February 9, 2024
Avoiding Burnout
As a college student, experiencing a burnout almost seems inevitable, but I slowly learned they are totally avoidable. Personally, I started to burn out my first semester of my sophomore year of college. This burnout affected all aspects of my life, mentally, physically, and emotionally. So I reached out and asked for help, and I was recommended to do the things I will talk about below. These helped me turn myself around and achieve highest honors for the semester. Don’t let yourself get discouraged if something goes wrong.
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- Adequate sleep: Enough sleep is essential. Without proper sleep, the human body cannot properly function. With your body not functioning properly, it is more likely to lead to mood problems, poor academic performance, and added stress on your already full plate. The average person needs at least 7 hours of sleep for the body to be at peak function, so be one of those people that gets 7 hours of sleep.
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- Scheduling balance: A schedule that works for you without putting a lot of stress on yourself is key. Now being able to balance that schedule with work and life is hard but doable. Work can look like an actual job or school, and life can look like family and social life. Don’t put too many things on your schedule, because this will lead you to stretching yourself thin and not having the balance. Your time is for you! So when making your schedule, make sure you’re thinking about yourself first, and thinking about your time and energy levels daily. You are not letting anyone down by putting yourself first; if you do this, it’ll be very rewarding in the long run. A good way to start this would be to get a planner or have a print or digital calendar. This way, everything that is on your schedule is in the same place, which makes things less stressful and confusing.
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- Regular exercise: Exercising regularly releases endorphins. and endorphins help with reliving pain, reducing stress, and helping to improve your sense of well-being overall. When you feel good, you perform well; when you perform well, you feel like you’re on top of the world with whatever the day throws your way. An easy exercise that you could do is simply just taking a walk! It does not have to be a long walk, just something to get you up and moving.
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- Good nutrition: Eating properly is closely aligned with getting decent sleep. This will provide you with the energy you need to function throughout the day. A balanced diet also gives you the nutrients you need for growth, repair, and staying healthy. If your body is happy and healthy, it benefits you in all aspects of your day. This one may seem a bit hard, but just a simple added veggie to one of your meals or as a snack is a step in the right direction!
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- A support network: Having a support network can look different for everyone. Any important/trustworthy person in your life is your support system. I know its hard to reach out and ask for help, but trust me when I say it is worth it. A support system is there for YOU! They are there to help you when you fall; they won’t let you stay down. They’re your encouragement when you don’t want to keep pushing. Mainly, they have your best interest at heart, so don’t be afraid to use your support system.
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- Stress busters: Stress management is one of the most important things that helps prevent burnouts. Stress comes from all aspects of your life. Stress has health effects, mood/emotional effects, quality-of-work effects, and so on. Doing any of the things that were listed previously will help with stress also. A big one that I’ve seen trending lately is meditation; it calms your mind and body. If stress isn’t properly managed or even maintained, it will cause a severe burnout. Besides meditation, stress management could even be something like just taking a break from whatever is causing you stress. For instance, taking a walk, taking a nap, or just doing an activity you love to take your mind off things.
Everything discussed here prevents burnouts in different ways. Burnouts tend to come when one is very stressed and feeling like the negative weight of the world is on your shoulders. Burnouts do tend to cause people to make rash decisions that could potentially be career-ending, but these are completely avoidable. Essentially, you need to do what is best for you and only you, not worry about what other people think or want you to do. Life is tough, and some things make it tougher, but if you practice the methods above, things can be less difficult. If you do happen to start burning out, do not give up. It’s going to be hard to push through it, but you will thank yourself in the long run if you do. Just know that you are never alone.
5 Products for Self-Care
What are some products good to use for self-care? Below are some options to try.
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- Essential oils: Essential oils are awesome, and they can be used for many things. There are many different kinds available for things like boosting energy, relaxation, dry skin, sensitive skin, and more. Try lavender oil to relax and citrus oils to spark energy. [Editor’s note: Look for 100% natural essential oils to avoid chemicals. And consult a reputable source like AromaWeb for safety information before using any oil. Some are contraindicated for pregnant women and pets, for example.]
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- Holy Basil Tea: You’ve probably heard that green tea is good for you, but you may not know that Holy Basil tea also has health perks. Some benefits from drinking Holy Basil tea include reducing oxidative stress, supporting liver health, protecting against skin aging, reducing high blood sugar, supporting cardiovascular health, boosting mental health, reducing inflammation and swelling, and combatting infection. Read more at MedicalNewsToday.
