Publication for VICE
   
I’m on the train on my way home from class and all I can think about is how much work I need to get done. I have an essay due at 8 am, an assignment due in my psychology class, and I have to study for a test I have in two days. But when am I going to do all of this? As soon as I get home I have to shower, eat, and go to work. I don’t get out of work until 11 pm so, that means I’m most likely going to be up late getting all of this done. College. Stress. These two words go together just like peanut butter and jelly. As a student, every spare minute seems to be filled with worrying. You always feel like you have to achieve something and make plans for your future. Instead of relaxing on your days off, you’re worrying about assignments you need to complete, or working to earn some extra money. It’s safe to say the educational system and the way it works seems to put a lot of stress on students. To my fellow students, you’re not alone and I completely understand. But, we can’t let the stress control our lives. It’s not healthy. As for college professors, we should turn our attention to making sure students can rebound between intense intellectual activity, just as athletes rest between hard and intense workouts.
According to Psych Central, 1 in 5 college students have stress and may even consider suicide. Most students juggle part-time jobs along with school, worry about assignments, stress about the future, and finally how and when to make the next step. Trying to handle all these things at once can leave you feeling overwhelmed. This stress can cause multiples problems, not just emotional, but physical as well. With the pressure to do well in college, students may become sleep deprived. Such sleep deprivation impairs mental capacity, but this is only one of the many problems that may come with stress. There have been so many instances where students are so overwhelmed they turn to drugs or alcohol in hopes of reducing the stress or just “letting go” for a moment. Next thing you know every time you’re sitting down to get an assignment done, you’re also setting down a bottle of wine or vodka at your table. The abuse of Adderall is also very common in students. It is a strong central nervous system stimulant that is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. But, college students who face a long night of cramming for exams often whip this out in order to improve focus, sharpen mental acuity and provide a small energy boost for more productive study. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health in 2009, the study found that full-time college students, between the ages of 18 and 22, were twice as likely to abuse Adderall than those of the same age not in college. There has to be some way to put a stop to this amount of stress being put on students.
In my case since this is my first year of college, the transition is what has caused most of my stress. I went from attending a high school where the education wasn’t the best, where teachers barely taught to becoming a young adult, juggling college and a part-time job. Then the rest of my stress was caused by how unprepared I felt coming into college. I felt like I had to work twice as hard to make up for what wasn’t provided for me in high school. But, I see that one of the most common problems is how professors manage the workload in class. During my first semester, I felt like it was just a workload after workload. For example, in my psychology class, we had to study for a midterm and then the same day that we took the midterm, we had to do an essay. Of course, everyone knows that college isn’t easy because it requires a lot of work from you. But, you gotta cut us some slack. How would you not be stressed out with such intense work being given to you back to back like that? By doing this, it’s more likely for students to fail classes and not do so well.
But for my students, I know it might not seem like it when you’re feeling down, but reducing stress is possible. If you’re under so much stress that you feel like you’re drowning (trust me, I’ve been there), something in your routine isn’t working. First of all, maybe you’re not managing your time correctly. Like my mom always says, “Don’t leave for tomorrow what you can do today.” In college, the worst thing you can do is procrastinate. So, make a schedule. This is one thing that has helped me tremendously. Keep track of the due dates for your assignments and get a head start on assignments. It’s important to be productive; if you’re not at work, get some school work done. Also, be in contact with your professors. If your personal life is taking such a toll on you, let them know what’s going on. Some professors are cool enough to give you an extension.
The point is, I believe it is possible for there to be a less stressful college experience. Maybe professors need to change their approach or students need to change their habits to limit these problems. We all know college is a lot but the question is, does it really have to be?
Works Cited
Mentor Article: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/8x7xvp/six-students-on-how-to-get-through-college-as-a-poc
In this article, the writer shares their personal experience, presents research(statistical info), and then offer advice to their audience. This is the route that I’m looking to take when writing my paper.
1) Damour, Lisa. “How to Help Teenagers Embrace Stress.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Sept. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/09/19/well/family/how-to-help-teenagers-embrace-stress.html.
2) “How to Recognize College Stress & Send It Packing.” Trade, www.trade-schools.net/articles/college-stress.asp.
3) Nauert, Rick. “Survey: 1 in 5 College Students Stressed, Considers Suicide.” Psych Central, 11 Sept. 2018, psychcentral.com/news/2018/09/11/survey-1-in-5-college-students-stressed-considers-suicide/138516.html.
4) https://luxury.rehabs.com/adderall-addiction/statistics/
