Seven Tips for Staying Sane this Semester
By Luisa T., Elsevier Sponsored Ambassador
As midterm season rolled around I definitely expected a whirlwind of stress to come barreling down as exams and deadlines began to meet me. Luckily after 21 years of life – most of which have been spent in the education system – I’ve had enough experience as a student to be able to conduct a list of tricks that have helped me survive college.
1) Go to class - When I first left for college I never understood why or how some people would skip class. Missing a day of school was unimaginable for me in high school, so I couldn’t fathom why college would be any different. Lo and behold a few weeks in I began to understand the appeal of skipping lectures that seemed pointless, especially if all the material would be posted online anyway.
As a senior in college now, the temptation to skip is still at an all time high, what with #senioritis starting to take its toll. Unfortunately the reality is that being present in class is definitely not the same as reading up on the material on your own. Plus being able to show face to your professor in classes where attendance isn’t mandatory is an undisputed bonus.
2) Actually pay attention in said class - I won’t lie and say that I spend every second of every lecture diligently taking notes. Throughout the years though, I’ve learned to keep the Facebook and online shopping tabs closed long enough for me to pay attention to the important details of each lecture.
3) Take care of your body - Squeezing in some time to exercise might not be the easiest task to achieve especially when your To Do list seems endless. Those few gym sessions that I get to squeeze in throughout my week definitely make a difference in my overall mentality though. When my body feels strong, I feel strong. Maintaining a healthy diet and regularly exercising help me stay on track and stay motivated, especially during exam season.
4) Take care of your mind - Since I also work as an RA at my school, I’m trained first hand on the effects that mental health can have on stressed college students. With an intense major like nursing, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by such a demanding curriculum. This is the time where it’s absolutely essential to take care of your mental health! Whether it’s doing yoga, meditating, expressing yourself somehow (for me it’s through playing instruments and reading) finding something that helps your mind stay in shape makes a huge difference in your college success.
5) Don’t compare yourself - When I first got to school, my nursing class had 36 people. Mind you, one of the reasons I chose a state university was to get away from the miniscule town where I grew up and be one of 45,000 students. But since I was part of a small and – what I later learned – very competitive program I found myself comparing myself to my peers without even trying. Before long I became so caught up in everyone else’s grades and study schedules that I lost the ability to feel confident in my own. Since then I’ve definitely learned to be proud of myself independently of how my classmates were doing and this has allowed me to succeed in my own unique way.
6) Remember why you started - I really don’t think I can count how many times I’ve wanted to give up these past few years. Realistically I knew I never would, since no other major really appealed to me and I really didn’t want to spend extra time in school making up for the semesters I spent studying a major with non-transferrable credits. But all it takes is for that one instance that makes you realize why you chose this path in the first place. For me, it was at the end of a long 16 hour shift at the hospital when I was saying goodbye to a patient. He told me I’d be a great nurse someday and that anyone I’d be taking care of would be in good hands. I don’t know if it was that sentiment or the exhaustion that made me tear up (probably both) but I was truly touched. Not only that, but I was even more motivated to head back to my dorm and crack open the textbook I’d been trying to ignore for a few days.
Nursing isn’t easy. School isn’t easy. But slowly and surely, time will pass and the hard work will pay off.
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