What’s a monet?

By Farah Al Saeed

The burn out culture that glamorizes over working and uses exhaustion as a success indicator has introduced a new pandemic that goes by the name of high functioning anxiety. It’s a deadly disease that eats away at your peace of mind and associates your biggest achievements with your biggest fears. The symptoms of high functioning anxiety are increased heart rate, insomnia, a permanent pit in your stomach, chronic dissatisfaction, and overworking until burnout. As I stood there accepting praise for completing my MBA program, all I could think of was: But my grades are not out yet. Yes, I have a 4.0 GPA, but the status of my last semester remained unknown. What if I failed those last two classes? What if I didn’t really graduate?  What if I did graduate, but I don’t have a solid plan yet? What if I never get accepted into a PhD program? What if I do nothing real with my MBA? What if I stop here? What if I don’t stop here, but fail? As my nails dug into my palms and my pulse raced to my ears, my “achievement” of earning a second degree caused me so much anxiety. We normalize sacrificing everything including our mental health for the sake of the grind, but what is point of succeeding if you can’t enjoy it? Success looks very different from the outside, but the closer you get to it the more you realize how far it really is. So, when do you stop?

Taking a nap does not make you lazy. Socializing with your friends does not make you unambitious. Taking a moment to bask in your success does not mean you stopped trying. This is a reminder that it’s okay to slow down. It’s okay to pause. It’s okay to not want more. 

In true millennial fashion, the answer to the headline is the following dialogue from the iconic movie clueless:

  Cher: “It's like a painting, see? From far away, it's OK, but up close, it's a big ol' mess”