What's the old saying? "No more school, no more books, no more teachers dirty looks!" An appropriate mantra for some kids, after having to deal with the struggles of school- most notably, the mean teacher. Everyone had their own mean teacher during their time in school, in fact, one probably came to mind as soon as you read this. Well, we can't ALWAYS be the teacher's pet.
ImKrimzen asked: What's the unfairest way a teacher ever treated you but nobody else?
This could be a good opportunity for revenge.
"My P.E. teacher from middle school WATCHED me get bullied time and time again. One time, I stood up for myself in the locker room by cursing at a girl who had me PINNED up against a locker. She gave me detention and told me that it was my fault for drawing attention to myself and being a 'weird' kid.
She was always buddy-buddy with the popular kids. My eighth grade yearbook has her signature in it; it reads "I hope you make more friends in high school. One friend isn't gonna cut it"
This same teacher runs a campaign online for anti-bullying called #icanhelp. My little sister was a part of it. I think it's absolute horse s**t."
Bullying from teachers can cause major damage.
Giphy
"I was in year 6 (10 years old). I had just started the year and sat with 5 of my friends on a table. I was always the joker of the bunch and would regularly get scolded for making my friends laugh. I was a child who could pay no attention and still get good grades so that's what I did all the while socialising and all the other things a 10 year old does at school.
After a few weeks of enjoying school with my friends the teacher decides enough is enough and moves me to a single desk by myself. So let me explain the layout of the room. The chalkboard was front and centre in a rectangular room with a concave of 5 tables with 6 students on each around it so everyone could see. This teacher put me at the back of the room facing a wall. Every time I would turn around I would be scolded and if I talked to anybody in the classroom I would have to stay in the classroom while everyone else could go out for break time.
I thought that this was extremely unfair however surely it couldn't last long right and I would be able to go back to my friends on the bigger tables in a week or so right? WRONG.
This b!tch kept me there for 10 months. I literally faced a wall every day having to work by myself for 10 f*cking months whilst the rest of the class did group activities and socialised. As the days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months I could feel a gap forming between me and the rest of the class. I was basically the leper in the corner and this obviously impacted me massively.
Going from year 6 (primary school) to year 7 (Secondary school) is arguably the biggest move for students In the UK schooling system. So they normally send you in small groups of 3-5 I to your new classes together so you're not completely alone. But guess who had next to no human contact for 10 months and was scolded and punished every time he tried to socialise? That's right this guy. So guess who didn't have a group to go Into high school with? This guy.
Needless to say that year at a very vulnerable age has completely altered the way I deal with people now and I can honestly say that because of that year I haven't felt comfortable socialising or making friends since then. I'm 23 now and I still struggle and have zero friends.
This one small issue which could have easily being fixed by maybe moving me onto another table has caused me to be a loner for the last 13 years. Thanks Mrs. Stead."
Way to ruin art class.
"My art teacher at school hated me for no reason.
She usually scolded me for doing something I had not done, screamed at me. I was about 11, if I recall correctly.
I would often cry after her classes but never told my parents, as I tried to be an adult in their eyes and kept problems to myself.
The breaking point was when she refused to give me the points at the end of a semester and when I asked her to do so (as I was having perfect grades in other classes), she said that I had to bring 5 different projects FOR THE NEXT DAY.
One would be a picture drawn in watercolor, other with pencils, one picture made of paper clippings, one picture with gouache and something made of plasticine.
I spent the whole night doing it AS A KID. I was trying so hard, and those were really nice works.
The next day when I turned them in she threw them to the ground and said there was no way I could do it by myself and that she won't accept something my parents did for me.
I had a breakdown and another teacher, who saw me in the hallway, had to call my parents. I finally confessed to them what was going on and they unleashed hell on that teacher, along with the principal. The principal was a very cool lady and she gave me an order to go to her whenever I felt that this teacher would be bullying me. As the teacher was standing there, red of shame and anger.
Never had a problem with her ever since."
That teacher was met with some bad karma.
