When my mother first suggested I try out yoga, I initially dismissed her. Why? The first image that pops into my head when I think of a yoga-goer is a super skinny, petite person bending into seemingly impossible shapes. Being a traditional martial artist, yoga seemed like an incredible waste of time to dedicate to breathing. However, after my first class at a hot yoga studio, I was surprised to feel how intense this activity I assumed to be passive could be. Throughout the hour, I became more aware of each and every breath and felt more alert. As college students, we spend much of our time trying to increase our productivity with triple-shot espresso drinks and Red Bull. Despite so much time and effort dedicated to this end, why do we ignore the most obvious solution?
While it is easy to preach time management and self-care, it’s far more difficult to practice these things during 10-week terms at Dartmouth. Papers, group projects, and midterms pile up, leading to all-nighters and mental health days devoted to finishing work. We could probably avoid this predicament if we were more deliberate with our time. Having attended a STEM high school, I developed a variety of work habits, some beneficial and others not so much. While my coursework was intellectually stimulating, my four years in high school were not my healthiest. At Dartmouth, I see myself slipping into the same old habits of working late into the night or early into the morning to the detriment of my long-term health. Since classes and extracurricular activities often prolong our days at Dartmouth, it becomes even harder to prioritize activities. At some point, we all begin to question the importance of having a work-life balance. For me, perhaps the most important takeaway from Orientation was the following quote, “At Dartmouth, you cannot do everything. You cannot do everything well. Choose wisely.” It wasn’t like I hadn’t heard this before. My high school’s principal made a similar remark during his welcome address, “Grades, sleep and social life. You can only pick two.” At Dartmouth, it can be difficult to keep just one of these three in check.
Speaking to upperclassmen, I felt both inspired and disappointed by their perspective on academics at Dartmouth. While some were very enthusiastic about extracurricular commitments and senior theses, they didn’t seem to feel the same way about distributive requirements and everyday work. Classes taken to meet distributive requirements were consistently referred to as “lay-ups” for providing a much-needed GPA boost and “knocking out a distrib.” During these conversations, something became clear to me. When we are so dismissive of its broader mission, it seems counterintuitive to invest so heavily in a liberal arts education. Instead of complaining about increased rigor as a result of the “Moving Dartmouth Forward” initiative, maybe we should reconsider our approach to academics itself. Is it necessary to cut corners and take “layups?” Would we not gain a larger return on investment from taking intellectually stimulating courses, albeit with lower medians?
Perhaps the courses themselves are not necessarily at fault and, instead, our disregard for mental health is actually to blame. Although there are many resources available on campus, including the Student Wellness Center and the Counseling & Human Development Office at Dick’s House, many students struggle to find the guidance and help they need. Unfortunately, “Duck Syndrome,” or the pressure to display a façade of achievement in all aspects of college life and hide struggles, is common among students at Dartmouth. We all need to realize that keeping up appearances does more harm than good. Awareness goes beyond the scope of academics. We shouldn’t just be aware of our difficult courseloads, but of other aspects of our well-being. We should be mindful of our expectations and limitations. As Dartmouth students, we set high standards for ourselves. But, we should also remember that failure has the potential to promote personal growth. Failure can be worth accepting if we can learn from it. It should not be considered weak to take the time to look after your health. It is okay to understand that we, sometimes, cannot do everything.
