The end of a semester sucks – trust me, I know. Somehow the semester from hell has crept its ugly face into my life this semester, and from what I’m hearing from other students and friends, they are feeling exactly the same way.  Between work, working at The Shield, school and balancing friends on top of that, I sometimes feel a little overwhelmed. I don’t think I’ve completely mastered the art of maintaining calm during stressful times, but in my few years of actually having shit to do, that’s somewhat stressful, I’ve figured out a few tricks.

I’ve never been able to make lists and dumb stuff like that. I don’t know what it is, something about making a list reminds me of those days I would wake up on a Saturday excited to be off of school, and my mom would have obnoxiously long lists of chores to complete. For some people though, making a list of what you have to get done and when it’s due, then completing said tasks in order works for some people.

For me, a hot cup of tea, a long bath with bath salts and calm (although, my friends say it’s depressing) music always helps me rewind. After, I always feel relaxed and approach whatever challenges I have with a clear head.

Stress is horrible for your body, mind and spirit. I’ve been in that boat before and tried to work myself until I was literally sick. Stress isn’t something that should be ignored, and you can’t work around it. It’s vital, especially nearing the end of the semester, to maintain a healthy disposition and relaxing and taking time to ‘de-stress’ will greatly benefit  you. If you’re stressed, the work you try to accomplish will seem much more overwhelming and cause you to either procrastinate (thus creating more stress) or not do your best work that you can and cause your grades to suffer.

So just chill out, dudes. Make sure to get rest, eat well and laugh with your friends.