It's just about midterm season on my campus right now, and I can say from personal experience, that the stress level is running high all around. And if you are also feeling this way then in this week's post I am going to give you some tips on how to stay calm during midterms.
1. Sleep This may not seem important in the moment when you have a lot of midterms to study for, but in order for you to be able to study at your maximum efficiency, sleep should be a priority. According to the National Sleep Foundation, young adults should be getting about 7-9 hours of sleep per night. 2. Meditation Even five minutes of meditation today can reduce stress and make you feel calmer. So maybe, before an exam, check in with yourself and how you are feeling and do a quick meditation beforehand so that you feel more relaxed. 3. Listening to music Listening to music is one of my go-to tips for staying clam in any situation. I think that music is just a great way to relax your mind for a bit and focus on the music itself (and not the never ending list of things that you need to study for). 4. Exercise Exercise is very important as well. Usually when I am tensed up and stressed about something, I have found that exercise helps me to feel relaxed. But in the moment, it seems hard to skip a 30 minute study session just to exercise. However, doing physical activity, can help you in the long run. Because, when you need to finally sit down and study then you will be able to focus better on what you need to study. 5. Have a plan Lastly, this is by far the most important, is to plan! If you plan out a head of time what your study schedule will look like for midterms and anticipate the unexpected you should feel significantly calmer during midterms. I hope that these tips will be helpful in keeping you calm during midterms. For more tips on how to de-stress during the semester, see this post! ~Stephanie
0 Comments
I have been a commuter student since I started college. But what are commuter students? (you might ask) Commuter students are those that do not live on campus, but travel to school from their residence. The reason that I am a commuter is partly due to the fact that A) I didn't go to a college with housing as a freshman and sophomore and B) the college that I currently go to is not that far from where I live, so it didn't make sense to have on campus. So whether you drive to school or take the bus, in this post I am going to lay out some essentials for every commuter student. (besides the obvious things like keys, unless you tend to forget those things and the supplies that you will use in class)
1. Headphones Whether you are trying to listen to the latest podcast, or need a little quiet, zen time, this is an essential. 2. Book (preferably one that is fun to read) With all of the readings that professors give us, it's nice to just relax with a good book that you won't be graded on. 3. Water bottle No explanation necessary.. 4. Lunch/money for food Since you are most likely not on a meal plan if you are a commuter, it's good to bring a lunch with you (or some money for food) so that you aren't starving during class. 5. Small notebook (to jot down notes/ideas) I find this helpful especially when I have a random thought that pops in my head and I want to remember it. But this can be used for anything. 6. Extra clothes (for just in case or going to the gym) I always bring extra clothes with me just in case I have some extra time and I want to go to the gym. 7. Umbrella Since I prefer to not get rained on, (it rains pretty infrequently where I live) I always have an umbrella just in case. 8. Emergency cash Again, no explanation necessary. This can really help you when the unexpected happens. (you'll thank me later) 9. Canvas bag/tote I find this helpful in case you need to carry something extra that won't fit in your backpack. 10. Extra snacks Late night study sessions at the library happen, do yourself a favor and pack some extra snacks so that you don't starve. I realize that elements of this list might be different for every student, and that is okay! You should modify this list depending on your commute to school (whether it be by car or public transportation). I typically take public transportation, so these are the items that are useful to me. I hoped that this list helped give you some ideas on what to bring with you if you are a commuter student. If you are a commuter student, let me know some of the essentials that you always carry around with you. Going into my first semester of college (let alone getting through the whole year) was extremely scary for me because I had no idea what to expect. This was my first time going to a new school. Thankfully I was able to learn the ropes quickly and how to utilize that knowledge to my advantage. So for all the first timers starting college or for some of you that are returning to college, here are a few tips that I learned during my first year of college. 1. Knowing the Colleges resources Colleges have a lot of useful campus resources. Workshops, tutoring, mental health and wellness centers (just to name a few!). And guess what? They were all FREE!! so use them to your advantage. Even if it sounds like something you might not need, try it out, you might be surprised. So how do you find out about all of these wonderful resources? Here's a tip: READ. everything around you. seriously. all college campuses have flyers everywhere talking about events and other things that are happening at the college. And if you are a freshman I recommend that you attend any/all welcome events that are happening in your college, so that you have some idea of what resources your college has. 2. Talking to People This may sound extremely obvious, but if you are anything like me you will not go out of your way to talk to people. Or you may try to avoid socialization as much as possible to keep your social anxiety in check. But stepping out of your comfort zone once or twice can and will help you. News flash: there are a lot of people who are afraid of talking to other people too, you're not alone! A majority of the time, especially with freshman, nobody has any idea what they are doing. So just try reaching out to someone even if just to say "Hey, do you know where this place is?" and if they are by them self ask them to come along with you so that you both have some company, and then you won't feel completely lost. Bottom line, life opens doors when you talk to all different kinds of people because it gives you so many opportunities that you didn't have before. 3. Learning how to Study This is very important because going into college I quickly realized that I had no idea how to study for anything. When I was in high school the teachers just gave me what was supposed to be on the test, so I did well on tests because everything I had to know was on one paper right in front of me. In college, sometimes I got a brief study guide, but there were still other things that I needed to know that were not on the study guide, which I learned after the test. Talk about confusion. I didn't know if I should just trust my teacher and rely on the study guide alone (wrong!). Or try and memorize everything important from the book, which could be anything, (wrong!) So I was stuck, going back to my first point about knowing the colleges resources, my school had a lot of workshops that gave a lot of effective tips on how to study. So that was my saving grace. 4. Being Organized/Time Management Organizing is pretty much in my DNA, but when I got to college I really had to sharpen my organizational skills. I took four classes in my first semester of college, which to me didn't seem like a lot. However, I didn't realize that there was a lot to be done in sixteen weeks, so for me, everything seemed pretty fast paced. Then in my second semester I took five classes which was even more hectic! This is when I learned time management. I still haven't mastered the art of time management, but I do pretty well at managing my time. It's all a work in progress. Here's a tip: GET A PLANNER. I swear it will make you more organized. If you have a hard time being organized just start with a planner (it will help!) ;). Those were pretty much the top four things I learned my first year in college, and I'm still learning and working on those things in my second year. Because let's face it, life is hard.... I hope that these tips help you as you are going into your college journey, as they have helped me. :) ~Steph |
Hi, I'm StephanieI am an undergraduate psych major who enjoys creative writing, collecting stationery, and watching The Walking Dead.
Connect with me on social media!
Archives
March 2018
Categories
All
|