Column: Do not let stress take over you

Chris Picazo, Opinions Editor

It seems to be that time of the semester where students are starting to feel stresses out about classes, assignments, tests and just about anything else you could name.

It could be the cold, snowy weather that makes everything much worse than it seems. It could be the responsibilities of school work, participating in student organizations and working a part-time job.

A survey conducted by the Associated Press in 2009 found that 85 percent of college students have experienced or frequently experience daily stress from college.

There is a lot of pressure for college students nowadays.

The idea to pull all-nighters, study a ridiculous amount of hours for one test, having no time to go out in hopes of graduating and getting a decent paying job in the field you obtained your degree in.

The Associated Press survey reported: 77 percent of students feel stress over academic concerns; 77 percent feel stress about grades; and 60 percent feel stress to the point where they cannot get any work done.

The idea of your student loans building up each year and accruing interest as more time passes.

A national survey from The Ohio State University reported in 2015 that seven out 10 students feel stressed about their finances.

The Institute for College Access and Success reported in 2015 that the average debt a student in Illinois higher education had after graduation was $28,984.

If you’re lucky, you will have a lot less. Or you could have gone out-of-state after high school and decided to transfer in-state, and accumulated a ridiculous amount of debt in the process.

You could also be worried about what is to come after graduation.

That excitement to once leave home after high school may not have lasted all through four years of college. It’s all overwhelming.

It’s seems that with so many responsibilities and things to worry about nowadays, there isn’t really enough free time left in the week.

College is hard, and there is a lot of responsibility to go along with it.

There is a point to all of this, and it not just meant to make you more stressed out by looking at percentage and figures.

We all know college is a stressful environment to be in.

We all think about the things listed above, so there is no reason to pretend we don’t.

College only takes up a small portion of our entire lives. While it is important to think about school and what is to happen in the future, you also have to allow yourself a day to unwind and just not think about anything.

Have a day for yourself every now and again, and do what you want to do because before you know it, you could be senior about to graduate.

Enjoy your time at college. I’ve heard it is the best years of our lives.

Chris Picazo is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].