Editorial: Midterms are over, take a break
Whether you are trying to meet new people, survive classes or are just finding it hard to live away from home, college can be difficult for everyone. It can be easy to drown in assignments, projects, papers and other things you have signed up for, but you need to remember to take a break when it’s needed.
Midterms are finally over, and it should give you some breathing room. There won’t be too many big tests or papers due. You should make sure you are looking after yourself, so you can finish the semester strong.
Make sure you give yourself time to relax and get everything back under control. While it is important to complete assignments, your mental health should come first. If you are struggling take a break, ask a classmate or professor for help or even move on to a different assignment and come back.
It is important to know when you to stop. Working longer can lead to stress, burnouts, poor performance or becoming uninterested in your tasks. It’s good to learn now when you need to take a break from everyday stresses.
Relaxation boosts your mood. It reduces anxiety in your life when you take a break from difficult tasks. Relaxation can also help boost productivity. For example, if you stay up until 2 a.m. working on assignments, you’re not going to be well-rested and ready for the next day.
The semester ends on Dec. 15. There’s only two months until the semester is over, and this includes weekends and breaks. This means Thanksgiving break is only a little over a month away. The semester is halfway over, so there isn’t much left.
It doesn’t matter if this is your first semester or your last, what matters is you have accomplished a lot so far. Give yourself a round of applause. You deserve to take a rest.
The point is, when you are constantly thinking about what you have to do next, you are not giving your all to what you’re currently working on. Even if you don’t want to take a nap or put the homework down, there is always something you can do to reduce the stress of classwork, jobs and social functions.
