It is said that your college years are the best years of your life. I believe this to be true, simply based upon how much an individual grows in the college learning experience. When one enters college, one is thrust into an environment completely unfamiliar to him or her. It is the way we handle the situations put before us—the challenges we encounter—that make us strong, independent people. We learn how to comfortably stand up in front of a one hundred-person lecture and give a presentation, or walk confidently and enthusiastically into an interview. We learn how to budget our time so that we can both do well in school, and have a life outside of academics. We learn to talk to professors—that they, too, are people who want us to succeed. We learn when it is appropriate to drink, and how great or little our tolerance is. And finally, we discover what it’s like to be in a relationship in a college setting.
As a senior here at BU, I have recently found myself to be the go-to girl for advice—I guess the senior status seems to denote some kind of authority, especially for a freshmen audience. Although this may sound silly to some, and although I am in no sense an authority figure, I have found myself extremely capable of such advice simply due to my three years of college experience.
Throughout my college years, I have always had someone to turn to for advice, whether it has been an older student, a boyfriend, or simply one of my peers. Now that I am a senior, I want to pass on what I have learned to you guys. I will therefore begin this week with my first piece of advice.
This problem comes from an anonymous friend of mine, who also happens to be a freshman this year. She came to me with a look of utter exhaustion, completely overwhelmed by the new environment she has been placed into. She said to me, Leia, it’s the beginning of the year, and all I do is homework. “I thought college was supposed to be fun,” she frowned. Instead, she’s been stressing over academics, claiming that she doesn’t have time for anything else.
Well, if all you do is homework all day, then you will get stressed out. When you get stressed out, your body releases an adrenaline that can either save your life, or cause problems to your health. For example, if you are holding on to a cliff for dear life, the nerves in your body will trigger the excess adrenaline that will give you the extra energy to pull yourself up to safety. Unfortunately, your body can’t distinguish between a life-and-death situation such as the one just stated, and between the stresses of having an exam the following day that you feel you are not prepared for. In both circumstances, your body triggers those same nerves, causing an overwhelming amount of adrenaline to flow through your body. And I’ve got news for you—too much adrenaline is not good for you. If all you do is stress about homework all day, that trigger of adrenaline will constantly be there. Your body will get so overpowered that you won’t be able to concentrate anymore, which, in turn, will make you even more stressed out.
Therefore, here is my advice: Back away from the homework!
Yes, homework is important, but unless you take a break and do something else, it will be way too unbearable for your body, and you will make yourself sick. You need to find some kind of consistent activity to do outside of the academic world, whether it’s a sport (which is a great way to release excess adrenaline), or an a capella group. Be good to yourself. Balance is key. Find something you enjoy, and commit to it. Clubs and PDP’s are great for that. You will feel so much better afterward. It may take time away from doing your homework, but you will be able to concentrate twice as well on your academics having released that stress. You simply need to find an outlet that works for you.
Also, take breaks between studying. A person’s attention span can only last so long. If you take breaks, even if you simply get up and walk around the room, it will help you focus better for those times when you really do need to sit down and study. You can Buy CBD tincture UK or other stress-relieving products in order for you to cope up against such stress. Doing so will be incredibly beneficial for you both on the short-term and long-term.
