Raining Dictionaries and Cutting Turqoise Squash

As I am sure you have noticed, summer is right around the bend, which, being college students means, finals are coming up. As much as we'd like to just run outside in our bathing suits screaming "F#&^@ YOU!", to our professors, we've really got to buckle down. This week has been hell when it comes to studying, and I'm pretty sure everyone else is feeling the pressure. Along with school work, I'm sure many of you have to deal with other situations that have been pushing down your morale. We've snowed ourselves under in a particular class, we've been putting off a serious conversation, or fear of failure is just pushing us against the ground as finals are coming up. I think I speak for all of us when I say that the stress we carry is not always recognized by others, and therefore, not thought of as serious.

The trepidation caused by our fears and responsiblities can be overwhelming. I do realize that I posted something in the past about stress and finding and outlet to help us escape from the tension. Now that finals week is only a week away for me, I feel that I should write a bit more about the opposing side of stress. Like I've said before, stress can be a good thing as well as a bad thing. While we feel overwhelmed, we realize that things need to get done, which is of course a good thing. When you're like yours truly, and stress starts to eat away at you, and you forget to eat and sleep seems to elude you, you are taking quite poorly to your stressors. Now, at the same time I am writing this blog, I am at the same time, trying to releive some of that tension. Writing does serve as my outlet, and I'm working on dealing better with my stress. However, it does come to my attention that there are some people who are focusing too much on the concept of "taking a break", to the point that nothing gets done.

Taking a break, or relaxing is a very good tactic to relieve stress, but a strategy I am working on currently is one I like to call the "get shit done" approach. Basically, get shit done (pardon the French, but I need to be blunt with this). If something needs to be taken care of and it's stressing you out, try to get it out of the way as soon as possible. For example, if you have a speech you need to give in a class, volunteer to go first or second to get it out of the way. Things are a lot less stressful if you get a head start on things. Do not procrastinate. I know everyone can taste summer on the tips of their tongues, but that shouldn't change the way that you are going about your day. If anything, you should be trying to take care of everything possible so you don't have to worry or be distracted near the end of finals week. 

I've got 2 weeks left of classes, and this is the first day of "dead week" at my school. We have no homework or quizzes or new material being introduced. This is a week set aside for studying. Now do you think that everyone takes advantage of this? Absolutely not. There are people who are carelessly wasting their time hanging out with friends or skipping class to go do some random crap, well I say that when finals roll around, they might end up their decision to not prioritize. Here is my last words of advice, because you won't find me writing in this for at least 2 weeks:

Though it would be much easier to put studying off and enjoy the weather, just buckle down and get what needs to be done taken care of. There's not much time left this semester, so try to finish strong.

“Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.” 

-Lyn Yutang