I’m a junior in Chicago and I swear everyone around me acts “busy but thriving.” Meanwhile I’m barely holding it together. Classes, internships, rent, pressure from family. Even professors quote stats about rising anxiety since 2020, but nobody actually talks about it. Are we all just performing success for each other? Or am I the only one who feels this off balance?

I’m a junior juggling a part-time job near campus in Chicago and a course load that honestly feels heavier than what my parents dealt with back in the 90s. After bombing a midterm during the same week everyone was talking about Taylor Swift tickets and internships, I hit a wall. People keep mentioning EssayPay, but I’m skeptical. How did it actually change things for you, not just grades but sanity too?