If you are in college, whether you are a senior or a first year, you have discovered that college, to put it simply, is hard. College takes up a lot of time. College, as you know, can be very stressful. I'm not just talking about harder classes, 18 credits, two essays, one homework assignment, I'm also talking about everything else. You take class, yes, but you also are encouraged to be part of extracurricular activities. Join film club! Theater! Mountain Biking! Basketball! SGA! CIA! FBI! Wait, not those last two... My point is, there is so much you can join and do. Then, there are friends to keep up with, family to update, things to buy, food to eat. As an added bonus, at Warren Wilson, we have a work program, and we work 15 hours a week. In between classes, work, extracurriculars, and having any kind of human interaction, it can be easy to lose yourself and forget about the most important part of this whole "college" thing, and that is yourself. I have been guilty of forgetting to take care of myself many many times, and even after doing it, and having my dad fuss at me for it, I still end up lost in my sea of basketball workouts, classes, RA responsibilities, work and clubs. Yes, it is good to be super involved, but not if you are neglecting yourself.

So, what can you do, my fellow college students, to help yourself? I think the most important thing is to not get caught up in the rush of everyday life. Days move so fast, it can be easy to just run along with the days and forget that you aren't just a robot, you are a person, with feelings and needs, and even though it is important to keep up and get to class, and go to work, you need to take some time each day to stop, breathe, and reflect. This, for me, comes in the form of getting coffee from our campus cafe and sitting there for however long I have, to collect my thoughts. Stopping for a short time gets me oriented in the right direction for the day. Along those same lines, it is super important to be on top of things and organize. I am not the best person at staying on top of my assignments, because I love to procrastinate. I have a love-hate relationship with procrastination. Don't do it. Procrastination is an unforgiving lover. It is also important to stop worrying about others so much. This might be true more for me than for anyone reading this, but I get in the habit of worrying about others more than myself. How are my teammates doing? How's my dad? If someone needs something done, I feel the need to do it for them. Sometimes I have to step back and learn how to say no. No, I can't tutor you tonight, no I can't make that poster, no, I can't drive you somewhere. No, I can't mow your lawn. Saying no is okay. And, for the record, nobody has ever asked me to mow their lawn, but for future reference, the answer to that question is no.

If you do all these things, you aren't guaranteed success or happiness, but you will feel much better about yourself, and your mind, soul, and body will thank you. Because, trust me, being overworked and burnt out is not fun, and it's definitely not worth it. So, take care of yourselves!