Run Away From Your Problems
When your stress level is maxed out and you feel completely overwhelmed, sometimes the best idea is the most tempting one: Run away from it all.
It’s easy to get caught up in the stress of Midterm season. Days blend together in a haze of lectures, labs, essays, and never-ending studying. Homework becomes the main point of conversation, it controls all thoughts and determines social interaction. It’s easy to become disconnected from those around you and begin to feel slightly out of sync with the world.
It’s important to remember that all these day-to-day things don’t make up the whole picture. Yes it is important to have an education and to do well in school. It is just as important to create balance. So when school begins to take over every aspect of our daily lives, my advice: Get as far from school as possible.
A couple of my friends and I did this the other day. We impulsively decided to go on a beach camping trip.
Exploring Sombrio Beach
At first, it was tough to clear our heads of school. Chem lab prep, calculus assignments, biology readings, my list of homework circled my mind. As we got further and further from campus we all began feeling slightly more relaxed.
The road became narrower and quieter until suddenly we turned around a corner and were presented with the most incredible of views. The chemistry homework I had been working on lay forgotten in my lap, the sparkling ocean and distant mountains cleared all thoughts from my head.
Evening walks along the shore
We arrived at Sombrio beach, parked, and hauled our bags down the path. When we walked out onto the shore the three of us were filled with quiet awe. It wasn’t just the driftwood and sunny blue sky that took our breath away. It was the fact that we are lucky enough to be living in this incredible place. It was the fact that the three of us had met at UVic and now were able to get out and explore together, no homework involved.
We picked a lovely spot of beach to set up. We spent the evening laughing, sharing stories, playing the ukulele (not very well) and running barefoot along the rocky shoreline. Any thoughts of homework and school were locked in the back of the car, along with our textbooks.
Waking up to the sound of waves crashing along the shore in a slightly damp sleeping bag. Drinking tea as the sun rises over the ocean. Having cold toes and a cold nose. Laughing with friends. Feeling the sun on your cheeks. This is what life is about.
It is about connection. To people, to nature, to the world around us.
It is easy to forget all this in the midst of school, but it is incredibly important to actively remind ourselves that there is a whole world out there to explore. And we are lucky enough to live in a country where we have the freedom that allows us to do this.
So, make that impulse decision. Instead of procrastinating, get some work done and then leave it all behind for a while. Clear your mind of all things school related, even if only for an hour, or two, or a weekend.
Run away from your schoolwork, clear your mind, and return feeling connected, more balanced and with a refreshed perspective.
