With final exams fast approaching, a lot of us develop a sort of tunnel vision in regards to how we prioritize the roles and responsibilities we hold in our lives. We may take time out of part-time work, volunteer activities, hobbies, family, and our own health and wellbeing for those extra few hours of cram time.

But what happens when you place all your value into a few final exams and things just don’t turn out as grand as you had hoped? When every day for two weeks straight looks the same because you have it set in your mind that if you take a break from studying, you won’t do well? When you put all your energy into these exams, your self worth feels as if it is directly linked to their outcome.

Today, I had a check-in with a mentor of mine for a leadership position I hold, which involves volunteering at a community placement as part of my role, and she asked me, “How does your role at your placement reflect the goals you’ve set for yourself?”

I thought on this for a second.

And then I responded: “I like that when I go in to volunteer at my placement I can just be there and leave everything else at the door. I like that the purpose is not to achieve some set in stone quantitative standard, but rather, the support and services that the centre provides to the community strive towards a set way of being – it has a purpose much greater than all of its parts, and the care that is provided to its patrons is individualized. When I go there, I feel like I’ve made an impact on something bigger and that just sends shivers down my spine – its very rewarding.” I said this with a dopey grin on my face.

I’m a student, just like all of you, and I too get caught up in maintaining a high GPA and gaining achievements that will put me in a competitive position in my chosen career path. However, at the end of the day, all the academic, professional, and other goals you set for yourself are merely stepping stones into achieving the ideal – that is: shaping who you’re going to be in ten, twenty, fifty years from now.

So I challenge you: don’t just set goals, set ideals.

Ask yourself, “Who? Who do I want to be in 10 years?” and then identify what experiences and/or aspects of your life will help shape the identity you want to create for yourself, that one that will allow you to wake up with a smile on your face and butterflies in your stomach each and every morning and think, It’s satisfying to be me today. And every night, challenge yourself to do better.

You may not always get it right, but you can try.

So while you’re putting all your focus into your exams, don’t forget about all the other things that make you who you are and that make you feel like you have a purpose on this planet, greater than yourself.

And don’t forget to smile and always chase the butterflies!

Nevena :3

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