When college life gets to be overwhelming (which is more often than not), it can be hard to know exactly how to slow it all down and enjoy things. But, fear not, because I have a few tips on how to most literally “keep calm and carry on” throughout your college career.
In order to find peace in an atmosphere of utter chaos, you must to allow yourself to have a quiet mind and a healthy body. This does NOT mean, library crams until 5am, Dutch Bro’s runs multiple times a day in order to stay awake, or Netflix marathons for 24 hours straight when you can’t handle it all. What this DOES mean is managing your time in a way that eliminates stress before it begins, making time to exercise or get fresh air and sleeping enough hours a night to allow your brain to function and thrive.
How do we do this as college students with ten million things to do and limited time to do them all? The best way is prioritizing. This could mean that although your chemistry test is tomorrow, you haven’t slept in two days and staying up one extra night to study will most likely hinder your results as opposed to helping them. This could also mean that although that toga party this Thursday is supposed to be a rager, you do in fact have a quiz at 9 am Friday morning and maybe you should sit this one out. Saying no to fun is one of the more challenging things to do as a college student, and although the FOMO (fear of missing out) can stress you out, the result of struggling in school from always being a “yes man” will give you many more problems to stress about.
Another important aspect of having a healthy mind is remembering to stay in the present moment and not to worry about your bad test from last week, or the “what if’s” of your future. A prime example of this is to enjoy your surroundings every chance you get. Put down your Instagram when walking from class to class and look at the trees, flowers and people; you’ll find a much greater appreciation for the beautiful campus we live on. When things seem so overwhelming that you want to break down, take a full minute to just sit and breathe and clear your mind of all thoughts. Yoga or meditation can be a great way accomplish this.
Balance is the last key ingredient in the recipe for having stress free success throughout college. If you are constantly worrying about every minor detail of your life then you will forever feel as though you’re not in control. In order to control your life, you must make your own choices, and sometimes this means choosing to take a night, a day or a week off to distract yourself. Never allow yourself to feel guilty about making yourself feel better, even if it means straying from the path every now and then. Anything can work as long as it reinforces a positive and healthy outcome for you; this could be giving yourself a study break to go for a run, or indulging in late night Taco Bell. In order to be efficient and successful, we must also give ourselves well deserved breaks and rewards when needed. So rise above the chaos of college and remember to keep calm and college on!