To the Student Who's Tired of Trying, But Doesn't Want to Give Up Yet

When you're struggling as a student, it's easy to think you're the only one who's having it tough. The classes you attend and have no idea what the lecturer is talking about are those you'll still see the scholars arguing about. They even understand it enough to have contracting opinions, but to you, the lecturer was speaking Swahili.

Then there's looking at what your mates are achieving. You go on LinkedIn and you see your coursemate or friend in the faculty talking about the internship they landed, hackathon they won, or scholarship they bagged. Meanwhile, you're trying to figure out what is even going on this semester before you think of how to survive and move on.

Feeling behind is so easy, but the thing is, many other students feel the same way. They're dealing with stress, burnout, financial pressure, family responsibilities, academic challenges, and self-doubt. They just don't always show it.

Feeling lost doesn't mean you're failing. It's part of being human, and what you feel is experienced by others too.

Comparison has a way of turning a difficult semester into an impossible one. One person seems to have their entire future mapped out while you're still trying to survive this week.

It's easy to start questioning yourself: "Why am I not where they are?", "What am I doing wrong?", “Is something wrong with me?”, and the iconic “God when?”

But everybody's journey is different. What you're seeing is only a small part of someone's story. You don't see the setbacks they've faced, the sacrifices they've made, or the challenges they're dealing with behind the scenes. It's just like comparing someone's stage 10 to your stage 2. You don't have the full picture.

Your progress doesn't become less valuable because someone else is moving at a different pace. Focus on your lane. The goal isn't to be ahead of everyone else, but to keep moving forward.

When you think of progress, you think of better grades, completed goals, and big achievements. But there's also growth that happens quietly, like attending classes even when you don't feel like it and studying for an hour when the cold, rainy weather keeps inviting you to bed. It's also trying again after failing and asking questions to expand your understanding and learn from your mistakes.

You don't really think much of those moments, but they matter. Growth isn't always visible while it's happening. Sometimes you're learning resilience, building discipline or just proving to yourself that you can keep going even when things are difficult.

Fixing your entire semester in a day may not be very feasible but there's still something you can do to change your current situation. It's not about having a perfect study plan or becoming the most productive version of yourself overnight.

Start with something small and doable. It could be attending that one lecture you just don't understand, reading one chapter out of 18 you have for a course, one assignment out of the numerous others with pending deadlines, or just one hour of focused work. The small efforts will compound over time to yield meaningful results.

Successful students aren't always the smartest in the class or the most talented. They're simply the ones who keep showing up even when it's hard.

When things get overwhelming, it's easy to pull away from others, stop asking questions and reach out. The only sound thinking then may be to figure everything out alone, but it's not the case.

Support matters. Sometimes all it takes is one conversation with a friend, classmate, mentor, or lecturer to remind you that you're not carrying everything by yourself.

When you're part of a community that understands what you're going through, things become easier. Navigating university isn't a solo journey. We're stronger when we have people we can trust.

As you continue grinding this semester with tests, assignments and exam preparation, give yourself a little credit. You've overcome more than you think. You've handled challenges that nobody else fully understands and you didn't quit even when the semester became tough.

One semester does not define your future.

One bad result does not define how brilliant you are, because examination is not the true test of knowledge. If you're going through a hard time, you still have time to learn, grow and opportunities ahead of you.

When else you feel like giving up, take a moment to look at how far you've already come. For what it's worth, you're still here. Keep showing up for yourself.