A small piece of clay. A big realization

[Ishaa]

My 17-year-old niece made me write this.
So its based on a true incident from today.

The school holidays just started.

For the past six months,
she was basically living at her desk
— studying non-stop for her important college exams,
completing her work trainee program,
and preparing for her driver’s license test.

She just got her results — and she passed everything.<3
I’m incredibly proud of her. <3

After the holiday, she’ll be starting the final two years of college.

Today, she showed me something.

Back when she was preparing for all these exams, her art teacher gave the class a piece of clay and said:
“Create something that reflects how you’re feeling right now.”

And this is what she made:



It represents overwhelm.

And I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
How many people — young and old — feel this exact same way?

I feel overwhelmed too.
But as we grow older, we stop noticing it.
Or worse: we ignore it.
We get caught in the loop.

We can’t hit pause.
We won’t hit the pause button.
And in doing so, we’re damaging both our present and our future.

Because we don’t take care of our health — especially our mental health.

We just keep going.
Because we think we have to.

Work.
Bills.
Deadlines.
Family.
Responsibility.
Pressure.

Life keeps moving

Somewhere along the way,
we stop checking in with ourselves.
We stop asking: How am I really doing?

We push through headaches,
silence our anxiety,
suppress our tears,
and normalize exhaustion —
as if being overwhelmed is just a part of being alive.

But it’s not supposed to be.

And sometimes it takes something as simple as a clay sculpture from a teenager

— made in a moment of stress
— to remind us of what we keep ignoring in ourselves.

So if you’re reading this and you feel tired, heavy, or lost:
Pause.
Breathe.
Check in with yourself.

You’re not weak for feeling overwhelmed.
You’re not behind.
You’re not alone.

You’re just human.
And you deserve space to feel, rest, and heal. <3

XOXO
Ishaa