A School Survival Guide

By: Tianna McDonald-Davis

From the day I’ve moved into my college dorm, I’ve been stressed. How will my roomate and I get along? How am I going to juggle work, classes, and extracurriculars to a point where I’m still getting good grades and am still functional? Will I make friends, or even have time for them? I could see these proud new college kids walking into their dorm, setting up the start of their new life the next 2-4 years, but all I felt was anxious with extra uncertainty on top.

Even though the first semester is coming to a close, I don’t feel any less tense. I figure I can’t be the only one feeling nervous, and finding ways to stay calm and collected this year would be beneficial to more than just me.

Here are some tips I’ve thought of.

1. Don’t Forget To Breathe

When we feel stressed, our bodies tense up. For me at least, my breathing becomes shallow, and it becomes hard for me to focus. Upon writing this, I was getting stressed during my math homework. There were three modules. Two had 8 difficult problems, but I had powered through them to the best of my ability. I clicked on my last module and there were 26 problems of the same difficulty. TWENTY. SIX.

Starting to feel my insides fester with panic and distress, I tried an experiment and I listened to the little voice in my head telling me to take a break. I stood up, walked around my little room, and saw my yoga mat. I laid it down, did some poses, and when I was done, moved onto my bed and laid myself flat on my back. I set my alarm for thirty minutes and just laid there, focusing on my breathing. When the alarm went of the sensation was that of waking up from a nap, though a nap was never had.

2. Take Care of You!

I feel like I’ve been so prone to panic attacks and stressors lately because I have been doing what I need to (working and school), and forgetting my wants, like writing, and exercising. Since that realization, I've joined a cheer team, and became an editor of my school's writing club, The Eye (website www.nhteye.com). An important part to keep in mind when going to tryout for a sport or audition for this years musical is to MAKE SURE IT DOESN'T TAKE AWAY FROM STUDYING. For example cheer meets Monday and Tuesday nights as well as Sunday afternoons. I go to the gym on Fridays, and get my work done Saturdays, Monday afternoons, and Wednesdays, giving myself breathing room on Tuesdays and Thursdays because I have two three hour classes those days as well as cheer Tuesday nights. Knowing what schedule will work for you is the key to not falling behind and feeling less stressed when it comes time to doing homework or making plans because you'll have a routine. I know being a freshman in college requires a lot of focus, so I wouldn’t want to put myself in a place where I feel stretched thin, and I doubt you'd want to feel that way either.

3. Befriend To-Do Lists

My mind quickly becomes overflowed with thoughts. I’ve found not writing them down or failing to create to do lists based off what I want/need to get done results in forgetting tasks, and becoming more stressed because of the internal stress that could be solved just by writing it out and having the physicality of it.

4. Don’t Be Afraid to Say No to Plans

This tip is still something I need to learn. We all yearn for the college experiences. The parties, the late nights with new friends, spontaneous food dates, but we need to realize, there will be MORE! You know what there won’t be? Redo’s of assignments.