One thing that can come naturally in college is stress. Most college students face stress, nobody likes it, but it’s one of the realities of college. But what has been causing it for me the most? Due to my light class load last semester, consisting of mostly just quizzes and discussion posts, school was not too overwhelming. My main stress stemmed from my social life instead. But now, over halfway through with my second semester, I am being bombarded with the reality of deadlines and grades. Most of my classes are writing based assignments, though I am enjoying them, they are different from what I am used to. For my creative writing class we are doing workshops where we have to critique other students’ work. And for my first year seminar, I am having to interview a teacher and then write an essay on it. It’s a good experience, but can be overwhelming when it is something you aren’t used to.
Another big challenge for me has been battling procrastination. With all these intimidating writing assignments, I put them off to avoid the negative feelings, only to find out once I start them, that they are not nearly as difficult as I anticipated. So much time I could have spent getting homework done I was scrolling on social media for hours or going out with friends. Earlier this semester, I neglected to pay attention to due dates and fell behind. This put me on the wrong foot for the rest of the semester. Even now, with seven weeks left until the end, I am still working on catching up. My procrastination has put so much stress on me and left me worrying that I may fail my classes and have to spend money to retake them. I have learned my lesson thoroughly, and know now how important it will be to pay closer attention to deadlines and steer away from avoiding big assignments when they are first assigned. And luckily I am doing everything I can to bring up my grades.