The other day, I witnessed the most piteous display of stress that I've ever seen. An individual clumsily balanced four textbooks, two Amazon packages, a coffee mug and a chocolate chip muffin as they descended a steep flight of stairs. Their phone sat on top of the textbooks, and I realized that this individual was having a phone call on speaker. Whatever was being discussed clearly flustered the individual, as they repeated the words, "Stop! No! Stop!" over and over and over again into the phone. Then the unthinkable (yet entirely expected) happened.

Without being able to see where their feet were landing, they missed the next step of the stairs, and tumbled down in a cacophony of rattling package contents, splashing coffee and ruffled textbook pages. The person on the other end of the phone call yelled, "What just happened?" and proceeded to laugh hysterically. Worst of all, when the individual stood up, they noticed a flat chocolate chip muffin glued to the floor.

Unsurprisingly, this is just one casualty of finals week. Plenty of poor souls are currently suffering through sleepless nights of arduous studying, and to put it plainly, we're all really stressed out.

I could list all of the "helpful" methods of avoiding/reducing stress, but they never seem to work for me. Instead, I would like to share an unexpected solution that I've found to survive finals week and beyond.

A few days ago, I half-heartedly agreed to accompany some hall mates to Feed My Starving Children (a non-profit organization dedicated to sending food to the malnourished around the world). At this warehouse, volunteers package vitamins, vegetables, soy and rice into small pouches for easy meal preparation.

You may notice that I said "half-heartedly," and it's not because I hate volunteering. I was a victim of the stress-filled finals week, focused on studying intermixed with power naps. Nevertheless, I thought I could use a break from schoolwork for awhile.

During my time of volunteering, I noticed that everyone around me was joyful and relaxed. No one was balancing heavy objects and tripping over themselves; stress seemed to melt away. We sang Christmas music, packaged food for malnourished children in the Dominican Republic and got to know one another. Upon returning to my campus, I found the opposite: stress-filled concern for our own lives. Amidst everyone else's panic, I was relaxed and refreshed.

By serving others, I had also served myself. I had actually done something worthwhile for someone else, and that provided the perfect distraction from my stress. Selfless giving opened my eyes to the reality that my schoolwork was only a bump in the road.

If you are feeling stressed, whether it be from finals or something else entirely, I highly recommend serving others along the road to accomplishing your goals. You don't necessarily need to volunteer at Feed My Starving Children or other non-profits; give your time and energy to your roommates, hall mates or neighbors. Brighten their day by buying them coffee or spreading encouragement. You may be surprised at how your day will brighten as well.