Creative Writing: Mental Survival—What I Wish I Knew The First Time School Made Me Feel Overwhelmed(12-01-2026)

Hi, it's your favorite steemian @purpleidy23.The first time school truly overwhelmed me, it didn't happen during exams or result week. It happened in a normal week, one of those weeks that looks normal outside but feels heavy on the inside. Back to back lectures, assignments and fee deadlines were quietly approaching and expectations were loud in my head and there was that unspoken pressure to keep it together and be okay.

I remember sitting in front of my reading table with my books, notes wide spread on my desk. Everything I needed was just in front of me yet I couldn't focus. I skimmed through every pages of my study material but nothing was sinking. The more time passes, the more I became guilty. I kept telling myself that I should be studying, others were doing it. So why can't I? I was lost and couldn't find a perfect answer to my question. In that moment, I didn't think I was overwhelmed, I thought something was wrong with me, I thought I was weak and lazy. ‎What I didn't understand was that my mind was tired long before my body was, School was slowly piling things on me... assignments, expectations, comparison and feat of falling behind and I never stopped to put them behind because that's what students are taught or expected to do. Keep going, don't complain and grind harder.

‎

What I wished I knew earlier was that being overwhelmed does not mean being weak, lazy, or failing. It means you're human. School rarely prepares you for the mental weight and stress that comes with it, It teaches you how to meet up with deadline but not how to cope when everything feels like too much. It teaches you to aim high but not how to handle the fear of disappointing yourself.

Sometimes, the hardest part of school isn't the workload, it's carrying everything silently all by yourself. Smiling in class while your mind is scattered, showing up every day even when it feels like you could barely hold up. If I could go back to that version of myself, I won't tell her to keep trying harder, I'd tell her to pause. To take a breather without feeling guilty, to know that asking for help is not a sign of weakness but a form of self respect. To let her know that rest is not something you earn after exhaustion but something you need to survive.

‎

Mental survival in school isn't about discipline or motivation, it's about kindness. Being kind enough to admit to yourself that you're tired, that you need to slow down when you feel overwhelmed. Kind enough to not only measure your worth by productivity alone. You don't have to have everything all figured out, sometimes, surviving this season alone is already enough. Have a good night rest, until I come your way next time.

‎ ‎ ‎

_{Posted using SteemX}