This past April, during the peak of junior year stress, an immediate family member of mine was diagnosed with an alarming medical condition. Between long drives to the hospital and constantly worrying about my loved one’s health, my world simply felt like it was falling apart.
While my friends and peers were worrying about their latest “B” on an English 11 ADV essay, a drop in their GPA or acceptances to their dream universities, my mind was elsewhere. Everything that used to worry me felt so insignificant in the grand scheme.
Though this experience has been painful to endure, it has taught me an immeasurably valuable lesson: stop sweating the little things.
Everything feels so important at this stage in life. It is developmentally appropriate to be worried about grades, relationship drama and the fact that you accidentally stalked someone’s TikTok without turning off profile views. But the next time you begin drowning yourself in anxiety concerning something so miniscule, I’ll ask you to ground yourself.
Consider how what just happened is going to affect you in the long-term. So many of the little things we agonize over are completely irrelevant in the big picture. Remind yourself of that.
Let me be clear: I’m not trying to diminish the importance of academics or discourage you from pursuing extracurricular opportunities. I am only asking you to prioritize and adjust your emotional attachment to these things accordingly.
Give yourself a break. I promise, when you look back, you’ll realize everything was just no biggie.
