Yes, it is true, freshman year of college calls for you to become the 'A word', which happens to be adult. Along with taking on this new title comes a new lifestyle. This lifestyle entails taking on tasks you may have never done yourself before. Some examples may be doing your laundry, advocating for yourself, or most important planning ahead. The key to success in college, so I've heard, is the scariest monster to face, time management (AKA when to say no to going out with friends and to begin 'adult-ing').

Let's start with school work. So eventually we all want to become something of some sort, which is why we are in college, right? OK then, so this requires work, a lot a lot of work. In order to complete this work, it is ideal to purchase a planner as well as having your phone calendar in order to plan out your days. Following this schedule will allow you to try to accomplish what you have planned for the day, and always remember to leave room for time to yourself. In order to stay sane while trying to accomplish your dream, you need to think about your self and your interests.

This brings me to another serious point: Friends are extremely important to have and to make, but they can wait to see you until you finish your work. If they choose to do other things than their work, hey, at least you are advocating for yourself, and accomplishing all necessary in order to follow your dream. Notice how I emphasize you?

Not having a plan causes stress and anxiety, but hey, who doesn't have those on a daily basis? I'm not saying planning ahead and making a schedule will relinquish these stresses and anxieties, but these options will minimize them for sure! Next time you are relaxing on your phone procrastinating that English essay, maybe sit at your desk with all of your syllabuses and a highlighter. Highlight important dates and assignments coming up, pull out your planner and write them down, then don't forget to write the essay. This exercise will allow these dates to seem somewhat relevant in your brain when you choose to think ahead. I suggest doing this weekly, every Sunday take some time out to remind yourself of what you have coming up in the upcoming week to prepare yourself and hopefully eliminate some of the stress and anxiety.

What I want you to take away from this is the importance of you in your life. Battling this monster will only allow you to blossom and rid of negative energy. Also, wipe the dust off of the planner, or go and purchase one and try to actually use it! Time management is an equation involving you, your activities, friends, class work, study time, and social time. If all of these are balanced the equation yields low stress and low anxiety, but these results fluctuate until you learn to master the equation.