Finals are just around the corner. The relaxing week-long Thanksgiving break we were given a few days ago was a blessing, but it was also the calm before the storm and has left millions of college students returning to school feeling stressed and frustrated.
These next few weeks are awful for college students.I am swamped with essays and exams I have to study for. I find myself constantly feeling like I have to go somewhere or do something. If I take one second to relax and breathe, I feel guilty. I feel this because the end of the semester is coming at the speed of light. There is just so much to do in so little time. I feel so overwhelmed.

I am someone who stresses out and worries about everything, so these feelings are familiar to me, now they simply are more amplified. I have learned to handle it mostly and have accepted the fact that finals season is stressful. Lately, I've seen a lot of my friends struggling with the end of the semester. I've seen many of them sit back and kind of freeze in time as they watch the days go by, worrying that their decisions in the upcoming hours will affect their future negatively, or that they are not doing enough.

I want to tell all of them that it will all be okay, but I want to believe that as well. I know how stressed we all are. No matter how far away my friends are, we can connect because we all feel the same way about school during this time of year.

I am so proud of each and every one of them. I am proud of their accomplishments so far in school and in life, and I know that if they have gotten this far into their college career, that they have the power to make it out and find something they truly love to do.
School is stressful. It is a fact of life.

Finals season drains the life out of all of us, but we have to stick together. Provide support for those friends you see struggling. Be there to listen to them when they need to vent about how stressed they are. Never say they shouldn't "complain" because you have more to do. Not everyone can handle the same workload. Everyone is different and handles stress differently. Be kind and be there for others while also taking care of yourself.

Reserve that study room, get those flash cards ready and study as much as you can but take breaks, or you'll lose your mind. The holidays will be here before you know it, so just hold on!