Being a college student can be extremely stressful. There are so many things you worry about, such as passing a class, achieving a certain GPA, getting involved on campus, interning, and the biggest stress of them all — life after graduation. Throughout my three years at TCNJ, I came to learn that the intensity of my classes was getting harder and so was the stress. And stress was becoming my best friend.
So, over the summer I decided to try meditating to eliminate the amount of stress that was consuming me.
Meditation is beneficial because it improves our health mentally, physically, and emotionally. Other benefits include longer attention span, control over anxiety, and a happy stress-free life. Who wouldn’t want that? As I was researching meditation and its effects, I learned that it puts you in a positive and calm mood while also increasing your self-awareness and awareness of your surroundings.
I know I’m not the only one who lives in their own thoughts. I always tend to space out and have several different ideas in my head, as if I have a million and one thoughts circling in my mind. Once I became aware of this, I decided to start my journey of meditation.
I’ve been meditating for almost two months now and I can really see a difference. I no longer have so many thoughts consuming me at once and I’m more positive. I normally meditate in the morning and before I go to bed, just to start and end the day on a good note. In the beginning I did have my doubts and never really believed meditation would work for me and honestly it was rough, but I decided to stick it out and boy did I make the right decision. Meditating makes me feel like I have more control than I thought I did.
There’s a meditation app for beginners called Headspace that really helps you along your journey. They guide you through your meditation practices and teach you the importance of meditation and its effects. Through this, I’ve learned to just let my thoughts come and go while observing them. Meditation has helped me focus on the present and to enjoy the moment.
There are many forms of meditation that help in different ways. I wanted to focus more on mindfulness because I lacked the ability to control my stress and ease my thoughts. While everyone’s experience is different, and it may take longer for some people to master it, the end result is always worth it.