NewsFlash: School doesn't ALWAYS have to be top priority

Growing up, we are taught that school comes first. When our parents meant for us to put school as a top priority, they meant it over certain extracurricular activities and television shows, but as we got older WE started to put school above our physical and mental health. We lose sleep over assignments and skip meals to study. Putting school above our physical and mental health has caused our grades to slip, not get any better. This semester I decided to change my priorities and put my health as number one.

For the past few weeks, I have planned out every night to give myself 8-9 hours of sleep. It took a couple days to get used to the schedule, but now I wake up so much more refreshed and energized. I also plan out how I spend my hours after classes. I set personal time for myself to watch some TV/Netflix, have a healthy meal and to spend a healthy amount of time with friends. I do this because after school, I am too tired to concentrate properly so I give myself a little break.

Before I start my school work, I look at what needs to be done and I split the work so that in between, I allow myself a breather to recollect my thoughts and relax. It helps with procrastination and stress. I find that by splitting my work up this way, I have more time for myself, and I understand the material a lot easier.

School is important, but we need to realize that it really shouldn’t be our TOP priority. It should be up there, but definitely not before your health. I hope this short list of advice helps, and feel free to send me any more tips to add to this blog post!