Have you ever written down all of the tasks and activities you have going on? Think of it as a "To Do" list of your daily life. Quick, take a pen and a piece of paper and make a list of everything activity or class that's constantly running through the back of your mind right now. How long is it? Mine seems like a mile. Classes, work, you name it and a college student at any school is probably worrying about it. At such a young age, all of us are balancing so many things at once. Our days are planned meticulously so we can try and accomplish as much as possible in the shortest amount of time.

Then, to top it all off, we have social lives that need to be fulfilled because without them we may actually go insane. The sense of relief one gets from forgetting their responsibilities and being in the company of their friends is indescribable. If it weren't for the people we care about, the stress might eat us alive. The logic behind this is: what's the point of doing your best if there's no one around to celebrate with you? That weight you feel from the 10 page paper you spent four days one month writing and perfecting, won't truly disappear until you've let off some steam with your friends.

It's a great feeling when you finally get a task done that you've been worrying about for a while. But all of that hard work and celebration doesn't come without it's mental and physical downfalls. According to a 2008 mental health study by the Associated Press and mtvU, 80% of college students say they have sometimes or frequently experienced stress in their daily lives over the past three months. This is an increase of 20% from a survey five years ago. And 34% have experienced depression. That's insane. All we've ever heard is that college is supposed to be the greatest time of our lives, and yes I strongly believe that this is true. However, when more than half of us are constantly stressed out it's hard to really bask in the joy that is college.

Life seems like it is flying by and there's nothing we can do to stop it. It seems like it because it is. All we can do is embrace the craziness and try to make the most out of each day and try not to get distracted from what's important. Yes, getting a 4.0 in every class and on every exam would be ideal, but for some (including me) it's not a reality. Your mental health and well being is far too important.

I'm still not sure how we manage to handle every stress-inducing task, but what I do know is to remember not let it get the best of you.