In the first few weeks of classes, I’ve noticed some of my friends becoming increasingly more anxious with the amount of schoolwork and projects that they have been assigned. It’s become increasingly clear that those of us who spent hours working on schoolwork throughout high school have become prepared to take on this stress.

This is not to say that I have not had nights where I feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work I have yet to complete, but I have been able to discipline myself to a point where I get all of my work done early. I try to finish all of my Spanish assignments the week before they are due so that I can fully focus in class without worrying which textbook pages I will need to look at all night.

I still have a lot to learn about time management. I try to keep myself on a tight schedule when I am working on a project so that I can ensure that I produce the best quality assignment that I can, but researching background information on a topic can be difficult for me at times.

Sometimes, in attempting to get everything done, I stress myself out even more. It is in these moments when I turn to the beauty of song and poetry to let myself rest for a bit. My most valuable piece of advice to anyone going through a stressful time is to keep up with their hobbies – it’ll pay off in the end.