Dear Stressed College Student,

Winter break is winding down and the peace and quiet you enjoyed for a few weeks is slowly being replaced with the stresses that come with starting a new semester.

Financial issues, roommate problems, searching for the cheapest textbook options and preparing for the seemingly never-ending onslaught of homework that will greet you when you return to college are like specters haunting the peace of your break. Just when you feel like you have enough on your plate, another issue comes up that needs to be resolved. At a time when you want a break from everything weighing you down, more and more things come to stress you out and you wonder how you’ll be able to deal with everything.

You were thankful for the long break from school and stress, but now these issues and others are coming up again and the date when you will have to directly deal with them is slowly creeping nearer and nearer. Sometimes it feels like your break isn’t long enough to give you the proper rest you need before throwing yourself back into the vortex of homework, finances and worries about the future.

Anxiety, stress and worry chew away at you because there is so much you need to do before going back. I know how that feels from personal experience – I feel the same way you do right now. I know what it feels like to want a respite from stress and an extended to-do list full of important items but not be fully able to enjoy the rest you deserve.

Like you, I’m nowhere near close to figuring out how to keep stress and worry from invading your rest. But I have learned some things that help.

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

God knows exactly what’s causing you stress and worry, and He’s bigger than all of them. He has everything under control and knows how everything is going to pan out. Talk to Him about your feelings and ask Him to give you the patience and strength you will need to make it through. Know that He cares about you and is on your side.

Close your eyes. Take some deep breaths in, and let them out. Clear your mind of everything bothering you and go for a run, write in your journal, read a book, sleep in late or binge watch your favorite show. Most importantly, enjoy the remainder of your break so that you can return refreshed, rejuvenated and ready to wrestle with whatever life throws at you in the coming semester.

Sincerely,

A Fellow College Student Who’s Rooting for You