Finals Week is Upon Us!

So as you may know and may have heard, Finals Week is here and imminent, leading to insane amounts of cramming, an obscene amount of coffee consumption, and all nighters all around. While it may be a little bit better for your test grade because it allows you more study time, it is not the best thing for your health. When your body is stressed out, it is more prone to getting sick! And everyone knows that being sick during Finals is the worst. 

"No, Linus, it doesn't have to be. Not with these handy dandy tips!"

Carver's Guide to: Dealing With Stress

The end of the first semester is right around the corner, which means papers, projects, and tests are coming all at once.  Unfortunately, with the substantial increase in work comes a substantial amount of stress.  Some people have methods of coping with stress, but others just let it build up until they cannot handle it anymore.   According to Harvard, many people do not handle stress correctly.  My goal with this blog is to help you maintain your health, both physically and mentally, during highly stressful periods of time.

It's Just a Test

For our high school juniors who took the PSAT on Wednesday, October 16th, you were administered Form W. For those that aren't juniors or didn't take Form W of the PSAT, you are left out of an (apparently very funny) inside joke.

How to Survive Midterms (Peacefully) at UT Tyler

So this is around the time of the year when all of my professors decide that they are the only class I have to study for and therefore make all of their tests and projects due on the same day. Not like in high school where they would have all of their tests and projects in the same week. This is just serves as a preview to remind me of what is about to ensue. 

I wonder what Boromir would major in...

 In a few short weeks, it will be fall semester midterms, second only to finals in level of stress. For some people it may even be more stressful than finals! Reason being, if you do well enough on your midterms, you will have less pressure to make the perfect score on your final exam to bail yourself out.

This is how to survive your midterm :)

1.   Drink lots of water. Your brain is made out of mostly water and fat. That sounds gross, but it is actually perfect for all of the processes necessary to keep us alive. To deprive it of water and sleep is setting it up for a not so good grade in my experience.
2. Study, but do not cram. This goes without saying. Make sure the day before the test, you just lightly go over your notes.
3. Work with your natural environment, not against it. If you’re a social learner, get in a study group. Don’t know anyone? Bashfully admit you have no clue what you’re doing and be surprised when you meet the best friend of your life. If you prefer to work alone? Do it. Come as you are and flourish.
4. Set realistic goals for yourself.  Don’t expect perfection; you’ll make mistakes. That’s part of the beauty of being human.
5.      Respect yourself and your work. This is not the time to throw away all your hard work by cheating. Everyone has heard of “that person” who got her hands on the answer key to memorize the answers. While they may get the better grade, they don’t respect themselves and they lack integrity. The grade becomes irrelevant.

Never fear, readers! After the midterm frenzy is Thanksgiving Break and then a mad dash for finals week. Keep calm and patriot on!

They think you rock (:

UT Tyler Back to School Blues

I am so glad to be back from break. As much as I didn't want to return to class, just being back in my OWN dorm room with MY bed and no little brothers messing with all my stuff has been a relief.

In the midst of basking in my regained freedom, I didn't realize that school was starting again so soon.
Just because I am not ready for school to start doesn't mean that school is going to wait. So, for all of you starting out the semester, GET ALL OF YOUR THINGS TOGETHER! Get your textbooks, read your syllabus, and believe that your professors will give you work the first day back. Seriously. I'm suffering now.

Good luck to everyone! This semester is going to be great!

How To Handle Stress

   If anything, college is a lot like high school. What was the one thing we all knew high school was? Drama. Now, unlike high school drama, college drama tends to actually matter ...

Take a Break from Stress (Fun Event!)

                Well, here at The University of Texas at Tyler, I'm sort of involved in all of the things. I, somehow, hold three officer positions this year in various clubs. A large body of the tasks that have been assigned to me, are to let people know about the events we are putting on all over campus for the rest of the semester! Aren't y'all lucky?


 Next Tuesday, September 25th, Peer Education is throwing a day of relaxation for all UT Tyler students and faculty/staff members!

Harvey Lake, taken by Josh Grijalva 

The line-up includes:

• chair massages from (8am-12) 
• "Yoga by the Lake" (11am-12) 
•  progressive relaxation with one of our licensed professional counselors (beginning at 10am) 
• a "free hug" from SWOOP!? a brief introduction to mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques - this will be INSIDE the UC (likely the Ballroom just after 2pm)
  
  This event is located on the deck behind the Administration building!
  
   Events like this are a wonderful way to take a break from a stressful day! So go between classes and tell your friends. I plan on working most of the event, so I'll be there! Sign up early for the massages... or I'll fill your spot with my name. :p

Quizzes are coming...

It's reached that time in the semester that quizzes and tests have started rolling like a menacing  fog at twilight.

So everybody has put on their "study hats" and buckled down. 
 I, myself, have only a quiz and test next Tuesday.That is all. I believe that is likely minuscule compared to other's course loads.
                      ---if you're a reader, still reading this post, and you are attending UT Tyler, how many tests and or quizzes do YOU have next week?

  The hammer of stress may have finally hit the ground for some students.
   Worry not my minions. Just remember three things:

1. Study the material when you can. Don't study if you are not going to be able to actually comprehend the material.
2. Take breaks. Don't overload yourself with the information. This should NOT lead to procrastination. If it does, rethink your study plan.
3. Use mnemonic devices as a last resort when memorizing terms.

