What is the Rush?

In our society today, everyone is trying to rush through every milestone and important step in their life. From graduating high school, to getting into college, to finding the right major, to graduating college, and finding the right job, everyone is worried about checking off the boxes.

I transferred into Berry after taking a semester off from a previous university to find the right college for me. I personally struggled with feeling like I needed to keep up with everyone around me. Everyone was going forward while I felt like I was staying in the same spot. It felt like everyone was passing me and I was falling more and more behind. Everyone around me seemed to be at the perfect college, with a major they loved, and jobs they dreamed of. I struggled to find why everyone else had found their calling and their place and I was struggling and left behind.

I was feeling like my worth was becoming less and less everyday. Whenever anyone asks me what year I am in college, I struggle to answer. I never know what to say for fear of what people will think of me. It is hard to hear everyone around me talk about “why would anyone want to take a fifth year in college?” “who would ever want to stay in college any longer than they have to?” Hearing statements like this make me fear my future and make me feel like I am further behind than I am. I felt like I was going backwards and needed the reassurance that everyone has their own pace through life and there is no set finish line. Sometimes it feels like there is a finish line that I have to get to, but the reality is I would be chasing something I would never find. I should be less worried about what others think, and do what is best for my own mental and physical well – being. Trying to go through life pleasing everyone around me will only end up in my happiness declining. When you think about it, at the end of the day, it is me that has to live with my own decisions and no one else. If they are not happy with decisions I make in my life such as how long I stay in undergrad or which graduate school to go to, then do they truly care about me? At one point I need to realize not everyone will be in my corner all the time and that is ok. Taking my time and making decisions that I want and for no one else is my priority. While it is difficult sometimes, what’s the rush?

Written by Teagan Fritts