Removing the Stigma Around Taking a Break
by Ashley Mulhare
It’s possible that it’s just me, and that my perfectionist mindset comes into full swing every break period I have from work or school. But if there are others out there who seem to struggle with this preconceived guilt around taking time to relax every once in a while, this article is for you.
As college students, it’s common to feel overwhelmed. It seems as though there is always someone next to you who is taking harder classes, completing more volunteer hours, accepting more internships, and doing it all with grace and poise. Meanwhile, the rest of us may feel like we’re drowning trying to catch up. I’m here to tell you that you are not alone. We are all working at our own pace and are successful in our own ways at our own time.
Ever since I was young, I have always felt like the first individual, the one who’s drowning in work and always just a bit behind the curve. I had developed an instinctive need for constant action in fear of losing progress. Whenever a school holiday came around or even just a weekend, I felt guilty whenever I wasn’t at my computer working. If it wasn’t school work I was focusing on, it would be internship applications, or the looming process of getting accepted into graduate schools. I never gave my body the ample rest it deserved, which caught up with me through stress and illness. I understand as well as anyone how accomplishing it feels to be successful and productive, but what I began to realize was that it came with the price of sacrificing my mental health and overall well being to never take time for leisure.
With fall break approaching for many Villanova students, I want to push the importance of giving yourself some well deserved rest and relaxation. Watch that Netflix show you’ve been waiting to see, spend time with your family who miss seeing your face everyday, find a leisure book that helps you escape your own everyday life (by leisure I mean pleasurable, no textbooks!), meditate, travel, hike, and soak up the last bits of warmth while enjoying the fall foliage outside. You deserve a break. You deserve to enjoy the act of actually living without the stress of what the future will bring. We are only halfway through the semester and have a lot more to do, so take this time to relax, heal, and love your brain.
