This past year really seems like an eternity. With the stress and anxiety from being cooped up at home, having to go to work amid a pandemic (essential workers) or continuing work through Zoom, it’s no wonder mental health issues are on the rise. Thus, it is most vital that we learn to step back and take care of ourselves.

As a student, I can’t wait until summer break comes. Having a long winter break was excellent, but I do wish we would have had a spring break as well. Just trying to keep up with school work and stay sane has been an enormous struggle. I know many other students (and lots of other people) feel the mental toll during this pandemic.

This past week, I decided not turning in some homework was the best usage of my time. Instead, I gave permission to myself to just enjoy the day off. I felt so much better. This is not something I normally do, being the kind of student who does all their homework all the time, but these are not “normal times.”

Luckily, for many students, it looks like Iowa State will be going back to some sort of “normal” in the fall of 2021.

I was at a Zoom meeting with former DOT Director Nancy Richardson. One of her significant lessons was that we should “work to live, not live to work.” This stayed with me.

I’ve been so caught up working on work and school that I had started to forget why I was doing all of it — jumping from one thing to the next to only stopping when I got burned out, then restarting somehow and doing it all over again.

There is a saying that goes, “If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life.” While this is good, I don’t know that it is realistic. Work is work, any way you slice it. I love learning and having the opportunity to pursue my dreams, but it’s work.

Many times, you have to take care of your mental health first. Nothing else will matter if you are not OK, much like how we are instructed to put our own oxygen masks on in an airplane in case of decompression. At some point, you need to look after yourself.

Whether that’s taking walks, listening to music, playing video games or whatever else you enjoy doing, make sure you take a moment to do that. We are so much more productive when we feel rested than when we are tired and barely hanging on.

The other day, I was supposed to do something around mid-morning, but I’d been up since 4:30 a.m., so instead of continuing to do what I was doing, I took a quick nap. I went from being a zombie and going through the motions to actually feeling awake and ready for work.

I used to say, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” That sounds so silly to me now. Sleep is critical to our well-being, and I don’t want to wait until I’m dead to sleep.

Now, not everyone can take a nap during the day like I did. Instead, look for ways to get that extra few minutes of sleep that may be done by going to bed 15 minutes earlier than usual or putting your alarm at the actual time you will wake up instead of snoozing.

Whether you are doing something you love to do or not, remember to take time for yourself. We can continue to press snooze on our mental health, but at some point, it may be too late. Let’s not wait until the water well breaks.