With the new semester creeping up on us, it has me thinking about all of the impending stress I am no doubt going to be battling. With stress comes anxiety, mood swings, and sometimes even depression. I don't want to be a victim to that anymore but sometimes I wonder if there's any way to stop it.

The piles of work and countless deadlines are staring me straight in the face and no matter how much I plan, I know that it's going to overcome me, and I will be helpless to stop it.

Both high school and college have gotten so incredibly stressful. Society has told us that we need to have stellar grades and have the best work ethic to get anywhere in life. As the semester goes on, we drown ourselves with due dates, essays, commitments, and stress. There's only so much we can handle.

Every semester, I battle with balancing my social, work, and school life and have at least two mental breakdowns. Once I let the tears out, I feel like I can tackle it all again. That is, until I have the next breakdown.

This isn't healthy.

I'm going to say this because I don't know if you have someone in your life to say it to you. These five words have helped me enormously because it felt like I had someone on my side and rooting for me.

I have faith in you.

I wish I could be there for you to coach you through the all-nighters and rub your back when you're sobbing over a grade you just received. I wish I could brew you a fresh pot of coffee and conduct impromptu dance parties to keep you awake. I wish I could hold you accountable, so you don't fall behind.

But I can't. All I can do is type these words and hope you feel the strength and faith behind them.

I'm about to start my seventh college semester; seventeenth semester if you count grade school. I have been through this cycle a time or two. I have always been that student to stress WAY MORE than they should and rethink every answer on every test. Trust me, it will be okay.

That hard test will fade from your memory and that grade you hoped would disappear will. As long as you give it your all and don't kill yourself in the process, it will all be worth it. You'll get that diploma and that degree, and you'll walk across that stage knowing you deserve this.

Just take a breath. I have faith in you and together, we will see the finish line.