Hello sweeties
Exams are coming up. I just finished my only exam, and as someone who struggled a lot with my self-esteem and general wellbeing suffering under my study in the past I thought I would just write something to make people feel maybe just a bit better.
First off, it’s nice to remember that no matter how stressed you are, you are not the only person feeling this, and this is (probably) not the first time you felt this way. So far, everyone has gotten through their exams in some form or another. You might fail something, you might not get the grade you wanted, but you’ll get through it and you’ll deal with whatever comes after with a clear mind in a comfy chair.
When I was in a bad place with studying, whenever a thought snapped me out of that feeling, I would write it down on a post-it and stick it on my wall. Not really ‘inspirational quotes’ because I’m highly allergic to those, just comforting thoughts. One of the ones that really stuck with me was ‘stress doesn’t make the future better, it only makes the present worse’. In my experience, I tend to perform better when I’m calm and feeling well (some people perform well under stress though), and being aware of that already helps a bit. Of course I still get stressed, you can’t just turn off a feeling like that, but it helps to not glorify your struggle? You don’t need to feel bad to do well, don’t trick yourself into thinking that.
Something my mom always tells me is ‘Just do your best, you can’t do any more than that.’ Sometimes your best is a very productive day with lots of studying and progress, sometimes it isn’t. That’s okay. You can’t be expected to do more than your body and mind allow you to that day, even if that’s not much, or not anything. You’ll have a fresh start tomorrow, and sometimes rest is the best thing for progress in the future.
I’m also a firm believer in that there is no set ‘happy’ future. I think in high school we kind of get fed the idea that you have to choose the perfect study (god forbid that isn’t university level) and completing that is the only way to be happy or successful ever. This is simply false. If people were that specific, no one would be happy ever. I love my study, but I would also love computer science, or being a train operator, or truck driver. And even if you hate your job, you can still have a beautiful garden, or be a great painter, or have really cool friends. Even if the worst case scenario happens, even if you fail (which you won’t) you don’t lose the prospect of a happy and interesting future. Finishing your study nominally is not the only way to live, living just happens.
Take a deep breath, relax your shoulders, get yourself a nice drink. You got this, and even if you don’t you will still be fine. Everything will be okay, and even if it won’t be, it will be.