𝘃𝗶𝗮 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗹 𝗔𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝗮𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘇, 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀
Dear Diary,
I don’t remember the last time I wasn’t tired. Not the “I stayed up too late” tired — the deep, brain-fog, emotionally-drained, body-feels-heavy kind of tired. I’m sixteen, and I already feel like I’m burning out.
In theory, these are supposed to be the best years of my life. But between Physics and Biology classes, extracurriculars, constant pressure to "build a college resume," and pretending I'm okay when I'm not — it feels like I’m stuck in a race I didn’t sign up for. And I know I’m not alone.
Every day at school, I see it: classmates falling asleep in class, others crying quietly in the bathroom between periods, some just... checked out. A lot of us joke about “mental breakdowns” like it’s normal. It kind of is.
Burnout isn't just about being busy — it’s about being pushed past your limits so long you forget what it’s like to feel okay. For me, it started with saying “yes” to everything. I thought that’s what I was supposed to do: join clubs, keep my grades up, volunteer, work a part-time job, help out at home. But now, I feel like I’m doing all these things just to prove I'm enough — and none of it actually feels like mine anymore.
What makes it worse is that the world keeps asking for more. Our grades aren’t just grades — they’re future college acceptance letters, future jobs, future lives. We’re told to be exceptional, but also told we’re lazy. We’re expected to be informed and mature, but also blamed when we speak out. We’re told to take care of our mental health — but only after everything else is done.
Social media makes it even harder. Everyone looks like they’re thriving. Perfect skin, straight 98s, perfect bodies, smiling friend groups. Meanwhile, I’m refreshing my homework page at midnight and wondering why I can’t get my life together. Even on break, I feel like I should be doing something — learning a skill, starting a passion project, “being productive.” Rest feels like guilt.
We’re growing up in a world that feels like it's falling apart. Climate change. Wars. School shootings. AI replacing jobs before we even get to apply for them. Some days, it’s hard to imagine a future because the present already feels like too much.
Adults keep saying we’re resilient. That we’ll bounce back. But resilience doesn’t mean we’re okay. It just means we’re surviving. And I don’t want to just survive. None of us do.
We don’t need motivational posters in classrooms or another wellness app we won’t use. We need systems that don’t treat us like robots. We need teachers who understand that life happens outside of school. We need parents who ask “how are you really?” instead of just checking grades. We need space to just be teenagers — to mess up, to explore, to breathe.
Burnout shouldn’t be a rite of passage. It should be a warning sign — one that the adults in power can’t afford to ignore any longer.
If you’re another student like me, just know you’re not weak for feeling this way. You’re not broken. You’re tired — and you’re allowed to be.
And if you’re a teacher, a parent, or someone older who cares: don’t wait until we crash to take us seriously. Start now. Start by listening.
Because we’re not lazy. We’re not dramatic.
We’re just really, really tired.
