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Books Lit

Poetry On Odyssey: Let Me Cry

While this night felt like a never-ending horror, it reminds me that while things seem like they may last forever, they really don't and things do get better.

Rutgers University

Soondus Hussein

This is a poem that I wrote months ago amidst an unexplainable mental breakdown. It feels weird to share and I usually don't like to share personal things that I write like this but I am doing this to remind people that pain is temporary. I felt trapped and unable to speak to anybody about how I was feeling despite the love that surrounded me. Writing has always been my sanction and reading the things I have written during the hardest obstacles in my life, remind me that perseverance is capable and life is constantly changing, but it does get better. Reading things like this reminds me that it is unhealthy to hold in your emotions and way better to console in someone that you trust for help. For anyone going through something, just know that you're not alone and that it is okay to express your feelings, you are not a burden.

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poetry

Nature Animals

55 Things To Do To Help You Bloom, Even in Winter

We are starting to enter a time where the seasons are changing and the chilling, bitter, and much-dreaded winter is upon us. Here are 55 ways to ~bloom~ and not ~die~ like beautiful plants often do during winter.

University of North Dakota

55 Things To Do To Help You Bloom, Even in Winter

https://unsplash.com/photos/KQ6sO8m1ZDE

You, whoever you are, are like a peach tree. Right now we are in pruning season. This is when the fruit that has been growing on our branches is pruning, ripening, and preparing to fall off of our branches. We must let these pruned fruits fall in order for us to begin growing new fruit. A new fruit that will not weigh us down or make our tree ugly. So let the pruned fruits fall and let new fruits grow as this is the act of re-blossoming. It is a sign of a new beginning. A fresh start.

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Education

Getting The 4.0 You Deserve Is Possible With These 7 Steps

Despite what society says, getting a 4.0 in college while working a part time job, isn't that hard.

University of North Dakota

Getting The 4.0 You Deserve Is Possible With These 7 Steps

Photo by Nicole Honeywill on Unsplash

To begin, you should know that I haven't always been a good student. In high school, I managed to scrape by with D's and C's. Grades that were certainly below average I dicked around my entire high school career, until one night, as graduation was approaching, I was looking at my ACT score, my grade point average, and the requirements for the college I wanted to attend. My grades were barely below the minimum requirement for the University of North Dakota's admission. It was at this moment that I thought, "I'm going to have to go to a technical college and study dental. There is no way that I'll get accepted here or be successful, for that matter." I was devastated, but also was revived. It was at this very moment that I decided that I was capable of chasing my dream to be a teacher. I was capable of chasing my dream to be the second one in my family to attend and graduate from a four-year university. I suddenly was so determined to chase what I had always dreamed of. And so, I did just that. I chased my damn dream, and this is where I am at today.

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Career Development

Set Goals And Reminders To Prevent Your Biggest Dreams From Burning Out

Having any goal, no matter how small or large, to act as a light at the end of the tunnel, will make the long, sometimes dim, journey completely worth it.

Rutgers University

Unsplash

Once again, we approach that dreaded point of the semester, finals season. It's been a few days or weeks since the last midterm, the campus is starting to have a holiday vibe, but before we get too distracted filling up our Amazon carts, we, unfortunately, need to shift gears. Instead of making Christmas wish lists, we have to plan out what to study. Thanksgiving provided a short break before the grind, but now that it's over, all of the lists, assignments, projects, and essays seem to be piling up.

Without a doubt, I can say that this has been my hardest semester yet. My days have gone back to waking up at close to the same time as I would in high school and working late into the night. Multiple times, at least once a week, I've wondered, "Have I taken on too much?" The answer, "probably," but that still didn't stop me from trying to fit everything in. It definitely seemed overwhelming during the beginning of the semester as I tried to schedule classes like organic chemistry and physics, with extracurriculars, research, and a part-time job, while almost forgetting about giving myself some free time. Overwhelming would be an understatement.

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career development

Politics

'Sought Help' And 55 Other Things I Wish I'd Done When I Fell Into A Depressive State

Rather than getting the help that I knew I needed, I isolated myself and pushed the things that I knew would help me, away.

