish line, not your
grades. Grades are just numbers. If you fail, keep on trying. After all, the
beauty of life is seen through the ups and downs, to the scars written on your
stories. If your sanity and well-being are intact, it will take you to places
that will truly make you happy. It’s tiring and exhausting to chase after your
dreams but every once in a while it is a must that you take a rest just to fix
and fuel yourself up.
Always remember that your mental health is important because it is a
legitimate part of who you are. It is a part of you, and everything attached to
every fiber of your being needs to be well-taken care of. My hope for everyone
is to take mental health care seriously and not as a plain joke. If you are
having a rough time, hang in there. Take a rest. Don’t give up. You are never
the judgement of the people surrounding you. You are never your failures. YOU ARE IMPORTANT.
We are here. I am here.
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| Words and main artwork by collene. Photo of woman from pngfuel |
collene is 24-year-old self-proclaimed creative old soul who is deeply fascinated by the beauty of music, arts, books and poetry. Catch her wearing her bluetooth earphones on with either a phone or book on hand.
