If you find your mind dwelling too long on something, you’ve definitely experienced these struggles in your social circles and at school. With the school year winding down for two more months, let us reminisce about all of these experiences that we have faced during the school year:
1. Your friends have gotten used to your zoning out and staring off into space.
As you start thinking about something that happened years ago… You are considered the “most oblivious” one in your friend group!
2. Your mind goes into a state of panicked frenzy if your friends are late to a gathering.
Are you at the right location? Did you remember the right date? Right time? Are these people ACTUALLY your friends? It’s definitely not something that could be solved with a text message to your friends…
3. Speaking of text messages, sending texts and emails are an incredibly painstaking process.
Each message is read over at least thrice for spell check and grammar, and there’s always the panic and anticipation that comes with waiting for the reply – if not within 5 minutes, you DEFINITELY said the wrong thing.
4. Asking for favours from friends, family, teachers, and strangers is a nerve-wracking process.
Your mind jumps a few steps ahead and you’re already anticipating their reaction based on some detailed analytics into their facial expressions and overall mood- and regardless, they’re definitely not going to be super accommodating.
5. Phrases like “See me in my class after school,” “Go to the main office, they called for you,” and “Hey, can I ask you something” prompt an onslaught of thoughts about everything that you could have possibly done wrong.
6. Your synapses don’t fire faster than when you’re about to present- prepared or impromptu.
When you’re volun-TOLD to be the representative of your group to present, you plan out EXACTLY what you’re going to say to make it as eloquent as possible (and heck, you establish what you’re definitely not going to talk about either), as well as every possible question that the audience might ask. And then you might rehearse it a couple of times in your head too – but somehow the real thing never turns out how you expect or want it to be…
7. In English class, you go into the deepest thought processes when analyzing texts – especially poetry.
There are some English teachers who appreciate these connections to symbolism even though you’re going off onto wild tangents – but no, the flower pot on the corner of the windowsill probably doesn’t represent security and giving and (insert some other words that allude to themes of the text).
8. But in terms of analyzing texts, reading comprehension exams are some of the most agonizing hours in school.
It is so difficult choosing the “best” answer because there might be right in all of the answers. Your thought process probably goes something like this: “Alright, by process of elimination, it is either A or C… A makes sense, but in this situation where this is like that, C would be correct… I’ll put down A for now” *While coming back to check* “…OH but now that I think about it, it could be B too.”
9. In writing exams, you wonder how some people can churn out entire essays in a timed environment without proper preparation.
Even after figuring out WHAT you’re going to say, it’s a struggle to figure out HOW you’re going to present your ideas. It takes an average of several seconds to type each word – and it’s not because you type slow.
10. If you ever get something incorrect on a test, your teachers have said the phrase “you just overthought it” too many times to count.
As long as there is a situation/example where my answer on a multiple choice question would apply, you WILL argue the question back. It’s even worse when your mind leads you away from your gut answer, which turns out to be correct!
11. Even so, dedicating more time to ponder over something has saved you a countless number of times.
Maybe it’s not helpful when it’s at the point of extreme anxiety, but overthinking can lead to a wide imagination and healthy mind – and you might have saved yourself by going through an extra check in your head before you leave the house or a public venue. After all…Â better safe than sorry!
