Being in university has taught me a lot of things: how to make new friends, how to manage classes, work, the gym and having a social life. One of the things most people don’t acknowledge that they learn through university is managing their stress. I think it’s safe to say that almost every university student has gone through their fair share of stress, be it about school, friends or any other aspect in their life. Learning how to manage that stress now is a beneficial skill for the many times that stess becomes inevitable leading up to and after graduation.
Being a third-year kinesiology student, I’ve learned quite a bit about stress, including different kinds of stress, causes, effects and management. One of the first stressful situations university students can go through is the actual action of starting university: meeting new people, being in an unusual or new environment and no longer being able to see your family every day.
Throughout my years here at Laurier, fortunately, I have found it very easy to manage stressful situations. When I find myself stressed over something personal, I tend to dive into my schoolwork and seriously get shit done. In contrast, when stressed over school or grades, I like to busy myself with friends, working out or some self-care time.
Moving through university, stress is bound to come at you, either knowingly or by surprise. From personal experience, I know it can come from a surprising bad mark on something you thought you’d ace, that job you didn’t get or that fight with your boyfriend/girlfriend that totally ruined your day. There can be family problems, roomie problems or even personal issues that stress you out.
Thinking about the future and what is to come after university in itself can be a very stressful thing to think about. I mean, we’re talking what you potentially want to do for the rest of your life — that’s pretty stressful to me!
This past weekend, my dad came up to celebrate my birthday by grilling me on what I want to do after I graduate. I didn’t have a concrete answer to give him, which ultimately stressed me out more. But these are the questions we need to ask ourselves; because, like I said, this is the rest of our lives that we’re working towards, right?
One thing I learned through thinking and stressing about the future is that there is no one right pathway. There is no single absolutely perfect way to do something great for your future. Either if you decide to go straight to a job, conquer your Master’s or take a year off, I guarantee you will figure out your potential and all the stress you’re going through now will be worth it.
It’s also good to understand and remember that some of this stress is actually good for you. Hard to believe, but there is good stress. The stress you get before a major presentation, before your first date with the cute guy you’ve been texting or the stress you get waiting to get your acceptance for graduate school. This stress motivates you to do more, try more and hopefully not stop you!
As I learned in my sport psychology class taught by the amazing Dr. Dawson, there are a bunch of awesome ways to kick stress in the butt. One of the best ways is through exercise. Working out or playing a sport (either recreationally or professionally) is a great way to release any stress that may be burrowed within you. Fortunately, Laurier offers a lot of different opportunities to do so, including work-out classes, intramural sports and the open gym.
One thing that goes along with exercise and stress, is self-esteem. Throughout university, building your confidence is a very important skill to have for after university in work and life. A source of stress for many students can come from having low self-esteem. Also from my sport psych class, I learned that through exercise, one can achieve a greater sense of self-confidence. Through Laurier’s open gym, they offer women’s-only hours if going to the gym is something that causes you stress.
The most important thing to remember is that you will always get through any stressful situation you may find yourself going through. It may seem like the worst or biggest issue in your life now, but in five years’ time it’ll merely be a blip on your life map. The stresses of school and student life occurring now will only benefit you in your future.
So, let this article be the sign for you that you got this! That it’s okay to cry, it’s okay to treat yourself — and it’s definitely okay to take some “me time.” These are supposed to be the best years of our lives, so don’t let the stresses to come ruin them!