Carrigan P
Photography by Emma Joseph
If you’re reading this, let the world slow down around you for a moment.
You’ve spent so much of your life rushing to meet deadlines, to please people, and to stay busy so that you don’t have to sit with your thoughts. You think that productivity equals worth, that stillness means you’re falling behind. But here’s what I wish I could tell you: your value has never depended on how much you get done.
I know that you may feel that if you just keep moving, maybe the noise in your head will quiet down. But ignoring your mind doesn’t make it stronger; it only makes it tired. What you need isn’t more pressure but permission to rest. Rest is not something you have to earn, but rather it’s something you innately deserve.
It’s so important as a busy college student to make space for yourself, whether that’s through taking a walk without your phone, journaling your thoughts, or watching your comfort show on Netflix. It’s in those quiet moments that you’ll learn how to breathe again. You’ll realize that taking care of your mind isn’t something that competes with your goals but what allows you to reach them. Rest is productive.
You don’t need to be everything for everyone all the time. Protect your peace as if it were something sacred, because it is. The people who truly care about you will understand when you choose to rest, recharge, and take an overall step back for yourself.
Most of all, stop waiting for the “perfect time” to care for yourself. There is no right moment to begin healing and enjoying life, only the one you choose now. You don’t have to earn the right to feel calm, and you definitely don’t have to prove your worth through exhaustion.
I would tell my younger self to pause and take a deep, mindful breath. The world can wait for a moment while you take care of yourself. Life will feel so much lighter when you finally stop trying to run through it.
Sincerely,
Carrigan P., Wake Forest University
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