Lighten your load. Only do what you can handle. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. This is advice that I have always chosen to ignore, until now.

It wasn’t until now that I realized that I am not Superwoman, but a mere woman putting an unrealistic amount of pressure on herself.

I’m here to warn you against doing the same.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always strived to work hard. One of my main goals in life has been to climb the ladder of success. This often means signing up for as many opportunities as possible. Every time I come across an internship opening or position that I feel will help me advance, I ask for the application.

Just like when I realized that it would be possible for me to graduate in three and a half years. I overloaded myself with courses in an effort to prove that I could do it. This has meant going to school year-round since enrolling in college in August of 2010.

No summers off.

For a while, I’ve been trying to balance the pressures of that goal along with my other unrealistic expectations of succeeding. This semester in particular exemplifies that. I am enrolled in 21 credit hours, I’m an active member of the National Association of Black Journalists, a column writer and a lab monitor for University Housing. With all those responsibilities, my to-do list never ends, and there’s no such thing as free time.

And if I’m not doing something, then I probably should be.

My days often spill over each other, meaning that my Monday doesn’t really end until early Tuesday morning and so on and so forth. And although, I’ve been trying to hang tough, I’ve realized that sometimes you have to let things go. I’ve realized that sometimes we come up short, and while to me that is a huge failure, there are just certain things I can’t do.

Monday showed me this. It was the first time that I could physically feel all of my stress. It was as if someone was pushing my heart under water as it defiantly tried to stay afloat. My workload was heavy as I had a writing assignment due in my communication class, an exam in my advertising class, two new courses began, I had to complete three assignments for just one of my journalism classes and this column was due.

Normally, on a Monday like this, work would loom on the horizon. But I caught a break and someone picked up my shift. However, I was still only running off of three hours of sleep with much to be done.

It was all of this that made me realize that my ambition and desire to succeed at all costs has been mentally and physically taking a toll on my body. It was this that made me realize that everyone has their breaking point, and if I don’t take care of myself I will soon find it. 

Even my family members have been concerned, constantly asking me to slow down and only do what I can bear. Their support and love has always driven me to work hard, and their concern is also one of the things that has forced me to slow down.

So, the first step toward lightening my load is letting some things go. Unfortunately, one of those things is this column. Even now as I type this, part of me is convinced that I’m nothing more than a quitter, while the other half knows it’s for the best.

I just want to say that I am not jumping ship in the middle of the ocean but instead choosing to relax on the deck a little bit. I appreciate each and every one of you who have taken the time to read my columns. I’ve grown so much from this experience.

This explanation may come off as nothing more than a complaint. Many of you may say, “So what? All you’re doing is complaining.”

Complaining is not what I intend, and trying to avoid that label is a big reason that I’ve kept at this for so long. I was scared of what everyone would think if I gave up and I didn’t want everyone to think I was whining, but at the end of the day that doesn’t matter.

I’ve realized that you have to do what’s best for you, to ensure that you are mentally and physically healthy.

So if you’re pushing yourself toward a goal and it’s starting to take a toll on you, lighten your load because only you know what you can carry.

Ta’les is a senior in Media. She can be reached at [email protected].