Usually you don’t hear stress less and student in the same sentence. Especially not for students who are in school full-time, work, intern, and are involved on campus. I’m a student who does all of those and manages to live as close to a stress free life as possible. Now, pay attention to as close to a stress free life as possible. Notice how I didn’t say stress free. It’s almost impossible to live a stress free life, and if anyone reading this is, please give me your secret!
As you all know stress is defined as a state of mental and emotional strain. Stress causes, amongst other things, hair loss, acne, weight gain/weight loss, aches, pains and sleepless nights. As college students we have enough on our plate, so why add these negative symptoms to our life?
So, back to the topic of living a less stressed life! Every day, I’m surrounded by students who put homework and project assignments off until the last minute, students who also wait until the night before a test to study. This is the fastest way to end up stressed. Now, I’m not saying that I’m the perfect student who completes homework when it’s given, and studies even when a test is 3 weeks out (although I should), but I have learned that completing assignments in advance carries a great feeling of relief with it.
I’ve also learned one more fact about stress: it’s a choice. My secret to living a less stressed life is simply to not stress. I don’t stress over school work, I don’t stress over my personal life, and most importantly I don’t stress over things that I have no control over. For example, I have no control over when a professor chooses to give a test, so what do I do? I plan ahead and study so on the night before I won’t frantically try to read 1000 words out of a text book. I even find myself in situations where I have to stay up all night to study. It’s not because I put it off until the last minute (well rarely it may be, don’t judge me though, I’m still human) but because I want to make sure I know and understand the material completely. On those nights, I still don’t stress.
So, being a less stressed student isn’t hard. It comes down to two main components, choice, and preparation. If you prepare, you don’t have a reason to stress. If you choose to stress, mostly it’s because you haven’t prepared. Choose to be less stressed.
-Imani Aldridge