No age group is safe from the stresses of the modern world. From children dealing with shortening attention spans and questions of suitable screen time to senior citizens facing issues funding healthcare and retirement, there are more significant problems present in society than can be solved in a lifetime. However, young adults live in a brief and privileged window of life where it is acceptable to prioritize other things over solving major problems, but many fail to recognize this opportunity and end up taking life too seriously.
A major factor in this phenomenon is the amount of young adults dealing with the flaws of higher education. Although going to college is a valuable step in setting oneself up for success, statistics provided by The American Institute of Stress offer information to the contrary: 45% of American college students experience “more than average stress,” while only 9% of college students report experiencing “no stress” or “less than average stress.”
Students are often made to feel that they haven’t accomplished enough in their past, overwhelmed with work in the present and scared by the impossibility of entering the workforce and achieving a successful future. All of these stressors detract from the fact that these students are in the prime of their life and should be taking advantage of the numerous benefits of the age they live in.
The Encyclopedia of Sports Medicine and Science states that on average, physical strength peaks in the human body at the age of 25. College students are approaching the height of their physical fitness which will only remain at that level for a short amount of time. A person's early twenties offer the perfect chance to go on adventures in the wilderness or enjoy hedonistic nightlife without paying too high a price the following day.
Additionally, the National Library of Medicine affirms that a person's frontal lobe doesn’t fully develop until the age of 25. These years are the last in a person’s life when they can excusably behave impulsively and with a touch of immaturity, leading to adventures and important memories when this spontaneity is exercised with a reasonable amount of cool-headedness.
The era in which the young adult exists – before reaching full frontal lobe development and after gaining a fair share of life experience – allows them to successfully create a self-preservational balance between work and play, an equilibrium that is crucially important when trying to take life less seriously.
Young adults must still approach certain things with a level of severity, like the aforementioned purpose of attending college: setting up for success. However, it is essential to find the right balance between letting the commitments of college take over a person’s life and abandoning any semblance of structure and efforts toward a successful future.
Young adults will have plenty of time to worry and tackle difficult problems in the later years of adulthood. It should be acceptable for a college student to play hooky every once in a while in exchange for a valuable memory or experience, and it is even more important that young adults don’t waste this pivotal time stressing away their golden years.
Sophia Rooksberry is a junior studying journalism. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk more about it? Let Sophia know by tweeting her @sophiarooks_.
