Everything is due. I’m exhausted. So here’s a guide to romanticise school.
Term is starting. Homework is piling. Exams are coming. All the motivation you scattered up during the holidays? Gone. School is brutal, we all know that, however we also know about ‘romanticising’ . So, let’s do it! And no, I’m not talking about highlighting your whole book with pastel pink and blue or playing the same lofi-beat on repeat. That’s child’s play. I’m talking about extreme romanticisation. So deep, it could help you cope with three internals, and a group project with classmates who ghost you. Welcome to the art of romanticising school, so you don’t cry in week 9.
Mindset
The art of ‘romanticising’ something is a mind game of its own. Romanticising school isn’t all just about glitter pens, but rather, waking up in the morning and believing your suffering is a type of symbolism. Romanticizing starts from your head. You don’t need overpriced aesthetic notebooks. You need unfiltered, raw delusions. The pouring rain isn’t weather, it’s a mood. You’re not stuck in another double period, you’re a busy, hardworking lead in their most challenging arc. Your breakdown over another assignment? Foreshadowing. The key is to stop seeing school as a brutal enemy but packaging it as a beautiful, meaningful experience.
The Therapist
If you can’t bring the therapist, be the therapist of your life.
When school life gets hard, it’s essential to allow fresh breathes of thoughts untangle your cluttered mind. You walk the halls not in stress, but in deep reflection. When you receive a bad grade, ask yourself, ‘How did that make you feel? Why?’. This is a chance to reframe and say ‘Let’s unpack that.’
Because in reality, sometimes the most powerful thing you can do when you get hit in the face with school isn’t self-loathing but to rewrite the way you speak to yourself. Reassuring yourself with thoughts such as ‘Failure and mental breakdowns builds character, not your life story’. And most importantly, reminding yourself that you are a human before you are a student. You have a life filled with emotions and limits, and it lies beyond any assignments or exams. School at the end of the day isn’t your identity but just one chaotic, dramatic episode of your personal series. Remember, there are always two sides to every situation, keep on the lookout.
Survival Soundtrack
Sometimes studying isn’t just about being instagram-worthy or aesthetic. It’s about creating a scene. If you’re going to need to memorise 50 formulas and create SWOTS for every subject while suppressing a mental breakdown, you better do it with the right background music. No, we’re not going to use the boring lo-fi beat that makes you feel like an underpaid barista. We’re talking about oddly, chaotic soundtracks to match the messy theme of school life.
- Doing hard maths questions? Blast intense war- movie soundtrack, the mix of drums and violins, almost the sense of end-of-the-world energy. Imagine you’re calculating the fate of a country. That will get your brain moving faster.
- Your science exam? Go crazy with haunted house music. You’re no longer meaninglessly stuffing information into your brain but you’re a victim stuck in a haunted house trying to escape using different formulas.
- Writing an intense English essay? Go full on with medieval tavern music and pretend you’re a famous writer in your era and your stakes are high. It will get your brain pumping.
You’re not here to passively concentrate anymore. You’re emotionally tricking yourself into thinking that whatever you’re doing right now matters deeply to your episodes in your life. You’re not cramming anymore but becoming an academic weapon.
Sacred Rest
School life constantly fuels the ‘grind’ culture and the idea of ‘locking in 24/7’. However, in the midst of all the hard-work, we tend to forget to rest as well. Romanticising school doesn’t mean working until you collapse. It means treating rest like the most holy, sacred act of self-preservation.
You’re not ‘lazy’ when you rest. You rest so you could have enough energy to walk further down the paths of your dreams. The silence after a long day, soft blanket and cold pillow? That’s beautiful. That’s power.
Getting well rested is the most extreme way to survive school. Your brain wakes up brighter, allowing it to destroy every assignment in its way. Romanticise sleep — not as an escape, but as a strategy.
Ultimately, romanticising school isn’t about pretending everything is fine but making the stress and struggle more bearable. It’s a coping mechanism — a way to find purpose during a mess. However, let’s be honest, this coping mechanism might not be everyone’s cup of tea. So whatever ways you use to cope with the hustle of school life, it’s important to stick with it. So whether you romanticise your desk like your life depended on it or treat your school life like a life-changing TV show —be proud. You’re doing your best, and that’s already enough.
Published 20 May 2025
Written by Jocosa Lin, edited by Bianca Hu and Haran Thirumeni
Photo from Pinterest.com
