This year has been incredibly stressful on all of us in one way or another. Many of us have had to adjust to a new way of living, and being in college does not make that any easier. Coming back to school since our abrupt departure in March for my sophomore year was a wild transition. My workload increased significantly since freshman year and it didn’t make it any easier that I spent my last two months of school taking my finals from my bed. Now I was back to a rigorous semester, I was starting a new job, and I had a handful of other responsibilities on my back. I became engrossed in my schoolwork as a way to cope with the stressful times, putting all of my energy into my work. However, I often spent longer than necessary on certain tasks which would often heighten my anxiety.
But midway through the semester I had come to realize how lucky I was to be back on my college campus and for my friends to be healthy in the process. While being back at college did stress me out at first, I learned that the people who cared about my health and wellbeing were the ones worth it to put time and effort into our relationships. However, I was not appreciating those friends to the fullest extent. I was not appreciating the moments or the potential moments I could have shared with them because I spent a lot of time focusing on tasks that I could have completed much quicker.
So I made the goal to myself to take moments out of my day to appreciate the loving people I have around me. The college semesters go by so quickly, I do not want them to finish without me taking the time to appreciate the people around me. I still believe in putting my academics and work before social life, however, it is important to take breaks out of every day; to take moments of appreciation to be with your friends. Whether that be a spontaneous trip to a Dairy Queen drive-thru late at night, setting up a time to watch a movie together, or checking up on your friends to see how they are doing. These times we have to spend together are limited, so it is important to make the most out of it.