Whether you’re a college upperclassman, a college freshman, or even a high school senior who, in a few short months, will once again become a tiny goldfish in a big ocean (it’s an awful pun, I know…..bear with me here), you probably know of or have at least heard of what is known as the “hell months” of the year for every college campus in the United States-November and April. While this may not be true in the opinions of some, the gruesome cruelties of these two months of the year have been some of the most stressful times of my life, simply because of all of the work that must be done, all of the finals that must be studied for, all of the classes that must be scheduled, and we cannot forget that pesky B+ that simply must be brought up to an A. Believe me when I say that I’ve been there-I know from experience what misery these times bring. To help my fellow college pupils destress and relax, I have provided 3 points that have helped me, and hopefully they will help others as well.

1. B’s are Blessings

So perhaps you have tried and tried and tried, but you cannot get the grade that you want in a class. My advice to you is to not stress yourself out! Putting a ton of pressure on yourself to be great doesn’t help matters at all-in fact, usually doing so only makes things worse. As long as you know that you have done the very best that you could do in a class and that you gave it all you had to give, you’ll be just fine.

2. Take Time for Yourself

When 104,564,047 assignments are being thrown at you at once from all angles, it’s hard to find any time for yourself. Heck, most days I do good to squeeze in a 15 minute resting period edgewise. While it may be satisfying to know that you have gotten most of your homework completed in one night’s time, it also keeps you from spending some time with the one who ultimately matters most in your life-yourself. My advice here is to try and set a goal to get a certain number of your assignments done each night, and once those assignments have been finished, declare a stopping point and spend the rest of the evening or day doing what you yourself want to do.

3. S.O.S

If you truly find yourself stuck in a rut, don’t be afraid to ask for a helping hand! I know that it can be difficult to ask for help in college-perhaps you are afraid of seeming stupid, or maybe you don’t know where to go to for help or who to ask. I want to tell you from experience that if you keep from getting help when you need it, you’ll find yourself deeper and deeper into trouble and it may be harder for you to get the adequate amount of help that you need. There are all kinds of sources that you can turn to for help. I know that at Lindsey Wilson College, for instance, we have tutors, an online library database, a writing center, and so many other lifesavers who are more than happy to help students with anything that they need, both in an academic sense and anything else.

I know that college is full of stress of all sorts. Not only are you trying to make good grades in your classes to keep any kind of scholarship or financial aid that you may have, but you are also trying to figure out what you are going to be doing with your life after you get out of school. In the midst of all the hard times, though, its crucial to remember to have fun. You’ll never get this time of your life back once its gone, and the last thing that you want your college years to be full of is regrets or reminisces of “what could’ve been.” Care about the important things, but be sure to save room for good times, too.