by Maria Franciss Nikole Elli | October 19, 2021
It is a typical notion for college students in the online distance learning setup to count down the minutes of the last class of the day. Luckily for some, it ends at five in the afternoon. To the unlucky few; seven-thirty (at maximum). And maybe it’s about time you meet the rest of the population.
“Martyr” is the nickname they usually go by. Even the heavens applaud them for working past dinnertime! No, they are not the ones who cram before the 11:59 deadline. These people are those who are involved in school organizations with side hustles, and personal errands to attend to. They are those who tirelessly spend another two to three hours for meetings, dragging their smiles on-screen, burying the burden inside. Just one more meeting. A little more.
Sadly, these individuals have little to no time for themselves. Not only do they jump from one class to another; they also seamlessly juggle errands and battle with the daily traffic or the lack of transportation to commute.
Just as the day ends, the body slumps in bed. Silent at dawn, with little time to process the day before. Another day waits for them and when they miss a beat, everything melts in a catastrophic irreversible mess.
You may start to feel the undoubtedly familiar feeling, because you may just be a martyr yourself. And before you wallow in sadness for something you so chose, the writer expresses her advice, that it is normal. While you feel fulfilled and satisfied, for the most part, you also grow tired. Inadequate. Unworthy.
These are all normal emotions that you go through the moment you walk past the walls of comfort. When you take risks, your horizons widen as much as your problems do. Day in and day out, you receive backlash, opposition, doubts, and the scariest part, confronting people you just met on-screen.
From tugging your group mates to respond a little and pushing a few more edits for an article to squeezing out more ideas for a project, the most draining part would perhaps be pushing conversations under bad circumstances: faltering internet signals, exhausted group mates…
How far are you willing to stretch yourself thin?
When the camera closes, the microphone mutes and the laptop shuts down, are you really still okay? You entered these entanglements in your own free will in an attempt to learn more, to handle crises effectively, and many more! Getting out of the situation is still a decision that rests in your hand. Give yourself a favor. Take a break. Decide to rest too. Everyone needs it, especially you.