"I was a heavyset teenager. Over one summer in lost a significant amount of weight. This is relevant, I promise.
Our Family & Consumer Sciences teacher hated me for absolutely no reason and if I ever had a wrong answer I was ridiculed with it in front of the entire class for the entire period. She was just really mean.
After I had lost weight our class had to order t-shirts for some reason and I ordered a medium. She confronted me in front of the class again, telling that she wears a large and theres no way i could wear a smaller size than her. I called home that day out of embarrassment. Skip ahead a month and the shirts come in. She makes sure everyone's shirt fits to her standard for the class picture. She had ordered me an XL and it swallowed me whole and came almost to my knees. When I complained she just told me I could stand in the back for the picture and left to go change into her shirt.
When she came back she hadn't changed and she was mad. She stormed right up to me and pulled me aside where no one could hear and said I had to swap shirts with her because she didn't like how mine fit me after all. I went and changed, giving her the XL shirt and putting on the L that fit better, but was still really loose. When she came back into the classroom she was even angrier. The XL fit her just right. Her hate for me doubled from that day forward. As soon as I could I dropped her class and took woodwork and aquaculture."
That's just rude.
"7th grade in US, so maybe 13 years old. Had geography class with a teacher who seemed to just have it out for me, in a way that no other teacher I had ever had before or after that did. In addition to just always falsely accusing me of cheating off other classmate's exams, would often just throw out my homework right after collecting it.
Our homework was often to draw and recreate maps of various parts of the world. My handwriting certainly isn't great, but I definitely made it legible. But he'd collect all the maps at the front of the class, just flip through them to find mine, take a look at it for about 1 second, hold it up in front of the class as an example of what shouldn't be done, and toss it in the garbage.
Did really well in the class, mostly B's and some A's. But he would always give me a C or D in the "effort" category, keeping me off what they call "honor roll". The whole experience still pops into my mind occasionally to this day."
Kudos for standing up to that teacher.
"I have a wonderful story. In high school, I was called "Gory" by basically everyone. The origins of the nickname are not affectionate, I always hated it, no matter how popular it eventually made me.
One day in High School, I was in Science Class and I was spaced out for some reason. I was pretty depressed at the time, all the bullying and stuff was taking its toll. My teacher noticed I was not paying attention, so he picked this moment to go "You listening, Gory?".
The class went nuts. Kids know what the name meant, it was bullying. Even the kids that didn't bully me were contributing to the bullying just by calling me the name. Bullies laughed, some others were speechless with shock.
The class went silent - I stood up and delivered a pretty angry monologue about how just by calling me that name, he's as much of a bully as everyone else. It isn't a nice name, and I hate it, and how disgusting it is for him to call me that. He replied that I shouldn't have spoken to him like that - I threw a book at him and walked out the room.
I was never punished for throwing a book, btw, because many, many teachers both ignored and contributed to my abuse in school. Eventually I could do basically what I wanted and no one cared.
Another teacher sat me at the front of the class just because I was 'Gory'. He claimed it was so no one else could pick on me, but it was so he could verbally abuse me in front of the class.
High School was f**king hell."
We hope she got fired.
Giphy
"My teacher would talk sh*t about me whenever I wasn't there. She said that I'm a waste of taxpayers dollars. She even showed the classroom my grades and I know they were telling the truth when they told me what she'd done because they were correct in repeating it to me. This was in 7th grade."
Rude.
"In middle school I had a P.E. teacher who always had an issue with me even though I would listen and follow directions. Well, during the beginning of the year you're supposed to get a combination lock for your gym locker.
My parents got me a pink one and one day we head to the girls locker rooms to get changed and my lock is no where to be found and she gave me hell for it. Saying that if I don't have a lock she'd take all of my things from the locker and put in her office and I'd have to get it after class. When my mom talked to the school and got administration involved she tried to say that my mom was harassing her. The next year my sister and I went towards the vacant lockers. We saw a pink combination lock and tried the lock combination for it. Low and behold it was the same one that mysteriously 'disappeared.'"
