The truth being a Uni student

In uni, the pressure to “live your best life” hits from every angle. Not just socially, but professionally too. It’s not only parties or club hangouts you feel obligated to attend.
It’s the career fairs. The LinkedIn workshops. The networking events. The “build your CV” events.

You run yourself into the ground trying to go to all of them because you’re scared you’ll fall behind if you don’t.
Everyone else seems to have a killer resume, a side hustle, a start-up idea, and a mentor they met at some coffee chat.

So you keep saying yes, even when your body and mind say no.

When you attend all these events, you tell yourself you’re being productive. You’re being “driven.” You’re making the most out of your student years. And while this is true some of the time, it is sometimes a socially acceptable way of avoiding the uncomfortable silence of one’s own thoughts.

You pack your calendar not just to grow, but to fill a void, a sense that if you’re not constantly “doing,” you’re not “enough.”

And suddenly, your mind starts spiralling.
You become overwhelmed with the thought of managing your part-time job, assignments, internship all while still making time for friends and family.

At first, you brush it off. Maybe you’re just having a rough week. Maybe next week will be better.
But then, it keeps happening.
Again and again.

It’s Okay to Say “No”

Somewhere along the way, it feels like “no” is the dirty word. Like you turn down the invite, whether is a networking event, career panel discussion or even just a coffee catch up. You instantly see it as boring, unmotivated, or it’s not helping your future at all.

But here’s the reality, it’s okay to say no. And you should say no when you need to.

Saying no doesn’t mean you are wasting opportunities. It means you are protecting your energy. It means you are giving yourself space to recharge so that when you said yes, you can show up with presence and purpose, instead of going through the motions on autopilot.

It might feel scary or FOMO at first. But in the long run, respecting your limits is what actually sustains you.

 

Recognising the Pattern

You begin to notice it’s not just stress, it’s a cycle that’s stealing your energy.
You rushed from event to event, class to class, professional advice to networking events. You might technically show up, but you aren’t really there. You are too tired to absorb everything, too burned out to make real connections, and too distracted to remember what you even learned.

It feels like you are doing a lot, but you’re not experiencing a lot.

That’s when it hit you:
Saying yes to everything ends up leaving you with nothing, no focus, no energy, and no space to process what you just learned.
You realised you are just chasing opportunities out of fear instead of purpose. And in doing so, you’re missing the point of why you wanted to grow in the first place.

 

Reclaiming Your “Yes”

Realising the pattern is the first step. It doesn’t mean you have to stop showing up. It means choosing to engage deeply instead of engaging constantly.
By taking the time to rest, reset, and look after yourself, you build the capacity to truly be present the next time you say yes.

Rest isn’t a break from growth.
Rest enables growth.

So the next time that invite pops up and you feel you are about to crash out, pause and ask yourself:
“Will this help me grow, or is it just another thing to tick off?”

There’s a Chinese saying that might help you remember this:
“Rest is a necessary investment for a longer journey.”