College is one of the most stressful times in a young adult’s life. A college education is needed to secure a promising future, one in which respectability is then attached to your name. When people see that you have a college degree, you will have credibility, one in which your education proves that you are a well-rounded person. It proves that you are someone who is both socially and intellectually capable of meeting the standards of the world’s demands and competition.
I am a first generation Mexican-American college student, and I have both the pressure (positive) and the enthusiasm for having the power to create my own future. Most students at UIC are very studious, they follow a rigorous schedule. In our quest to remain that perfect student, we become conditioned to be study machines. Over my years as a college student, I have gone through so many phases. One of my most complicated task has been figuring out what strategy (study vs personal time) works for me. There needs to be a balance in figuring out how to get both my college work and my work/personal things accomplished.
The key to figuring out what works for you is realizing that stress has a habit of accumulating and getting the worst out of us. Stress has the power to negatively affect our ability to concentrate and to think at a high capacity. We think that we can take all our workload all at once, that we will be “saving time” by getting the job done. However, without realizing it we are actually doing the opposite of what we want to get accomplished. If you are anything like me, before you know it you will become bombarded with all sort of challenges. The sleep deprivation, the lack of motivation, the tiredness, and the need to make time to do things you actually enjoy. You start to wonder, “When will I have time to do something fun?” while you stare at the 100 pages you have left to read or while looking at your computer screen. It simply catches students by surprise.
There are a set of techniques you can follow if you ever become overwhelmed with your workload. Here is a list of 7 things I have personally come up with over my college years that have helped me cope with stress.
1. Limit the amount of anticipated stress or worry (a result from worrying or thinking too much). Such stressful thinking results from thinking about things such as: what if I don’t turn things in one time, what if the exams are too difficult for me, how do I join a study group, or what if the professor is too strict)
2. Always find a way to reduce stress. Find activities to do such as: working out, listening to music, watching movies, or going out for fresh air.
3. Find a balance. This entails finding a way to have fun and enjoyment while still maintain the difficult demands of school/work. A person who struggles with finding a balance might have guilt that results from having gone to a party the night before a final exam, spending time with friends when it could have been spent studying, or simply procrastinating.
4. Mediate/breathe/pray. Yoga and exercise is a great way to let out negative energy. All the stress, anxiety or fear we feel build up in our bodies and makes us tense. Try to find a peaceful and quiet way to be alone with your thoughts. Find inner peace.
5. Know how to tackle your tasks. If you know you have assignments for 5 or 6 classes you need to be doing, it is best to work through the workload slowly but in a steady way. What I mean by this is, try not to do everything all at once. I know that in theory, we all think that the more we can get done the better, but what is the point if it is not being done efficiently.
6. Try Not To Get Discouraged. This is by far the most important thing to work on. How do I convince myself that I am capable of doing all this work when I feel like I am not doing good enough? In all honesty, I can say that it takes a leap of faith to be able to keep ourselves motivated. To convince ourselves that for one, we are capable of doing whatever is in front of us and that somehow everything will work out in the end. Only you can ensure that your work will get complete and that you will pass with good grades. Don’t let things depend on chance or luck. We might think to ourselves, “Well, maybe if this semester if I am able to find the right study group then I could pass all my classes” or “Well, if maybe this semester the professors aren’t that shitty then I will pass my classes.” It’s all up to you.
7. Accountability. For example, if my personal goal is to make it into the Honors College I know that not only do I need to pass my classes (just like everyone else), I need to put in that extra effort to get A’s. As a result, I need to spend more time studying.
There are an abundant amount of places for students to visit if they ever need some help with figuring out ways to cope with stress. The UIC Counseling Center offers to advise with ways for students to cope with stress. More information on where to find information on youth groups can be found at the UIC homepage.