Ok, that's just f**ked up.
"Had a teacher tell the class I was depressed and probably going to kill myself and that I shouldn't be so moody.
She was pretty much a bully and would talk a lot about me behind my back when I wasn't there and the only reason I knew was a couple of different people from the class told me.
Seems like my entire life people have been trying to get me to kill myself and I never understood what I did to deserve it.
She can go back to teaching cooking and stay out of my business, I'm still here fifteen years or so later."
We'd be pissed too.
"He called me out in front of my peers for acting a fool, even though everyone else was always acting a fool.
Afterwards, he told me he'd done that to make an example out of me. I was pissed for YEARS, to the point of skipping dude's funeral.
Didn't realize until later that meant that my peers actually looked up to me."
They just did what they were told to.
"My maths teacher really made my life miserable.
Between the ages of 14 and 16 I hit a big growth spurt, I went from 5 feet 7-8 inches to 6 feet 2-3 inches. As you can imagine, teenage me was very awkward with these suddenly huge limbs. In school the desks were too low, and I had to sit in a very clumsy folded way.
For some reason this really offended my maths teacher. She used to literally scream at me to sit up straight and position my legs "properly" When I actually did this, my straightened legs simply lifted the desk up from the floor. This only made her more furious and she would scream even more. I had no idea what I was supposed to do about this."
That'll mess a kid up for good.
"I didn't have an attention disorder, but probably until high school I did act out a lot in school. I tended to get done with my work earlier than most in my classes and would get bored and start messing around. The class clown role always appealed to me back then...
An English teacher of mine in elementary school really couldn't handle me. It was an accelerated class. English was my favorite subject, but he never kept me occupied.
There's a long list of absolutely awful and debasing stuff he'd subject me to. This one is probably the worst. I'm not gonna give out my real name, so for this story let's say it's "John". After getting fed up with me one day, the teacher pulled my desk to the very front of the class, put a 3-walled kind of cubicle like wall on it, and told the class (and me) it was "John's World." I wasn't to leave "John's World" under any circumstances, I wasn't going to be called on for any questions, I wasn't to participate whatsoever. I was supposed to sit there, listen, and not interact with anyone else.
I'm not sure how long that went on, whether it was weeks or months or what. But it was a long stretch. That was traumatizing for 10 year old me. I loved the subject. I loved writing and reading , and I was an A student in the accelerated curriculum. But because he couldn't actually stimulate and teach me, he ridiculed me instead. As did the class after that... "John's World" did not help me in popularity that year."
LethereatDouble standards are the worst.
Giphy
"So I had this teacher in college, we had to do a project on a dish that represents our ethnic background. I'm white, with lots of different European countries in my family history so I decided to go with a dish that's unique to my Canadian province because that's where I'm born and I identify with it, and my province influences my cooking a lot.
The rest of my classmates were all first generation immigrants, from Europe, China, Japan, etc. 2 other classmates are second generation Canadian and have really cool and unique backgrounds so were able to choose a food that represented their upbringing.
Basically what I'm saying is I'm fairly boring but picked something important to me and something with cultural significance (just like everyone else and just as the project asked).
I did my presentation and handed in my project, with the essay written according to the rubric given.
My teacher handed my paper back to me and said I didn't do it right. She said I didn't write the history of the dish. I did, though. The dish originated from Greece, and was developed in the 1970s. I had the name, the restaurant, the inspiration, everything.
Nope, she wanted to know where the Greek dish originated (Turkey) and then where the Turkish dish originated. I basically ended up writing a history that went back 800,000 years. It was flat out ridiculous.
Some of the other students did dishes that were similar in history (because really, all our food comes from the same place eventually), and they all had about a 1 paragraph blurb on the history. Maybe a couple hours work?
My paper was ten pages and took several extra days (full time course, worked part time).
F**k I hated that teacher. Actually I still hate her."
That's just creepy.
