By Michaiah Varnes\/\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you walk onto any college campus right now, you\u2019ll hear the same phrase repeated by many students: \u201cI\u2019m tired.\u201d The phrase is said half as a joke, half as a coping mechanism, but it remains completely true. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Students collapse into chairs between classes, nap in the library, yawn in meetings and walk around like they\u2019re constantly recovering from something. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The exhaustion students are facing is obvious. Yet the stereotype persists that students are lazy, distracted or unmotivated. These stereotypes are false. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
College students aren\u2019t lazy. They\u2019re overwhelmed, and the world they\u2019re trying to navigate is wearing them down faster than most people realize. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Individuals within the older generations imagine college as a time of freedom, light workloads, part-time jobs and open afternoons. That version of college barely exists anymore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, students are navigating academic expectations that grow every year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Digital learning has made classes more flexible, but it also made it easier for professors to assign more work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Students bounce between online readings, video lectures, textbook chapters, group projects, midnight quizzes and weekly discussion posts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When students finish one thing, another notification is waiting. \u201cNew assignment posted,” or \u201cReminder: \u2018something\u2019 is due tonight.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A student’s sense of being behind never goes away because everything is online. You\u2019re always reachable. You\u2019re expected to respond. You wake up to a wall of notifications from professors, clubs, supervisors, and classmates, all asking for something. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being a student in 2026 means you rarely get a moment of silence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Students face pressure in ways that people may not even realize. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt impacts me even though I only go to school three days a week,\u201d sophomore Lauren Noble said. \u201cThose days are so jam\u2011packed that the rest of the week I\u2019m just studying. I think people assume we have more free time because we\u2019re in class less, but that time is really spent completing assignments and preparing for exams.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s a reminder that the hours spent outside the classroom aren\u2019t free time; they\u2019re the real workload. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s only one layer of the issue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many students also work, not by choice, but because they have to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rising grocery costs, high textbook prices and increasing tuition make working a requirement for most students as a means of survival. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The requirement to work 20-30 hours a week, on top of a full course load, comes at a price. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Late-night shifts followed by early-morning classes drain students long before they reach the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, ironically, students will be judged based on their level of engagement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These factors make for intense emotional strain on students. Anxiety is high, support is thin and they are expected to handle pressure without showing it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The depiction of college life on social media can make everyone else look put-together, adding another layer of quiet stress to those struggling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It creates a perfect storm. Students are trying, but exhaustion makes their effort invisible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What gets dismissed as \u201claziness\u201d is often students catching up on sleep or missing class because burnout finally hits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The real issue isn\u2019t motivation; it\u2019s the unrealistic pressure placed on young people who are expected to perform at full speed despite their circumstances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Erik Messinger, assistant professor of counseling psychology, said burnout is higher than ever among students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYoung people are facing more pressure around school, their futures and the uncertainty of what that future might look like,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s also a pervasive perfectionist attitude or a sense that everything has to be done exactly right.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Messinger added that academic pressure is compounded by financial strain and work obligations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt all feeds into one another,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Messinger believes students often aren\u2019t aware of available mental health resources, or they fear counseling won\u2019t be long-term or affordable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe resources are often there. Students just need to know where to look or who to ask,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Messinger also wants faculty and staff to understand that students can\u2019t simply overlook mental health challenges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe pressures surrounding students can actively make symptoms worse,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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