College Stress: How to Deal with It

                    

    

Many of you might know I'm a college student and being a college student can be extremely hard and stressful sometimes. Well, all the time. I was blessed enough to start college the summer semester before my freshman year of college. It was great! I loved it! I was able to stay on campus and kind of get a feel for what it felt like to be on my own, be solely responsible for myself, and just be away from home. My grades were good, I was making friends, it was all great. Then the fall came, and instead of 10 credit hours, I had 15. That's when things started to get stressful.

My freshman year was... so to say not my worst so far, but it was kind of difficult. Fall semester was wonderful! I was a nursing major (at the time) and I was focused on keeping my grades up and getting into nursing school. I was confident until I made my first C. My first real C. I mean I made a C in high school but that was high school. That was 10th grade. This is college, I thought. I cannot make C's in college. What will my family say? What will my friends think of me? What if I don't get into nursing school?! And the list went on and on. 

Spring semester I had to take Anatomy. I heard rumors about the class. The class is sooo hard. People have had to take it twice, even three times just to get a B. So of course my anxiety was through the roof over Christmas break. The thought of failing just overwhelmed me so much. I start thinking those horrid thoughts again of what if I don't pass. What if I don't catch onto the material? I took AP Anatomy in high school but yet again, it was high school. High school. This is college. 

Finally I got in the class and I was so stressed out. I had a Chemistry lab and lecture, I had Anatomy lab and lecture and like two other classes. I was so overwhelmed and stressed out I had an anxiety attack. I had to make it up in my mind that this stress wasn't worth it. I had to realize that I am the one thats in control of my life. I am the one that has to find something that makes me happy, that I enjoy doing. So I questioned myself. I told myself, " Tanisha, you are a 19 year old young woman. You deserve to be happy and doggone it you deserve to be stress free. You don't need to end up sick over a college class. Life is too short". After I said that, I pulled myself together, withdrawed from the class, and came up with a new plan. 

Now I am a sophomore majoring in Health Care Management. I love my major! Not that I didn't love nursing because I do, and I still hope to become a RN one day. But life is what you make it, and you only get one life. Health Care Management is something that genuinely interests me. I still get to be in the health care field but I can also connect my major to the skills I already have: leadership, secretarial skills, managing groups of 10 or more. I can't spend the rest of my college years worrying about small stuff. When life throws you a hard ball, sometimes you have to strategize, re-group, and most of all, realize that YOU are in control of your life. And the things in life you can't control, you don't worry about. 

You got a couple C's last semester? This semester? So what?! That's life. Guess what? You're still going to end up with the same degree as the person who made straight A's. Everyone is walking away with a bachelors degree at the end of the day. C your way to that degree! Don't stress out and cause yourself to be sick because you couldn't get an A. I'm certainly not saying settle for a C. But do YOUR best and if your best in a particular class is a C, then rock that C and be proud of it! 

You might not have the same experience I had, or maybe you have. Stress approaches people in different ways and at different times in their lives. If you love your major, and you're not doing so well in a class you need for as a requirement, it doesn't mean you have to withdraw and do a life change like I did. But remeber who you are. Put yourself in control. Don't let this college thing stress you out to the point where you can't go a day without a full cup of coffee, or you're losing out on sleep, or you're skipping meals! You are important. You are. YOU. 

Take out time for yourself. Get dressed up one day for no reason. Even if you're not leaving the house or the dorm. Treat yourself to a coffee date where its just you and a playlist on Spotify. Enjoy your life while in college. Yes, focus on school, but make your own self a priority while doing so. Last week, I was feeling so overwhelmed. My accounting class really has me stressing. But I put my stress on the back burner. I did my hair. I did my makeup. I put on some cute clothes. And I went on a Starbucks date with myself. Just me, my Ipad, and my headphones. Its so relaxing! Go outside on the patio! Just you completely enjoying yourself alone without thinking of all the responsibilities in the world is the greatest feeling ever. 

                                  

Always smile because you never know who's watching. Always dream because you never know when opportunity might knock on your door. Be inspirational. Be you. I hope you have gained alot from this post today. I didn't even plan this post but so many of my peers are stressing about school and finals. I just had to sit down and type. Follow Aiming 2 Inspire on Instagram and Twitter and like me on Facebook. Always remember to inspire, and be inspired. 

Tanisha B.