"My teacher follows me into the bathroom and listens to everything I do "to make sure I don't do anything stupid".
And blames me for random s**t. No clue why."
Some teachers just don't know how to do their jobs.
"7th grade, I have a teacher who decides that backpacks aren't allowed in her class. I bring mine one day because she's the last class I have and having to go to the lockers to get my bag made me miss the bus. I explain this and she makes me write the student expectations page as a "punishment", just to give a smug look as she tears them in my face. By the next week, everyone brings their bags anyway and she never said anything again.
Later that year, we get an assignment on Vietnam and that included making something to be physically displayed. She goes around asking what some ideas were and I decide on making the country shape out of Lego, and she looks me in the eyes and says that's fine.
Fast forward to a day before it's due and I've used about $40 of my own goddamned money to build this just for her to tell me she wasn't accepting that project since she didn't want Legos in her car. I scribbled a roughly Vietnam shaped country on notebook paper, got a 30% and nearly failed that class."
I'm a smart person. I read, I study, I comprehend. But certain types of math can send me to the funny farm. I tried trigonometry in high school. I needed a therapist after a week. My brain hates math. It is what it is. I give up trying.
Louder!
Meme Reaction GIF by reactionseditorGiphy"I can't comprehend why any company would think I'm more likely to buy their product if they make their commercial 20db louder than all other commercials. Instant boycott."
The Scale
"The sheer size and scale of the universe. Like the fact that you can fit all the planets of the Solar System between the Earth and the Moon. Now realise how far apart all the planets are in the Solar System. This is practically next door compared to the distance between our Sun and the nearest star."
"There are billions of stars in our Milky Way (with the majority having planets of their own). The sheer scale of the vast emptiness involved means that even when our galaxy merges with the Andromeda galaxy in 4.5 billion years' time, there will be very, very few actual collisions between stars."
"Then there is the void between galaxies, and that it takes billions of years for light, at its speed (massless, and the fastest speed possible), to travel between galaxies, speaks of the sheer emptiness and distance in that void. I can't quite fathom it."
The Before...
"What was there before the universe, what was there before that, and that and that and (you get the idea)."
"The problem is we are using English words that have implied meanings that are familiar to humans on everyday experience to describe events that are outside everyday experience."
"Before" implies that time exists on both sides of an event, but that is not true when we are talking about the universe. Like how there are no positive numbers less than 0, there are no times before the beginning of the universe."
In the Words...
"Language, the fact that we all collectively decided separately and divertingly that certain sounds have meanings and that other sound mixed with those can change the meaning."
"Thanks for all of the upvotes and the award :3."
"Adding onto what I said, sounds are just vibrations in the air that out brains interpret into the sensation of hearing. Really we're vibrating the air at each-other and those air vibrations to your brain contain meaning. When you think about it like this language is not too dissimilar to the internet in a way. Makes you realize how crazy and unique of a skill language really is, with-ought it we wouldn't have a civilization."
"Another interesting thing related to this is when people call your name. Even if your in a crowded area with hundreds of people talking around you and you think your tuning them out if you hear your name you immediately notice, Some part of your brain must be constantly listening."
"Here are some other things my mind can't quite grasp:
- Computers, the fact that my phone is performing countless mathematical operations constantly.
- the plank length, if I understand it right it's the smallest distance anything can move, like a pixel of space.
- the human body and animals in general, were a collection of (large number but idk how large) cells all working together in various systems some how sustaining a brain that is able to be conscious, it's a miracle animals work at all let alone what they're capable of.
- why my ankles crack when I walk.
- what the future will be like, the world is changing so fast it's likely the future will be nothing like we think and it's coming." - Flaer15
I'm Empty
Fun Floating GIF by Tomas BrunsdonGiphy"My little brain can't comprehend the vast emptiness of space and the fact it supposedly just stretches on forever and never has an end. Kind of wild when you try imagine it."
Like any other muscle or organ in the body, we have to listen when pain is inflicted. We have to recognize discomfort and deal. Why don't we allow the same respect to our brain? It will tell us when enough is enough.
