1. Go see the dogs in the mindfulness room.
Every Wednesday, the Mindfulness room has dogs come visit campus to spend time with the college students. Being around dogs can remove us from the atmosphere of stress leading up to finals and allow us to simply be happy to be around our new furry, four-legged friend. There are dogs of all sizes and breeds that come to campus, but they all have the same capacity for love. When there is a dog around looking at you like you hold the entire world in your hands, the stress of exams and papers seems to melt away.
2. Take a nap.
It isn’t exactly unusual here at CMU when you hear your friend tell you that they only got two hours of sleep, or worse, didn’t sleep at all. Sometimes, we work so hard, that we forget how important substantial sleep is, and how much it actually helps our productivity. When you hit a wall, it can be so worth it to go to bed for a couple hours and regroup. When you wake up, you will feel rested enough to finish some work for the night, and get to bed early that night.
3. Take a long shower.
Sometimes, it seems as though we can hit a wall when we are studying. When this happens, it can be very beneficial to take a nice, warm, long shower. Whether you need to shave your legs or just sing the entire “Hannah Montana” soundtrack, it doesn’t really matter. When you get out of the shower, you will feel nice and clean, refreshed and ready to tackle your work with renewed vigor.
4. Let yourself indulge in some snacks.
When your body is under stress, it is incredibly important to maintain physical energy to the best of your ability. That is why, 99% of the time, anyone would recommend that you eat as healthily as reasonably possible. That being said, sometime the only thing that can fill your soul is calories, and you just need to split a can of frosting with your roommate.
5. Call your family.
Students at CMU have a lot going on. Just in classes alone, we get assigned enough work to keep us busy for the entire semester, without even considering friends and clubs and sleep. When we are so busy, it can be hard to not let some things slip through the cracks. When you are overwhelmed, CALL YOUR FAMILY. Just hearing the voices of my parents and my sisters reminds me that the semester is almost over, and that everything is going to be okay. They remind you that there are people out there that love you regardless of your GPA, and sometimes, that is the most important thing to remember.