Find Your Balance

 As the end of the year rolls around there is high stress and anxiety for us college students. It's very easy to get overwhelmed so today I will be sharing some tips and tricks on what I do once I feel my anxiety creeping in and when I just feel too overwhelmed.  Many of us face anxiety at the most inconvenient times so here are some things I try to keep on me at all times in case I find myself in an anxious state when I'm not home.  - any kind of gum (mint helps me the most because of the shock of the flavor at first)  - hair tie/bracelet (gives my hands something to do and fidget with to distract myself)  - aromatherapy nasal inhaler (these are small and easy to store, mine is scented lavender, you can find them on amazon) - headphones (listen to some music, I have a comfort playlist for this specific reason) Now when I am home, I still use all of these tactics, but I have more options like... - using my face roller (I've mentioned this product before, my attacks give my

 As a college student the end of April and the start of May can be the most stressful weeks of each year. Finals are coming up faster than I could ever imagine, but don't discourage yourself!  It's easy to get in your head and think it's all too much and that you aren't cut out for all of this, but even if you are a first year think of how far you've already come. It's the week of stress and all pain is temporary, because finals are a big pain.  When I get discouraged, have no faith in myself, or just want to give up, I tell myself "There is nothing I can't handle". Now I actually started telling myself this last year as a freshman in college. Like most I had a hard year, being away at school while there were new changes in my family and getting diagnosed with alopecia areata that formed from stress and poor diet. Mind you this was in my Spring semester so on top of all of this I had the pain of finals.  As finals are approaching, I keep reminding

 As the weather starts to change into the warmer season my mood tends to take more of a positive outlook. The warmer weather helps my motivation and, in this case, has allowed me to motivate myself to add some more into my schedule. School exercises our minds all day constantly whether we are in class or doing assignments outside of class. These past few weeks I have been focusing more on exercising my body.  With a busy schedule I am not able to go to the gym as much as I would like, and sometimes getting the motivation to go somehow disappears. With my friends also getting excited about the warm weather in between classes we are outside either with a volleyball or a basketball making up games like we are kids again or just goofing around blowing off steam before our next class.  I've found going outside for just an hour on the nice days shifts my mood and motivates me to do it again or even sometimes motivates me to keep going on my day and do the homework I didn't want to do

 In this post I will be talking about and sharing my experience with meditation!  Meditation has recently entered my life because I have enrolled in a yoga class offered at school. Now going into this class, I was a little excited to actually be able to do yoga once a week and also have a lecture about yoga. I know that yoga is very relaxing as it is but then we started learning about meditation and also practicing it.  The first time we meditated I will admit I kept going in and out of sleep, its 9am, I'm in a dark lecture hall with my eyes closed listening to soothing music. Can you blame me? We continue to practice this in class and also got assigned to meditate outside of class on our own. The more practice I do the better my experience is getting.  While in class meditating one thing that helps me focus is when our professor says "What is your body saying to you? Listen to what it is saying to you", because you are so relaxed it seems as if you are telling yourself w

 In previous posts on this blog, I have emphasized giving yourself time. Well, here are some ideas on how to be your own date, and by this, I mean spending some extra quality time with yourself. College can be some troubling times to say the least and to help myself stay in contact with my mind and body, I enjoy doing activities on my own.  This is not always the case everyday but allowing yourself to take the time to be on your own and really take in those moments is something that has really helped me stay on track.  Point Gratiot Park As we all attend SUNY Fredonia driving down to the beach for a sunset or just at any time of day by yourself sitting by the water is very relaxing and almost feels as if I am refreshing myself. I like to bring a book or my journal and just sit and enjoy the nature.  Food Date Take yourself to get food on your own, even if it is just a drive through sit in the car type of mood. After class treating myself to a Tim Hortons breakfast sandwich and coffee j

 As a second-year college student there are a few things I wish my first-year self knew about when it came to a busy school week. One thing I personally notice in myself is stressing and overthinking my schoolwork load leading to procrastination and even more stress. This also leads to a lack of motivation in my day-to-day life causing simple tasks to be difficult to accomplish throughout the week.  To help myself avoid procrastination and extra stress I started planning my week out. Using a planner, my notes app in my phone or even just the back pages of a notebook I plan out every day of the week including schoolwork, errands, and my job and other activities you may include in your week.  This allows me to schedule my homework/study time for each class so by the end of the week I know I have covered all of my classes without putting work off or accidentally forgetting an assignment.  Including, errands you may have to run and the certain days and time you may have to work your job gi