Simplicity...
Work Working GIFGiphy"How a simple calculator works. I can do math. I'm actually very good at it. How does a little plastic box do it though? Always boggled my mind."
Dammit!
"Dates. I am considered a historian by my family due to my knowledge on most world history, but God dang dates... I could be talking about WWII and say it happened the same date as WWI."
Billions of People
"That all the others persons I talk to or see, have their own thoughts, own inner dialogue and own life. For gaming analogy sometimes I just feel like others are NPC and I just can't comprehend that there are more than 7 billions person just like me."
"Sonder...
The profound feeling of realizing that everyone, including strangers passed in the street, has a life as complex as one's own, which they are constantly living despite one's personal lack of awareness of it."
Now That's Too Much!
"Quantum physics."
"I have a PhD in astronomy and MSc in Physics, and had to take ~2 years worth of quantum mechanics courses. It's one of those things where you can take solace that even with all that education on it all I can say is no one else really understands it either."
And the Dark?
"Light isn't affected by time. So... other things could just exist outside of time? Like, if you were a photon that traveled at light speed for a million years and then hit an alien's third butt, you'd experience it as instantly being a million light years away."
- Delica
"A photon moves at the speed of light through space, but is standing still in time."
"A person at rest moves at the speed of light through time, but is standing still in space. When you accelerate through space, you're simultaneously decelerating through time. That's why observers will see your clock slow down when you begin accelerating at relativistic speeds. It's referred to as time and space dilation. Makes more sense once you realize that."
The Process...
"There are people who don't have an internal dialogue with themselves. So, they never question if they are right or wrong. They never wonder if they are treating someone fairly, or if they are nice or mean."
"They can change their minds with no information, but it doesn't involve the process most of us go through when confronted with an opinion, or new data. It's not common, but it's not entirely rare. When I learned about this, I just couldn't understand how it was even possible."
The End
Season 2 Episode 10 GIF by The SimpsonsGiphy"Death, obviously I understand why people die and all that but just thinking what happens afterwards. What's it like for the said person that died, is it just blackness? Is it like they're dreaming??? Reincarnation?? This probably sounds very stupid but I don't care 🤦🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️"
There is so much to learn, and even more that we'll never know. And that's ok. When the brain is full, it's full. Seems like just a part of life. The mysteries will sometimes stay illusive.
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
I wanted to give up, I was flustered and spent way too much time trying to get a great grade in a class that just wasn't clicking for me. What did I do? I had to take a step back and reflect on what I would tell a friend in the same shoes. I would tell them they don't need to be perfect, that getting a C+ in one class wasn't going to wreck their whole GPA, and for the love of God drink water too won't just coffee.
Self-care and stealing extra sleep, even just an hour nap, can go a long way to refreshing your drive. The takeaway really was just to show me the same love and support I'd been putting out to those around me. You deserve it, too!
Redditor peachyjams asked:
"What are some tips for a burnt out student?"
The Reddit community gave this user some wonderful tips and tricks to help with student burnout.
Go at your own pace.
“Don't pressure yourself into 4 years. It's OK to take it slower. Balance out your schedule with more enjoyable elective credits if you can, or just take less courses in a semester if possible.”
“Obviously things like financial aid, living costs (if not living at home) and others may play a factor in how many courses you need to take or how quickly you need to complete college, so if you can't take less courses, talk to your advisor or counselor and work with them to carefully plan out each semester so that your coursework is balanced IE: You don't end up accidentally taking Calculus + "Fun," art class that was 1000x more work than you thought it would be in the same semester.”~zachtheperson
“Burnt out doesn't begin to cover it.”
“I feel very qualified to answer this. I have been in college continuously since I was 18, and I'm now 32. I have 2 years to go before finishing my doctorate. I currently have an associate's, bachelor's, and master's. I have also worked the entire time. Burnt out doesn't begin to cover it. Here is how I stay sane:
- Give school as little bandwidth in your life as possible. "Good enough" are the two most beautiful words in the English language. Get Bs on things. Write your assignments and due dates on a master calendar, block off times to get them done, and try to avoid thoughts of school outside of those blocks.
