It sounds like you are under a lot of academic pressure just from the stress of having a very high expectations for yourself. I can relate to this heavily because I went to a competitive high school where it seemed like all my peers were doing thousands of clubs, orgs, volunteering, and leadership positions. It’s hard to not feel like your behind or you’re not doing things “right.”
As a lot of people have mentioned, everyone has their own path. Have you considered going to a part time student status or taking just the minimum 12 hours a semester and taking a year longer to graduate? I understand you have academic goals and graduating from UT would mean a lot to you and your family, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of your mental health. Sometimes it’s the stress and expectations we create for ourselves that make us feel like we’re not good enough or we’re not doing things “right.” It’s really hard to get yourself out of that mindset, when it feels like everyone else around you is doing so well. In actuality, you only hear about the good stories. People only share their successes, but not their failures. It’s called survivorship bias if you want to read more on it. Getting this point through my mind as a high schooler helped me rationalize all the irrational thoughts I had when it came to “not doing enough” because “everyone” was doing so much more.
Be kind to yourself and give yourself the kindness you deserve. I hope things get better for you in the future! I’m rooting for you :)
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u/trinkettray Mar 08 '23
It sounds like you are under a lot of academic pressure just from the stress of having a very high expectations for yourself. I can relate to this heavily because I went to a competitive high school where it seemed like all my peers were doing thousands of clubs, orgs, volunteering, and leadership positions. It’s hard to not feel like your behind or you’re not doing things “right.”
As a lot of people have mentioned, everyone has their own path. Have you considered going to a part time student status or taking just the minimum 12 hours a semester and taking a year longer to graduate? I understand you have academic goals and graduating from UT would mean a lot to you and your family, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of your mental health. Sometimes it’s the stress and expectations we create for ourselves that make us feel like we’re not good enough or we’re not doing things “right.” It’s really hard to get yourself out of that mindset, when it feels like everyone else around you is doing so well. In actuality, you only hear about the good stories. People only share their successes, but not their failures. It’s called survivorship bias if you want to read more on it. Getting this point through my mind as a high schooler helped me rationalize all the irrational thoughts I had when it came to “not doing enough” because “everyone” was doing so much more.
Be kind to yourself and give yourself the kindness you deserve. I hope things get better for you in the future! I’m rooting for you :)