print(‘Hello Burnout’)

by Michelle Lian

'I've been living in a daze. I tried so hard to not fall behind and to not be mistreated as if my life depended on it. But looking back, the one who's been mistreating me the most was myself.' - Lee Yeo Reum (Summer Strike, 2023).

We've all encountered those spirals down the Instagram algorithm, of back-to-back productivity reels of people who have refined studying down to a delicate artform. Long captions of 20-something year olds who somehow have a 5 year paid internship, flawless GPAs, large friend groups and enough time for a daily trip to $6.5 matchas (@Unimelb please sponsor MUPA with free-flowing caffeine). Surrounded by subliminal messaging to donate your 20s to 'buckling down' to afford the deteriorating cost of living crisis, Gen Z is feeling the effects of grind culture now more than ever.

With each career field growing increasingly ruthless, many students feel the need to go above and beyond just to keep up with the flow of others, equally as desperate, equally as talented, competitors. These days, it’s easy to feel like Jay Gatsby (my soft spot for 90's Leonardo DiCaprio is showing), scrambling up the barracks to reach that elusive green light across the bay – it’s symbolism of true success was of course, a complete figment of his imagination.

And where does that lead? To a one-way trip to burn out, exhausted beyond belief but not having the results to show for it, fighting with yourself to keep pouring energy out of emptiness. And while a couple hundred words most definitely can’t even begin to comprehend the complexities of each person’s life experiences, let me take the liberty to gently remind you, the reader, of how well you’re doing.

It is enough.

Whatever you’re doing, be proud of your ability to do so.

It seems almost natural to drift into thoughts like: happiness is an easy sacrifice for working harder, that it’s a necessary compromise for future success, that other people aren’t slowing down yet. And while elements of truth are intertwined in those words, the absoluteness of them also fails to encompass the nuances of our struggles and our life values. Just like how amongst the packed trams, looming skyscrapers and surging crowds of Melbourne, there remains crisp winter air, branches of magnolia trees bursting with pastel pink and European-esque balconies painted with bright splashes of blue. These dichotomies of chaos and calm live side-by-side even in the city we live in, and so, we must learn to have them live within us as well.

So.

If the chaos and stress within you is bubbling up, taking up so much space that it feels hard to breathe, I want you to remember:

‘Sometimes, it’s okay to do nothing. We’re all guilty of not being in the present … completely ignoring carpe diem for the future us to be happy. So, if you suddenly feel like doing nothing … it’s okay to, you deserve rest too.’ (Summer Strike, 2023).

Spoken perfectly by my current favourite K-drama.

You deserve rest too.