- To increase productivity during your work blocks, use Freedom or something similar. I paid for a lifetime subscription and in one class alone it paid for itself. It just blocks access to your distractions on the phone and computer while you get stuff done.
- Tackle other hobbies in life that you see progress in outside of school. Even if it feels like school will never ever end and you're on a treadmill of misery going nowhere, you can go somewhere in other areas of your life. I'm currently training for a marathon, just started learning cello, I mentor first gen college students, and I'm in a book club. Pick your poison, but try to put away the laptop and push yourself in a non-academic area.
- Your social needs may vary, but try getting together with other people not in your circle of school misery. Join a sports league (yuck for me but maybe not for you). I host regular dinner parties. Volunteer. Now that vaccines are out, make sure you get one then connect with other people.
- DO NOT TAKE A BREAK. When you stop school even for a semester you know what it's like to be happy and not have the weight of misery pulling you down. You won't want to go back. Slog through and just do it.
- Don't reward yourself with damaging things. Don't eat or drink your rewards for school or you will be unhealthy and unhappy when you're done. Reward yourself with something positive instead."
If I had to recommend one book, it would be 'Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle'. Basically, it goes into the science of feeling burned out, why it's bad for you, and how to fix it on a physiological level."
“If you don't want to read the whole thing, if I could distill the most useful information it would be: exercise. The author digs deep into the science (which I love) behind why it works SO DAMN GOOD, but if you hate science and reading, trust me. Go for a run a few times a week, lift weights, dance a lot, just get your heart rate up. Good luck. School sucks."~bicycle_mice
You don’t have to be perfect.
walking dead love GIFGiphy“If you're an A student I would suggest lowering your personal bar. Being constantly burnt out isn't worth the 0.2 difference in your GPA and if you're worried about career prospects there are always comparable fields that aren't quite as competitive.”
“Trying to get an A in every class takes disproportionally more work. If you can get A's and a few more B's while getting to chill every once and a while and not stressing, do that.”~SlightlyOvertuned
Lists are seriously underrated.
If your sensation is of being overwhelmed (i.e. you have an impossible amount of work to do with no end in sight) more than burnt out (you are exhausted and becoming detached from the work), then two tips:
- Realise that it's not infinite. If you stick it out until graduation (and I hope you do!), then many of the problems you're accumulating will be wiped clear. Perhaps your GPA/final grade won't be as good as you want, but remember that whatever you're facing now - this too shall pass. Knowning that there is an inevitable light at the end of the tunnel is useful for me.
- Make a list. If you are the under-organised type, making a list of things to do each morning on a sheet of paper dramatically reduces the stress level that those items cause you. You can implement some fancy to-do software if you prefer but tbh a daily todo is simpler and more effective...”~alexandicity
A book and a blanket? Make it so.
read new york GIFGiphy“When I was a burnt out student I took solace in a comfort zone activity. Something unrelated to my school work that I could dive into for a little while when I needed a break. For me, this was reading the Lord of the Rings.”
“What works for you depends one what's in your comfort zone, but it should be something that you can easily pick up and put down again when it is time to get back to work.”
“To this day, I still read the Lord of the Rings when I get stressed or overworked. In fact, I am reading it now, for the 48th time.”~khendron
Healthy Routines...
“Lots of things you could try! Sleep. 8 hours a day, wake up spontaneously without an alarm and if you feel the need do a 30-90 minute power nap in the afternoon.”
“Meditate daily, 5-30 minutes to start in the morning or whenever you feel comfortable. Limit the consume of caffeine.”
“Plan a healthy diet you can stick to, reducing the amount of junk food first to focus later on the composition of your main meals, snacks and so on. Eat plenty of greens, fruit, nuts and drink mainly water or sugar free drinks.”
