Daily Lobo columnist
Ready for the semester to end and have all these classes behind you? Ready to end this academic drudgery so you can lean back, put up your feet and congratulate yourself for a job well done?
There’s just one problem: getting through these last couple of weeks alive.
As intimidating as that mountain of textbooks is, all those papers have to be written and you have to study for all those tests.
The power of those responsibilities is enough to chase many students away to end-of-the-year parties, leaving the work to be handled later. Of course, “later” usually means scrambling at the last minute with no room to spare.
The worst part of all is the stress. It’s that nagging feeling that you might have bitten off too much to chew this semester, that no matter how many papers you finish or tests you take, there will always be one more just around the corner. It doesn’t help that there are so many more enjoyable things to do. The good news is it can be defeated.
The first step to beating stress is to stop worrying. Easier said than done, right? But if you think about it, everything is easier said than done, and that doesn’t stop people from doing a whole lot of things. All it really takes is the willingness to look at the big picture and prioritize.
The reason that school, tests and whatever else become stressful is that it is so easy to become wrapped up in how important they are. Step back for a second. Look at that upcoming final not in terms of the grade you’ll get on it, or the grade you’ll get in the class or how it will affect your GPA. Look at it compared to the whole rest of your life.
It’s only one or two hours out of about 39,420,000 in your expected life span.
Sure, nobody considers finals life-threatening. So what’s the big deal? Will it really affect your future career? Probably not. Will failing it ruin your academic career, make you lose your scholarship and get kicked out of the University? Maybe, but if you’re that close to the edge maybe college isn’t right for you. There’s plenty of other things you are good at.
It’s amazing how much of our stress comes from putting too much value on “success.” What is success, exactly, and why is getting it so much work? How much happier will you really be earning a couple thousand more dollars a year? Those dollars can buy you more stuff, but can they buy you happiness? A beautiful spring day? Love?
Of course not, and that’s why taking some time out of your schedule to enjoy life is so important to keeping your stress tolerable. So much time is wasted worrying about studying and finding new ways to procrastinate that I wonder if we don’t spend more time thinking about studying than actually studying. Be sure to do your homework and your studying for finals, but budget specific times to do it — preferably as far in advance as possible — and don’t think about it the rest of the time.
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Instead, go to the park. Spend some time with whatever pet you may have. Read. Go to a party and get sloshed — but don’t use it as an escape. Do whatever relaxes you, don’t just try to push the stress out of your mind by filling it with something else.
I write stories, letters to friends, journals for myself, opinions, poems — anything that comes into my head. I’m writing this column while taking a break from a 10-page paper I have due next week. You may think I’m crazy for taking a break from writing by writing, but it’s what I do.
Last, but not least, realize your own limitations. Don’t dwell on them or feel doomed to mediocrity by them. Just recognize that you’ll never excel at everything. This especially applies to subjects you hate. If you find yourself stressing over a test in a required class that has nothing to do with your major or doesn’t interest you, remember that all you have to do is get a C- in the class, and it’s behind you forever.
Conquering stress is really just a matter of distinguishing between means and ends. The tests and papers that have you so tied up in knots are not ends unto themselves. They are just your means for getting your degree, and that is just a means of getting the lifestyle you want. But at the same time, don’t stay so focused on your goals of the future that you miss out on the present.
Take the time to stop and smell the roses on the path of your life; you may only pass by them once.
