Shelby B.
Photography by Peyton Mears
If you’re reading this, you are allowed to rest.
If you’re reading this, I want you to know that it is okay to rest. Really rest. Not the kind where you are still thinking about everything you need to do, but the kind where you give yourself permission to pause and breathe without guilt. I used to think rest was something you had to earn. I told myself I could only relax after every assignment was finished, every message was answered, and every task was completed. But all that did was keep me running on empty. I was chasing the next thing, trying to prove I was doing enough, that I was productive, that I was capable, and that I was the best version of myself all the time. But somewhere along the way, I forgot how to just be.
College makes it easy to believe that being busy means you are doing well. We wear exhaustion like an accomplishment and tell ourselves that the harder we push, the more successful we will be. But I have learned that burnout does not make you strong. It just makes you tired. Slowing down does not make you lazy. It means you are listening to what your mind and body are trying to tell you. There were nights I stayed up too late, redoing to-do lists that never seemed to end, and mornings I woke up already feeling behind. I thought I was being responsible, but the truth is I was afraid of slowing down. I did not know how to sit in the quiet without feeling guilty for it. Eventually, I learned that rest is not something you have to earn. It is something you deserve simply because you are human.
Rest looks different for everyone. For me, it is taking a walk without my phone or watching the sunset without thinking about what I need to do next. It is saying no when my body tells me it needs a break. It is letting myself breathe without guilt. It is reminding myself that my worth is not measured by how much I get done, but by the person I am when I slow down enough to feel present.
If you’re reading this, I want you to know that resting does not mean you are falling behind. It means you are taking care of yourself so that you can keep going in a way that is healthy. You do not need to be everything to everyone. You do not need to fill every moment of your day with something productive. You just need to be here, right now, doing the best you can with the energy you have. The world moves fast. Sometimes it feels like if you stop, you will lose your place in it. But you will not. The world will wait for you. You will not miss what is meant for you just because you paused to take care of yourself. In fact, slowing down helps you see things more clearly. Rest gives you the space to think, to create, to reconnect with who you are. It helps you show up as a kinder friend, a more patient student, a more balanced person. Taking time for yourself does not pull you away from success, it brings you closer to it, because you are learning how to live, not just keep up. You are allowed to take up space in stillness. You are allowed to rest without apologizing for it. You are allowed to feel proud of yourself for choosing peace over pressure.
If you are reading this, please slow down. Let yourself be. Let yourself heal. Let yourself rest, not because you have earned it, but because you need it. Rest is how you grow, how you realign, how you become stronger. You are worthy of care, even when you are not achieving anything. You are becoming a better version of yourself every time you give yourself grace. You are enough, even when you are still.
Shelby B., Florida State University
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