“Take cold showers. Those are a huge boost, especially in the morning. Decompress. As someone said, take the days you need to just do nothing during your week. Last but not least, workout! Start small, build the habit and stick to it!“~Tha_Sin
“...it's pretty normal in our over worked society.”
“Burnout is real. It means you have given too much of yourself to something, and you need to recover. While deadlines don't wait, professors often will. “
“You have to communicate with them if you are struggling. If they are worth their pay, they will do their best to accommodate you. It's unhealthy to continue under so much stress. Be kind to yourself.”
“Nearly everyone experiences this at some point in life, and it's pretty normal in our over worked society. Do what you can to clear your mind. Assign yourself a certain number of hours to completely shift gears away from all these responsibilities.”
“Set an alarm if you have to, but give yourself enough time to reach a stage of full body relaxation. You can try walking, meditating, sleeping, whatever your body needs. Just listen to it! There is no shame here. You must care for yourself and keep a balance. Deep breaths, often.”~VaginaWarrior
“Yes to this advice!! Let teachers know ASAP that you are struggling and often they will be able to make accommodations or offer help. Also, looking into counseling services that are offered through the school is definitely worth taking advantage of while that stuff is accessible and free.”~shannonbta
“because a b*tch needs water...”
“My bad day thing is I have to get up, eat (even if it's takeout), put on fresh bedsheets because if I'm having a bad day in bed it might as well be comfortable and smell good, have a shower (even just shoulders down) and go for even a small walk, even if it's to the shop or to get myself that takeout."
“They're not huge things to do but they're very difficult on some days. And I don't always do them all, maybe I just eat and shower, or go for a walk, or just change my bedsheets. But all of them are small tasks that feel like mountains but once I do one or two of them they're so so easy, and I benefit from them all mentally or physically or both."
“And I have a litre bottle of water and cup of tea at my side at all times because a b!tch needs water and there are few things as comforting as a good cup of tea in a warm mug to me."~thisisausername-2021
“I didn't pull a single all-nighter in my 4 years of undergrad.”
- “Don't listen to your fellow classmates who boast about study 60+ hours a week, they're either exaggerating, straight-up lying, or have an incredibly inefficient study method. There will be times where you really need to be studying hard for extended amounts of time (ex. finals week), but for the vast majority of the semester it is completely unnecessary to do that in order to get a good grade.”
- “If you do find that you need excessive study in order to do okay in a course then you need to reach out to your TA(s) and professor. Most universities have free tutoring services, use them.”
- “Seriously just take more breaks and get more sleep. I didn't pull a single all-nighter in my 4 years of undergrad and now that I'm in med school I don't have any need for that either. Without real breaks and sleep your brain's ability to actually store and organize all the information you've studied goes out the window. This is harder to do if you need to work to support yourself but you need to find some semblance of healthy sleeping habits if you want to be able to make it through all 4 years.”
- “Eat real food. Don't just live off of snack foods and coffee, your brain isn't going to work properly if you don't fuel it. It's generally cheaper to buy canned and frozen fruit and veg so if you're on a budget try those aisles. Additionally, most places have some sort of charity or community pantry/soup kitchen, use it if you need to.You don't need to be completely destitute in order to reach out for help from these places, if you are struggling to make ends meet get help from your community. It is not weak, it is not shameful, it's being smart enough to accept that everyone needs help now and then.”
- “I mean it, don't pay attention to classmates and social media influencers who say they spend all their time studying. They almost definitely aren't and if they are they have an unsustainable view towards work/school that will bite them in the butt later on.”~JSD12345
Treat yourself to a mini-vacation.
“If you have any extra money (I know, easier said than done) book the cheapest AirBNB you can find within the area you can get to with the transportation you have available. Go alone or bring a friend, and have a mini-vacation, just for a night or weekend. It's very refreshing to have a change of scenery, even if it's in your same city.”~goshawkgirl
These are some great ideas to help cope with the all to real burnout. Remember to show yourself the grace you give to others because your best is all you can do.
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.