As midterms roll around and the tension on my campus becomes so tangible one could cut it with a knife, it's easy to plunge into the stress of it all. For me, I know with every yes, it's finally the weekend! means that I'm really just one week closer to graduation. And if I'm being real, the amount of stress mounting surrounding classes, grad prep, attempting to eat right etc. seems overwhelming.

Just looking around campus and talking with classmates, I can see it on their faces too. If it's not striving for good grades it's being involved enough in a frat/sorority or a sports team. College presents a lot of balancing that most of us pretend to not notice. I've seen the Matador statue covered in roses as a gesture for good luck—I know everyone's stressed.

So to combat the pressure I feel I've been noticing myself partaking in an interesting habit recently. Whether I longboard or walk to class, I take a second to appreciate—and sometimes even take a moment to smell—the abundant roses on campus. And although it sounds immensely cliche, I swear it helps! Not only do I get distracted from my worries for a few moments, but I seize the opportunity to find beauty in my campus.

Now it doesn't have to be literally stopping to smell the roses for everyone, but simply taking a second to appreciate campus, take an earbud out to listen to the bustle of campus in the morning or even pausing to watch the squirrels attack people for scraps of food can really help center you. In these moments you take your individualistic problems and worries and trade them in for a moment of community.

So yeah, college is a wonderful time to be stressed out and never catch those mystical eight hours of sleep, but in the long run? Totally worth every stress-inducing minute of it. And as my pal Ferris Bueller would say, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it."