- Comfy slippers: Nothing says self care like a pair of really comfy slippers. Slippers like Uggs are very comfy and very popular.
- Dry Brush: Dry brushing has several benefits for your skin and overall health. It’s especially great for those with dry skin. This is how Dry Brushing works: It exfoliates the skin via physical exfoliation, just like body scrub products do. The bristles of the brush manually sweep away dull, rough, flaky skin cells. After a dry-brushing session, your skin will feel softer and smoother, and the brisk brushing stimulates circulation. To learn more, see this article.[Photo: Dry brushing with the Cactus Long-Handled Brush from The Body Shop. Image courtesy of The Body Shop.]
- “Stress Less” Cards: This deck of cards is filled with useful exercises to help you de–stress and reduce anxiety.
Jasmine Puls might have joined the Driftwood team a bit later into the semester, but she has enjoyed every moment she’s been in it. She gives the class and its teacher a ten out of ten, but Professor Rysavy isn’t the only professor whom she has praised. That honor goes to Professor Carr for being the best Communications teacher. They were so kind, patient, and understanding, even making Jasmine consider having her major be Communications. Currently, her major is in Psychology, and possibly thanks to Professor Carr’s guidance, she is minoring in Communications. Following college, she hopes to continue working with kids and teaching their future.
What class allows you to write and submit a silly article about putting googly eyes on random objects? Practicum in Litarary Publishing, of course. The creative flexibility within the Driftwood is one of Ariel’s favorite parts about the class.The Practicum has been good practice for Ariel, for she is majoring in Writing and Applied Arts with an emphasis in editing and publishing. Ariel has had several fun experiences in college thus far, but one of her favorites has been going to get hot chocolate at the university’s coffee shop so often, they know her on sight now. Another fun moment she had was when it was raining one day, and she told her friends that “the boys got to go on a swim” while wearing shark slides. It cracked everyone up, and she never felt like more of a comedian at that moment.
Andrew wanted to preserve his mysterious aura, but check out his “Music” section of the Driftwood and past articles on the 
That’s me! It has been a great honor to take part in the Driftwood and the Northern Lights as a Co- Editor-in-Chief. It has been a blast to take part in this class, and I enjoyed writing for it every week. This is in due part because of the fantastic work of our professor, Tracy Fernandez Rysavy, who has been one of my favorite teachers. My favorite moments in class are when it has been completely silent for like ten minutes as we’re all focused on editing our writings, then out of nowhere, someone speaks and makes half of us jump.
The best part of the summer season is arguably Shark Week on Discovery Channel (July 11-18, 2023), so start preparing early and get some cute decorations going. Ready the glue-gun!
Dorsal-Fin Headbands. A crucial piece of attire that matches any outfit. This one requires a blue or grey headband, construction paper or craft foam for the fin, and then either tape or glue to bring it all together.
Paper Plate Shark Jaws. This one’s easy and makes for lovely home decorations. All you need are paper plates and scissors. Fold the plate in-half and backwards (as in the bottom is bent toward you.) Then, using the scissors, cut the inner edges of the plate in M-shaped patterns on the top half and bottom half. Snip away at the space around the teeth so it’s all open in the middle. Shark teeth are fairly jagged so don’t worry about being precise. Hang up the plates around the walls and feel like you’re in a totally jaw-some shark-mouth museum.
“Shark Sighted” Lawn Signs. Let your guests and neighbors know what’s what in your house this week. For this idea, you’ll need a sturdy poster board, markers, yard sticks, and strong tape. Referencing actual signs, start out with writing out the big ol’ “WARNING” letters across the top, then follow with a diamond. Trace a shark or a fin inside the diamond and add the cheeky “Shark Sighted” along the bottom.
I’ve never had luck flying kites. If they went up, they came down a little too quickly. If they didn’t go up, I would drag them across the dusty gravel driveway praying for something more efficient than a gentle breeze. Once, I even made my own kite, but it didn’t turn out. Still, there was nothing more fun than that rare successful flight.
Summer is approaching fast and so are our favorite summer snacks. What does this have to do with gardening? Celery. That’s right; an oldy but a goody, ants on a log (or no ants) is tasty, healthy, and the celery sticks to go with your peanut butter and raisins can be started in your own backyard. With these tips below, you’ll be spreading the peanut butter in no time!
