With the spring semester in full swing again, many students like myself find it nearly impossible to function. There are only so many hours in the day and oftentimes it is getting harder and harder to prioritize self-care over schoolwork. It is only week six and the burnout is already catching up to me as I am sure it is affecting most of the student body as well.

Classes are becoming overwhelming and with midterms looming closer, the anxiety is only more intensified.Attending classes, endless Blackboard assignments and extracurriculars overcome our lives and oftentimes overcome our focus rather than taking care of basic needs while the semester is in full swing. It quite literally never ends. Students such as myself are tasked with these things and more from the time we wake up until the time we fall asleep (if we are lucky to get sleep).

While COVID-19 has been coming and going in waves and variants, quickly adapting to policies and protocols is just as challenging and as uncertain as it was in March 2020. While the university is finally seeing some versions of normalcy, adapting is still nonetheless a challenge. At any given moment masks could be mandated again or cases could spike instantaneously. While vaccines and boosters are very much available in comparison to the start of the pandemic, there will always be a looming sense of uncertainty. With COVID-19 settling a little and protocols being relaxed on campus, having to adapt to a form of normalcy many of us have not known for a long time is nothing short of uncomfortable. While we have grown used to masks and adapting to online classes, returning to the rigor of university life many of us are not fully used to is overwhelming. With all of these changes and the challenges of the semester, I am urging the university to be patient with us students.

First, mental health needs to be taken seriously. Many students such as myself struggle with high-functioning forms of anxiety and depression daily and the university should be more understanding when it comes to mental health. Not many students in the current student body remember university life before COVID. There will never again be the “normal” that we were once used to in a classroom, and the university needs to keep this in mind. Second, we’ve always been told that college is supposed to be an exciting time in our lives, yet a pandemic and an endless schedule and to-do list is less than ideal. I have been looking forward to college being a fun time, but I am counting down the days until graduation because I am sick of being constantly overwhelmed and busy. Lastly, with all of this being said, I am urging the university to keep in mind that even in spite of spring break being right around the corner, burnout is very much alive among the student body and needs not be taken lightly.