College is not easy

Mental health in school is something many people find important throughout their college careers. Mental health, while we are told it is important, is not treated as such.

Can you actually follow what they tell you about mental health? How many of you have stress balls you squeeze to help you relax? Do you take mental health days to give yourself a chance to breathe?

In high school, we are told a lot of what we did when we were younger won’t fly in college, that we have responsibilities, and we should start acting mature. We are forced to go into debt before or when we turn 18. Many adults have us believe that college is the ONLY way to get a high-paying job, and those of us who go to college are told it’s a waste of money, and our degree is nothing more than a piece of paper.

We are given difficult choices that will define the rest of our lives, and people will judge us no matter what we choose. When we are having trouble, we hear the same phrases over and over, “We are here to help you, you can ask us for anything,” but once you are away at college, you are alone.

Some students may have friends in college or parents who live close by. Some students, like myself, have no friends when first starting college and family is hours away. To me, this leads to feeling stressed, weird and out of place.

I came here alone and afraid, with expectations of doing well and an inability to achieve my dream due to financial hardship. At times, I feel like my mental health is on the verge of breaking down, and I will snap at any moment.

Many people came to college to prove themselves, because they felt they had no other option or for the experience, but some of us feel the stress and hardship college brings.

High school doesn’t prepare you for college. You have eight hours a day where you just listen to your teacher, do the work in class and move on. It’s so simple to talk with friends during lunch, and have homework that’s due the next day or a week later.

High school has an occasional project, but nothing prepares us for living on our own, staying in dorms with roommates, purchasing our own food, keeping a budget, washing our own clothes and fendingfor ourselves.

When we are forced to learn everything at once, it becomes overwhelming and feels hopeless. Mental health is so important but so looked down on that we don’t even know the symptoms of having a break down, of feeling depressed or suicidal till it’s too late.

Some parents say we don’t have anything to be sad about or berate us for simply feeling our feelings. It’s not realistic to just smile through everything.

You don’t have to be alone or stressed. There are plenty of resources and people who want to listen. Talking about your stress with others can be a bigger relief than you realize. People want to help you; all you got to do is open the door.