Stress Management

           After being a full time college student for 5 weeks I have really become used to the stress of assignments and exams; consequently things are starting to get easier for me. Now that I have a few exams out of the way, I have learned what study skills work best for me and what I need to do in order to balance my schoolwork, work, and social time. My first 3 weeks of college were very stressful because I had a few bad assignments and my grades were looking bad. I put my head down and I really have been working hard and have brought my grades back up to par. It has also been important for me to find something to do to take my mind off of work and school.

            My first two exams were in Arts and Humanities and College Algebra. In high school I used to be able to study the night before the test and still be able to do well. However I knew this would be a different story. Rather than putting all my studying off to the last minute I studied the entire week before for an hour and a half everynight. I found that doing this makes things way less stressful on you and allows you time to ask about things you didn’t get in class.  This strategy earned me two “A’s” on my exams and made me realize that with the right time management and study habits college doesn’t have to be as stressful as some people make it. Reliving stress can come from more ways than just changing your studying habits; this can be done with sports and hobbies.

I have found that it’s important to find things you enjoy and do them to your relieve stress. Just because you’re a full time college student doesn’t mean you can’t have other activities you enjoy. Making room for a sport or hobby is important because it takes your mind off of the stress of school and everyday life and allows you to release any stress or anger that has built up during the week. I always try to ride or race my dirt bikes on the weekend. This gives me something to look forward to on the weekends and not to mention it takes my mind off of everything I’m dealing with.

I have learned that procrastination is the most stressful thing you can do to yourself in college. Being a college student is stressful enough balancing school, work, sports, and friends, so you have to be able to balance out your work load and be responsible in your time management. The better organized you are and the better you think ahead the more success you are going to have. It’s amazing to me how small things like time management and not putting off everything to the last minute can really have a major impact on your overall stress level and success. 

Weeks 1-3: The Biggest Differences Between High School and College

In high school they always preached to you about how they are preparing you for college and how difficult it would be. But how good of a job does high school do in preparing you for becoming a college student? A lot of it depends on the school you went to, and the difficulty of your course work. I personally feel like there are many things similar about high school and college, but there are also many things that are kind of a culture shock to me. There are many new weekly challenges I’ve experienced thus far in my three weeks at Muskingum University that have made me push myself out of my academic comfort zone.

The biggest difference between high school and college I’ve noticed is that you must read the textbook. In high school you wasn’t ever required to read before class; you show up, listen, take notes, and take a test over the lecture. In college you are expected to read the book, and just showing up for lecture isn’t going to get you that “A” you were hoping for. I’ve learned that reading before class helps you build a foundation that way when you show up for lecture you know what’s going to be discussed and those ideas get cemented into your brain much easier. However, it’s easier said than done. I am currently taking seven classes at the college and keeping up with the reading is no easy task. My high school ran on a block schedule, therefore you would only have four or five classes at one time. Juggling all 15 credit hours at once has definitely been a challenge for me and made me push myself to get my reading and assignments completed.

On top of all of the reading and studying I also started working at Kroger. I have found that going to work on top of being a full time college student is very stressful and really makes you have to plan your week out ahead of time. At the beginning of the semester I was scheduled for 25 plus hours a week; I quickly realized that balancing school and working that many hours just isn’t going to get the grades I want. I had to cut my hours down to 15 and I found that much more reasonable. In high school I never had to worry about scheduling my assignments and studying around my work schedule. I would have to say that balancing work and school has been the biggest challenge yet in adapting to becoming a full time college student for me.