This past week has probably been one of the most stressful weeks of my entire life.
Dramatic, I know, but it’s true. Between being sick on two separate occasions, class work piling up and my car deciding to die while I was supposed to be taking a nice break off campus to see my boyfriend, you could say that my head has been a bit all over the place.
I know that it sounds like I’m complaining over small things because I’m just a sophomore and my “life can’t be too difficult yet, right?” I understand why some people would assume that.
I am just a sophomore, so why am I already having so much trouble getting through this year? That has been the main question I have asked myself over the past few days.
Another question that has been in the back of my mind is “How am I supposed to fix everything now?” I guess that is the most important question moving forward.
How am I supposed to keep up with everything going on around me when I feel as though my entire world is spiraling and there is nothing I can do about it?
Now, I’ve worked myself out of this kind of situation before. In my first semester of college, I had this type of breakdown and had to pull myself out of it and keep going.
Through talking to friends, family and staff here at Gannon, I was able to get myself up out of my slump and keep moving. I ended up passing all of my classes, which surprised even me.
My main problem is that I get overwhelmed far too quickly. I look at all of the things I need to accomplish and want to shut down right away without even giving it a try.
I guess my first step will be to avoid doing that at all costs. I imagine that it will be easier said than done, but it’s time to give it a shot.
Another issue of mine is that I want to give up on everything too easily. We have only been in school for a couple of weeks and I can’t even count how many times I questioned what I am actually doing here and if I’m as happy here as I want to be.
The truth is, I am happy here. I just need to find a way to be calm and happy here.
I won’t let stress and anxiety ruin my entire college experience. These are supposed to be some of the best years of my life, right?
OK, maybe that’s just wishful thinking, but you get the point. College is supposed to be a time where I’m not dealing with all of the stress of being an adult yet. I should stop being so worried about doing things perfectly or doing things exactly how other people want me to do them.
That is what causes me the most stress. It’s time for me to work myself out of another slump. Hopefully, like I did before, I will come out stronger.

HARLEE BOEHM
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