Well, hello again, Bloggers:

I'm sure a lot of you are already back to your regular school schedules, filling out your FAFSAs, and participating in your extracurricular activities. But, like myself, I'm sure a lot of you are still on break from school. Are you starting to stress yourself out about going back? I know I am. Spring semester is always difficult because that's when all of the scholarship applications, college and grad school applications, and FAFSAs are due, and that is all on top of your regularly scheduled activities. So, here are a few things that I do to be a stress-free me:

The first thing to do is come up with positive affirmations to remind yourself that it is, in fact, a new semester and a perfect time to start being the student you want to be--the student you know you can be. Not to say that any of you aren't doing fine just the way you are, but I'm sure some of you are stressing out, telling yourselves just how awful you're probably going to do this semester--I know I've been there in the past. But it’s not fair to set yourself up for failure by convincing yourself that you're going to fail. Instead, remind yourself that you will start with A’s in every class and that you're capable of maintaining them. Tell yourself that you're going to go the library for a few hours every day and that you're going to socialize a little less so you can be proud of yourself. Yes, some of us have to work harder than others and sacrifice certain social outings to keep our grades up, but sometimes putting in a little extra effort and staying in a few extra nights is all it takes to be the students we really want to be. Trust me! My college career wasn't always full of late nights in the library and staying in on the weekends. The difference, now, is that I've learned to balance those things and I've realized that being a good or bad student isn't fate, it's a choice. I made the choice to believe I could be a good student, now it’s your turn.

The next thing you can do is figure out your regular schedule for academics and extracurricular activities by thinking about all of the things you have to do each week. For me, that means asking myself when and where my classes are, when and where I have to be for cheerleading, and when any important applications for school are due by. Print/write out a schedule of your classes and then figure out where each one is. Once you've done that, use the same schedule and record any extracurricular activities you are involved in. Be sure to record the date, time, and location of the activity so you only have to look at the one schedule for details. Lastly, go through all of your applications and mark down when they are due. Keep this schedule on hand throughout the entire semester so you can continue to use fill it up with important things you have to do.

Lastly, spend some time with yourself. Spending quality time with yourself, I believe, is essential for your sanity and the sanity of the people closest to you. Take a few hours each week to do the things that help center you. For me, writing in my journal or writing poetry always helps to get out any feelings I've been bottling up throughout the week. Instead of taking my frustrations out on my friends, I take it on my pen and my paper and I end up with something I can look back on and learn from. Yes, we should spend some time alone but that doesn't mean we should feel alone. So make sure to find some friends to be around later on because they can definitely help relieve stress, too.

Remember: every new semester is a new beginning and that new beginning can be stress free. All it takes is believing in yourself, organizing your life, and keeping yourself emotionally centered. Of course, things won't be perfect right away and you'll probably still experience some inevitable stress. But if you can minimize the stress in your life even just a little, then I say go for it! You have nothing to lose but negative feelings towards yourself.

Until next time,
Kendra