Tristan T.
Photography by Cassie English
If you're reading this, you are not alone in searching to feel content.
It was not until starting university that I realized my struggle with finding this feeling. I generally consider myself a motivated person, but at many points in my life I have found myself pursuing things to avoid spending time alone out of the fear of my lack of contentment. I have felt for years now a personal pressure to avoid the feeling of contentment as I associate the feeling with being stagnant and a negative to all of my pursuits, as well as the opposite end of forcing myself to accomplish things out of the hope and chase of the feeling itself.
This is something that I still struggle with daily, and I want others to know that there is always hope in the people around them. From my experience, I believe that many people struggle with this feeling and are constantly looking to make the most of things in an unhealthy manner. I think that hope lies first in acknowledgment of this factor, followed by the desire to be easier on yourself. Much of the struggle seems to come from the thought that it isn’t as big of an issue because of the false narrative that “at least while searching for contentment, you are being productive”. My hope would be that anyone struggling with this issue would not fall into this trap, and instead take time to genuinely care for yourself.
Easing into hobbies that are still productive but mainly for your mental or physical health is a great way to start this, and I think often leads to healthier perceptions of what it means to be content. The overwhelming nature of university contributes to the difficulty of feeling content, but I cannot emphasize enough that from my experience, the most important thing that you need to work towards feeling content is simply being yourself.
Tristan T., Arizona State University ‘24
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