The Balancing Act

Ever since he could pick up a textbook my older brother Jared has been known as the genius of the family. If I could name any two traits in which Jared encompasses it would be diligent, and serious. One would understand then, why it came as a shock to me when I received the text message I received from Jared at the beginning of this semester.

I rarely talk to my brother, but I began this semester by sending him a text wishing him well. His response back ended with “And don’t forget, have fun.” “Have fun”. The words jumped around inside of my head. “Have fun”. This coming from the person who gets less than five hours of sleep a night because of how much he is doing all at once.

As the semester goes by I have found myself in the reality that is, junior year of college. Where even the simplest of all stressors are at an all time high. As the weeks go by, I keep thinking back to my brother Jared’s text message.

Initially, I was bewildered. I would have never expected those words to come from him. I expected a “Make smart choices.” or a “Do good in school, this is the year that counts the most.” or even a “Don’t be a dumbass.”. I soon began to realize though, why my brother chose these two short, impactful words.

The amount of stress that we as college students face on a daily basis is inconceivable. Whether it be a class, paying bills on time, relationship hardships, stress from extracurriculars, or all of the above and everything below. Suicide today is the third leading cause of death for young people ages 15-24. MIT and Harvard lead in suicide rates among college campuses. These statistics show us that young people and college students as a whole face an unhealthy degree of stress.

I am halfway through my first semester of my junior year of college, and I now understand why my brother chose the words that he did. He graduated from a private university in four years and is now in grad school, I consider him an expert in this experience. He chose those words not because having fun is the most important thing in life, but because sometimes it is essential to make having fun a priority.

I never once took my brother’s words as “Party hard, it’s your junior year!”. I take my brothers words in a number of ways. I take his words as a reminder to keep a balance between school, work, leisure and sleep. I take his words as a reminder that not all of the time, but sometimes, going with the decision that will make you happiest in that moment is worth it. I take his words as a reminder that although school comes first and my work ethic does in fact matter in the long run, allowing myself to be a 20 year old holds importance as well.

Finding the balance between the things that make us happy and the things that we do because we are functioning beings in society is difficult for anybody. No matter your workload, your work ethic, no matter the number of items on that enormous platter of yours, never forget that before a student, before a bill payer and before a go-getter, you are a human being. 

-Brina Covarrubias