University of North Dakota

128

'Sought Help' And 55 Other Things I Wish I'd Done When I Fell Into A Depressive State

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Freshman year can be hard. Things are changing and you're in an unfamiliar time and place in your life. You don't want to admit that sometimes help is what you need in order to get you off of your feet and back on the road to success. However, sometimes seeking help is the simplest thing you can do for yourself to pull out of the abyss you're in. Here are 55 things that I wish I had done, in addition to seeking medical help, when I fell into a state of major depression last spring.

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Student Life

12 GIFs That Capture The Essence Of The End-Of-Semester Burnout

For all of your coping needs.

West Chester University

247

12 GIFs That Capture The Essence Of The End-Of-Semester Burnout

Walt Disney Pictures

You're feeling it. I'm feeling it. We're all feeling it—that stress-mongering, headache-inducing, therapy-heavy time of the semester when higher education loses its sanity. Coffee on full throttle.

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While this night felt like a never-ending horror, it reminds me that while things seem like they may last forever, they really don't and things do get better.

We are starting to enter a time where the seasons are changing and the chilling, bitter, and much-dreaded winter is upon us. Here are 55 ways to ~bloom~ and not ~die~ like beautiful plants often do during winter.

1. Breathe in

2. Breathe out

3. Practice guided meditation

4. Bullet journal

5. Or regular journal

6. Enjoy a cup of tea in silence

7. Wash your bed sheets

8. And your bedroom curtains

9. Make your bed with these new clean bed sheets

10. Open your curtains to invite natural vitamin D into your home (dorm room)

11. Paint your nails

12. Take a shower

13. Or a soothing bubble bath

14. Read a good book

15. Put your dirty clothes in the hamper

16. Put your dirty dishes in the sink

17. Fold your laundry

18. Log out of social media (trust me on this one)

19. Exercise

20. Even if it is just for a half an hour

21. Light a candle

22. Dim the lights

23. Learn to enjoy your time with yourself

24. Thank the Lord for where you are

25. And for waking you up today

26. Practice gratitude

27. And being mindful

28. Unfollow people on social media who make you feel less than

29. Buy an essential oil diffuser

30. And inhale the sweet smells of lemon grass

31. Eat vegetables, even if it is one single stalk of broccoli

32. Drink your water

33. Fuel your body

34. And your mind a

35. Might as well feed your soul, too

36. Invest your negative energy or general funkiness into something worthwhile

37. Like art

38. Or volunteering

39. Or building something (like a relationship)

40. Remember to wash your hair

41. And take your trash out (this includes exes and toxic friends)

42. Buy a new shade of lipstick (if you're a makeup addict such as myself)

43. Or a new book

44. Or an old book (sometimes these can be better)

45. Enjoy a bowl of ice cream (guilt free)

46. Practice talking nice to yourself

47. Practice loving yourself

48. Even when it's hard

49. Because I love you and you should too

50. Color in a coloring book

51. Adult or children coloring books work well

52. Spread love as if it is all you have (trust me, it feels good)

53. Call your mom

54. Inhale the idea of new beginnings

55. And hang tight because better things are yet to come

Despite what society says, getting a 4.0 in college while working a part time job, isn't that hard.

1. Get a planner and use it

2. Prioritize

3. Sleep

4. Eat right

5. Exercise

6. Balance

7. Breathe

Having any goal, no matter how small or large, to act as a light at the end of the tunnel, will make the long, sometimes dim, journey completely worth it.

Rather than getting the help that I knew I needed, I isolated myself and pushed the things that I knew would help me, away.

1. Left my room

2. Talked to my mom

3. And my dad

4. And my roommates

5. Taken care of my body and mind

6. Told my counselor the truth right away

7. Stopped trying to mask my anxieties

8. Took self-care more seriously

9. Understood that I am not the first nor the last person to struggle with this mix of depression and anxiety

10. Understood that my parents were the least judge-mental people I could talk to

11. Understood that above all things, I come first

12. Understood that professors understand more than I realize

13. Engaged in more things that "filled my gas tank of life"

You have a B- in that class. Whew, okay. Any further displays of effort are futile...