    That is all for today. Now I must retreat into my study cave and memorize psychology terms til I dream about them.

Summer College Life

STRESS OVERLOAD

So you know how summer is supposed to be the time to relax and not stress about anything? I would like to meet whoever came up with that concept and prove them wrong by having them experience what my average day usually consists of:

6:15AM- Wake up and get in the shower

6:45AM- Get out of shower and make coffee

7:00AM- Start getting ready for work

7:40AM- Aim to leave my apt by this time

8:00AM-1:00PM- Work for the District Attorney

1:00PM- Leave work

1:15PM- Eat lunch at my apt

1:45PM- Leave my apt for class

2:00PM-4:20PM- Topics in Communications Class

4:00PM-9:00PM-Work at the Student Communications Center

9:00PM-Drive back to the apt

9:15PM- Eat dinner

9:45PM- 11:00PM Workout

11:10PM- Shower

11:30PM-12:15AM-Study

12:30AM-Sleep

This is a pretty accurate timeline of how my days will pan out until June 15th, and then I will be able subtract the Topics in Communications Class....which will take away a little stress. However, if you take a look at my planner for the next 4 months you will see that my stress has just begun.

Pre-Spring Break stress!

The week has hardly started yet but the stress of the week before for spring break is coming slowly and surely. 

Students are having multiple tests and projects due this week while they prepare to go off and spend the break relaxing...mostly. So this me, Emmy Conn, being proactive and synergised! against this mound of stress that is about to beat me up and call me a sissy! (oh snap, at least it didn't call me a lintlicker, then I would have to metaphorically have to do the boxer tango with stress) 

So to be proactive against this monster 

I have created a list of what i'm doing to stay awesome this week: 

1. For Monday morning

2. Studying

but not 

3. and lastly 

Writers Should Write

It is Friday, and I am discouraged. Midterms are fast approaching and the stress is getting to me. My classmates are planning more study sessions, more frequently. My to-do list notebook is running out of space on the page marked "Do Before Monday".

The porch professor said,
"Write, or you'll be dead in the water."
Wow, that's encouraging.

What I wanted to say is that,
I'm already dead! My best hope is to stay afloat! I'm drowning here!

But the truth is, I should be writing. Without practice, it doesn't matter what we are capable of anymore, it is what we can properly execute. Too many people are caught up in the "correct" way to do things, or their own idea of what would be "perfect".
Throw that away.
Nobody knows your art isn't what you planned. Maybe it is better.
So, writers should write. I get it.

Stressed out?

I am a person who stresses about every little detail and how everything has to go right.

Not the best way to think but it hasn't failed me yet.

I calm my stress by doing a number of things:

1. be 30-15 minutes early to everything (I was 30 minutes early for class today and I tend to be an average of 5 minutes early for work)

2. find an outlet. sometimes zoning out watching hours of television works. I play Call of Duty MW2 to take out my extra stress. make sure the outlet is safe and not harmful.

Those are what help me. Here is a website with some more tips.

the top five are:

1. Exercise. “Run, do some yoga, punch a bag at the gym,” advises Charles Goodstein, MD, clinical professor of psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine in New York City and president of the Psychoanalytic Association of New York. Exercise is a way to manage stress that doesn’t have to add to your financial woes. For example, a 20-minute walk or jog around your block can yield up to 12 hours of improved mood. The main thing is to find a physical activity that you enjoy, whether it’s dancing or fly fishing.(My best friend plays her Wii)
2. Laugh. Laughter really is the best medicine. It is proven to lower tension, and at the same time, improves blood flow and the health of your heart. Rent a funny movie or hang out with that wannabe-comedian pal, and forget about your worries for a while.
3. Write. Dedicating a period of time every day to write about a situation that is bothering you may reduce tension and give you stress relief for the rest of the day. Keeping a journal can also help you solve problems or find positive angles amongst the stressors.
4. Socialize. Spending time with friends and family who give you a sense of belonging, purpose, and fun may provide all the stress relief you need.
5. Take care of yourself. When tension spikes, it can be tempting to put yourself last — but prioritizing healthy eating, physical activity, relationships, and sleep is necessary if you want to avoid making your stress worse.

So readers, next time you're stressed out and need to de-stress use your own methods of de-stress or try using one of this tips!

Peace out homeskillets!

Don't Let Your Time Manage You!

Time management. These are two relatively small words yet something which is so hard to accomplish for college students. I am not sure how every other student functions, but I am always very busy and it always feels like I never have time for anything. Recently, this has affected my relationships both friendships and romantically. I want to say that my life is truly SO busy that I honestly don’t have time to fit EVERYONE into my schedule, but the truth of the matter is that I am terrible at time management. I have improved since I entered college, but I am still lacking at effectively managing my social and academic life while still fitting in a run here and there so I can stay active. (click here for more on staying healthy in college) I want to do everything and still spend time with everyone, but I have to choose. Because I am paying for my education anything associated with school usually wins over my social life. Honestly, this just kind of sucks. I don’t have time to invest in my relationships like I want to because I am trying to get an education to be successful. Does success really mean that I can’t have friends? I think for some people this is true. I mean there are plenty of movies about people who are too successful to actually have a social life, but those people are just bad at time management. There are people who go through their entire life being socially disconnected from their world, but I am determined this will not be me! How am I going to do this? Through constant persistence to not let my schedule rule me, but instead I will rule my schedule. There are a few helpful tips