Each person needs to make sure their own decision regarding a workload is best for them at each point in their life. There should be no shame in deciding to scale back for a semester in order to feel like you are not drowning.

I’ve always been the type of person to bite off more than I can actually chew. I’ve worked since I was 15, I was involved in multiple organizations in high school, I kept my grades up, and I balanced a social life. Oh, and occasionally, sleep.

I thought juggling as much as I did in high school was difficult, but I somehow managed. It seemed like I never had enough time to do everything that needed to be done, but I always seemed to pull through at the last minute. College has been no different for me. I took 15 credits for three semesters, while balancing a job, a social life, extracurriculars, and still trying to take time for myself.

During my third semester, I hit a low point. It was the usual 15 credits I was used to, with a job and an internship on top of my academic priorities. I also thought it would be a great idea to take three English classes at the same time (Spoiler: it was not great).

While the amount of work I had was truly not that much more than any previous semester, the type of work I was doing was absolutely overwhelming. Three English classes meant doing absolutely nothing but reading and writing. While I love doing both of those things, it was awful.

I did not have the time to enjoy myself. I went to class and work, then started my homework. I did about six or seven consecutive hours of work every single night, on top of what I could squeeze in during the day, and I still always felt behind. I was drowning.

Taking on too much led to increased anxiety, constant irritability, and constant stomach aches. My mental stress had actually begun to take a toll on my physical well-being.

I would lie in bed at night and think of nothing but dropping out and getting a dead-end job and living in a crappy apartment somewhere. That became a fantasy to me, so I could escape all the stress I was enduring at school.

The amount of work I was doing was stealing my passion from me. I am a writer who hopes to work in a publishing house, but the mere thought of having to read or write one more damn paragraph made me want to vomit. I had forgotten why I came to school in the first place.

I needed a change in my life, and that meant scaling back academically. I am currently taking 12 credits, but I am not slacking. I am taking care of myself.

When I tell fellow students I am taking 12 credits in comparison to their 15, 18, or even 21 (ew), I receive a lot of condescending looks, and I know they are probably wondering if I am even serious about school in the first place.

I am serious about school, and that’s why I’m taking 12 credits.

There should be no shame in deciding what is best for you at any given point in your life. While academic success is obviously very important and often crucial to making a stable career for oneself, it is more important to take care of your mental and physical wellbeing above all else. In that, there should be no shame.