My first year at university is coming to an end, which feels bizarre to say. At the end of each academic (school) year I seem to lose my motivation. I long for vacation so much that I already act as if it had started. I have been reading a little bit about the mental state of the student and I find myself surprised how many burn-outs there are. Am I the only one feeling that I am not doing enough at all? (and still pass every subject up until now) Or is that part of the problem? If we constantly have the feeling that we are not doing enough, we might work until we try to find a moment, where we are satisfied with the amount of work we are doing, which is never. I think it has something to do with the way I was brought up. My father always said that I should do the best I can do, because to do more is simply impossible. Is this why I am so incredibly lazy?

I dread being lazy, but recently I found it to be positive as well. I see some of the students around me that are so stressed by exams that they cannot sleep anymore. That seems absolutely ridiculous, learning at university should not be something to feel nauseous about, it should excite you. Yes, exams can be quite stressful and I am not saying that I am never caught up in exam-stress, however, I decide to not let it rule my life, because it is simply not worth it. The good grade is not worth the nausea, sleep deprivation and nervousness.  I would rather study a little bit less and be more effective, or just study less and be more healthy. The stress levels university students reach seem insane to me.

I know that it is not that easily done. I work once a week, do a university course that is fairly light when talking about workload and I am not in any sports teams. I have made it easy for myself and the result is that I am more than often bored, which is the other end of the spectrum. Of course, that is not ideal, that is why I am starting a second bachelor next year, however, even next year I will not have sleepless nights because I needed to finish studying for that exam; that cannot be the way we receive our bachelors diploma.

I don’t know if the stress and burn-outs have gone up, because more people decided to speak up about, or because life as a student is a lot more stressful now, than fifteen years ago, but it is worrisome nonetheless. A burn-out at any age is horrible, but in our twenties we should be figuring things out: ourselves, our future, our passions. We should have the space and time to do just that. We should be full of energy and hungry to learn more about the world. Education seems to have lost its core goal: educating people. It has turned into a diploma serving machine, as without a diploma it is almost impossible to function in this society. The consequences of this, are not only that diplomas are becoming more and more worthless (and to be the top, people thus have to work twice as had), but also that the level at universities falls drastically.

So, what is a solution? How can students prevent themselves from having a burn-out while still receiving a valuable education. The only thing I can think of, is to slow down the pace. Give students more time to make mistakes, let them plan their own time, give them the freedom to show up to class, or to not at all, but do not kick them out immediately if they do not. When arriving at a university we are all still children. Give us more time for mistakes during our student years. I am aware that this is expensive, so I propose another option. Do not pressure us to go to university. I recently spoke to a guy from Sweden, who told me that in Sweden it takes students years to go to university. The pressure to study immediately after school does not exist there. What is the point in studying if you are not truly committed to your subject? We should slow down our rush to want to study and first make some mistakes. Get some experience in the work field, do some internships (and be accepted at these internships!) Know what the ‘outside’ world looks like, before specializing in a field. With that I do not mean go find yourself in Australia, because I do not believe that backpacking in Australia is going to provide you with many answers, but try something creative. Make music, write stories, try to set up a business. Do all the things you might not have time for when you are going to study and eventually work. Universities will not run away, your youth will. And it is quite nice to avoid a burn-out, right?