It has been a week of busy days and tiring nights, having to juggle between two schools with their examinations, and house duties. Oh, and not forgetting that my ol’ friend - mental health.
This week was school re-opening and the start of the examinations and CATs’ period. So everybody is everywhere with people rushing to get past papers and to ‘study’ and revise. Lecturers are all putting the CATs in fixed times so there is basically no time to catch a breath. But this is what we students wanted right, enjoy the festive times of December and push ALL exams and CATs to the start of the year, which we hoped wouldn’t come, but here it is, biting us all in the ass.
The university has its exams, and the second institution where I’m continuing my complimentary courses is also having a daily (Mon - Sat) timetable of classes. So I wake up, go to campus, at evening head over to town to do the courses, making me to arrive early in the night at home, to start wondering what on earth I’m gonna have for supper.
The chunks of free time I had last year I used to wish I had a busy life. I used to consider it a waste not doing anything substantial all day other than attend lectures and finish assignments. I remember when my sister used to work in some appliances store and she used to tell me how her busy days make her so tired, and my unexperienced head would tell her I crave for a busy and pressure-filled life. I remember, and I quote myself, “I like to feel pressure in my life”. Remember the interviews you say you can work well under pressure? Yea, well we both know those are lies now. I’ve realized I just had nothing going on in my life for the longest!
This week as I was trying to convince my mind that this is just the beginning of a very different trajectory of my life, I’ve had sleepless, very tired and nightmare nights. Some nights all three together. Too tired to sleep, yet tired enough that I should sleep, because the next day is another bustle of a day. And when I do get even a little shut eye I have the most gut-wrenching nightmare from all the fantasies and realities I had during the day.
Basically I have not had one normal night this week.
A friend of mine studying medicine in my university told me how since he joined campus, he does not remember the last time he had lunch. Ever since they started classes and sessions in first year, it has been heads down until now that he’s in his third year of medical school. Rarely does he get free time, especially during school days. And even during the holidays he’s caught up in research, or interning at some local hospital to get that all important hands-on experience.
Most other people, even my sister, works from 8am to at least 8pm in the night, before she can even start thinking of how to get home and what to eat. Sometimes I see single mothers who break their backs doing miniature jobs up until late just to get back home to starving children who expect something to eat for the night. And they wake up the next day to start it all over again, as if their backs are not already messed up from all the work they do. And never will you hear them complain of their short nights and extremely long days.
Putting all these into consideration, I realized I am way better off with my little “busy-ness”. In the realest sense, there’s nothing busy about it, I just have a fixed schedule from morning to night, 6 days of the week. And I was just not used to it. It’s definitely nothing compared to what other people might be going through everyday. In the words of a song I love: ‘This is it, boys. This is war. What are we waiting for?’
I gotta get used to it and adapt before it starts getting real tough.
How do you deal with long days, and nights? Nights that you retire to bed feeling overwhelmed and never wanting to get up again?
Your <reply> would be of great help to me as I tackle my own battles🙂.
Reagan..✍🏽
