Denver
New member
I need to share something vulnerable. Last semester, I hit a wall so hard I didn't think I'd finish my degree. 
I'm a junior in political science, and I'd written so many persuasive essays that every new prompt felt like torture. I'd sit at my laptop for hours producing nothing. My brain was just... empty. My grades were slipping, I was avoiding assignments, and I honestly thought about dropping out.
Then my roommate (bless her heart
) sat me down and said: "Remember why you chose political science in the first place." And I realized... I'd forgotten. Somewhere between all the grades and deadlines and pressure, I'd lost the REASON I wanted to write persuasively.
So for my next assignment (arguing for or against universal basic income), I did something different. I found a YouTube video of a family in Stockton who received UBI and talked about how it changed their lives. I watched a single mom cry because she could finally afford childcare and go back to work. And I started CARING again.
That emotional connection transformed my persuasive writing. Suddenly I wasn't just arranging quotes and citations—I was trying to help real people. My introduction started with that single mom's story. My evidence showed how UBI lifted families like hers. My conclusion asked readers to imagine a world where no parent had to choose between feeding their kids and working.
My professor wrote "This is your best work all semester" and honestly, I almost cried in class. Not because of the grade, but because I'd found my WHY again.
For anyone struggling with burnout: Take a step back and reconnect with what matters to YOU about your topic. Find the human story. Find the reason you cared in the first place. Persuasive writing is powerful when it comes from the heart, not just the syllabus.
Has anyone else experienced this? How do you stay connected to your passion when school feels overwhelming?
I'm a junior in political science, and I'd written so many persuasive essays that every new prompt felt like torture. I'd sit at my laptop for hours producing nothing. My brain was just... empty. My grades were slipping, I was avoiding assignments, and I honestly thought about dropping out.Then my roommate (bless her heart
) sat me down and said: "Remember why you chose political science in the first place." And I realized... I'd forgotten. Somewhere between all the grades and deadlines and pressure, I'd lost the REASON I wanted to write persuasively.So for my next assignment (arguing for or against universal basic income), I did something different. I found a YouTube video of a family in Stockton who received UBI and talked about how it changed their lives. I watched a single mom cry because she could finally afford childcare and go back to work. And I started CARING again.
That emotional connection transformed my persuasive writing. Suddenly I wasn't just arranging quotes and citations—I was trying to help real people. My introduction started with that single mom's story. My evidence showed how UBI lifted families like hers. My conclusion asked readers to imagine a world where no parent had to choose between feeding their kids and working.
My professor wrote "This is your best work all semester" and honestly, I almost cried in class. Not because of the grade, but because I'd found my WHY again.
For anyone struggling with burnout: Take a step back and reconnect with what matters to YOU about your topic. Find the human story. Find the reason you cared in the first place. Persuasive writing is powerful when it comes from the heart, not just the syllabus.
Has anyone else experienced this? How do you stay connected to your passion when school feels overwhelming?