With Christmas just around the corner, spending some quality time with your crazy family is a given. Whether you guys are Christmas shopping together, baking cookies, or wrapping gifts for relatives you see once a year; you always end up spending an excessive amount of time together. The Griswold family is a pretty accurate representation of my family during Christmas.
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Health and Wellness
How To Deal With Being Sick While Living On Campus
Living in the dorms can tear down your immune system.
9h
1225
It's finally flu season! It's around that time in the school year where everyone on campus is getting sick, especially if they live in the dorms. It's hard to take care of yourself while being sick at school, but here are some coping mechanisms to get you on the path to feeling better!
1. Drink lots of tea with honey.
Drinking tea always soothes my throat whenever I'm sick and adding honey will only help! Every kind of tea has its own personal benefits for you, so you can never go wrong with a cup of tea while sick. Different teas provide you with different nutrients, and the more nutrients your body has, the better it will feel. My personal favorite flavor of tea is vanilla honey tea.
2. Get a good amount of rest.
Something my dad always tells me when I am sick is that "sleep is the best healer." I have to say, in my experience of getting sick, making sure that I am getting enough sleep has always helped in my process of feeling better. One thing to be careful of is to be sure that you aren't getting too much sleep because that could opposite effects.
3. Make an appointment with the health center or at a doctor's office.
If you don't feel better in a couple of days, it is best to either make an appointment with the student health center or your doctor's office, or go to a local Urgent Care to see if you can be prescribed any antibiotics to help you get better. The important thing to remember about antibiotics is to also take probiotics to balance it out and to help you boost your immune system in the future.
4. Stock up on soup and crackers.
A lot of times, being sick also means having a weak stomach, so eating light foods like soup is always the best route to take until your stomach is strong enough for more solid foods. Also, try to eat toast or crackers with your soup to help settle your stomach.
5. If you are able to, go home.
Finally, staying in the dorms may be one of the factors in your lack of healing. If a parent can come and get you, or if there is any way for you to go home, you should take advantage of this. Don't worry about missing class, if you email your professors and/or have a doctor's note, they will most likely be understanding.
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Health and Wellness
The Battle Between College And My Mental Health
College isn't easy, and I'm afraid I'm not going to make it at the rate my mental health is going.
11h
495
Photo by Anthony Tran on Unsplash
Everyone tells you that college is hard, but they fail to explain why. Sure, classes are hard. Math sucks, and political science can be so boring. But that's not even what's killing me about college. What's killing me about college is my deterioating mental health.
As a college student, I feel as if people don't understand just how exhausted I, and fellow college students are. We have so many things going on, all the time, and sometimes it's hard to explain to people how we feel. Personally...I'm tired. I'm sad. And I'm struggling every single day with my emotions. But the thing is, it hasn't always been this way. I haven't always hated school, so why am I feeling like this now?
Growing up, school was fun for me. I genuinely looked forward to going to class every day and learning something new. High school definitely wasn't as fun as elementary school, but I still enjoyed it. The classes weren't too difficult and I knew that working hard would allow me to step on that stage in four years and receive my diploma. I was motivated. I was eager to succeed. What happened?
Is it meeting new people that makes college an anxiety-ridden experience for me? Being away from my family? Having to live on my own?
Why am I not happy?
I mean, many college students say they're just ready to graduate and finally get a degree to move on with their lives. That sounds fine, right?
I can't say I agree.
My mental health is deteriorating so rapidly, that at this point, I couldn't care less about getting my degree. I know that sounds awful, but it's the truth.
I am neither passionate nor excited about my college experience. Perhaps it's just the sad winter vibes catching up to me, or the fact that college is so different from high school. But whatever is causing this mental state, I'd like it to stop because it sure isn't making my life any easier.
And please hear me out, I love the people I've met on campus and I think the professors are great. However, my heart just isn't in this whole college experience thing anymore. I'm not motivated to go to class and do my work. My mental health is suffering because I'm putting myself through a process I don't genuinely enjoy.
Now, I'm not saying college is an awful experience and you shouldn't even try to go. Some people LOVE college, which is great! I genuinely hope that if you're thriving in college, it stays that way for you.
But I want you to know if you feel deep down that college isn't for you, that's also okay. College isn't for everyone. Your mental health is very important, and you should be doing things to reflect that.
Remember that your feelings are valid, and it's okay to feel the way you do. College is hard. Life is hard. But you'll make it through.
And I will too.
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For the average 20-something, life moves pretty fast. You’ve got classes, friends, relationships, jobs, family, and whatever else we overcommit ourselves with. I probably should have learned to say no to adding more to my schedule a long time ago, but instead here are 11 things that can be more helpful than coffee.
1.Shower
There is nothing more refreshing than a hot shower. Some would argue that morning showers help you have a happier day. Also, you look better and smell better. There is nothing grosser than greasy hair. And it keeps you healthier.
2. Sleep
After one all nighter during Freshman year, I realized that sacrificing my Zzzz’s was not worth it. In fact, I ended up forgetting what I had studied the night before, and it threw my whole sleep schedule off. That caused all of my classes to suffer.
3. Schedule
Showering and Sleeping are impossible when you don’t schedule. Your day probably has an element of spontaneity to it, however, it is still so helpful to have a basic timeline for your day. Some nights I’ll write each task I need to accomplish on a different sticky note. The joy at the end of the next day of crumpling each accomplished task is something you have to experience!
4. Eat Well
Nixing Ramen and nightly Domino's pizza orders will cause your personal health to skyrocket. Cutting down on caffeine will also help you sleep better. Water is also so important. With all the coffee that makes up a college student’s beverage diet, water gets overlooked. You’ll take one gulp of pure, ice cold drinking water and wonder where the heck this miracle liquid has been.
5. Exercise
Last semester, I was exercising sporadically or “when I had time.” Here’s the thing though, an episode of The Office is 20 minutes. I was watching plenty of that. At one point, I felt so freaking stir crazy and threw on my tennis shoes and walked through the freezing Ohio weather to the gym and exercised for like 40 minutes. I’m not trying to be a body builder or anything, but you just feel so much better after a few minutes on the stationary bike or eliptical.
6. Socialize
You need people. Friends are important. My friend and I both had crazy schedules last year, but we’d go to the grocery store together or to Wal Mart and catch up that way. It’s just good to sit and vent with someone every once in awhile. Midnight doughnut runs are also fun, or Mean Girlsmovie nights.
7. Be on Time
This one helps everyone’s productivity. Also, when you strive to be there on the dot, even if you’re a minute or two late, it helps you keep the rest of your life scheduled. Also, if you try to be on time, and plan accordingly, chances are you won’t be super stressed out trying to get somewhere 10 minutes away in 3 minutes.
8. Chillax
There is nothing wrong with kicking back and watching a few hours of a TV show. You need it. It’s important to take your mind off the real world for a little bit.
9. Journal/Pray/Reflect
It is vital to look inwardly and see how you’re doing, not just materially, but emotionally and spiritually. If you’re not emotionally doing well, something needs to change. It can be really hard to do well in other aspects of your life if you aren’t feeling well mentally. Journaling is the best free therapist out there, so is talking to a good friend.
10. Gain Perspective
Chances are, you know someone whose schedule is way more intense than yours. Or maybe you know someone who is going through a lot, but still manages to get a lot done. When I start to complain about my course load, I remember that my dad had four kids in medical school and residency. I also tr to remember that there are a lot of people out there who would love to "struggle" with too many classes. Doing something for other people can also really help make life more meaningful.
11. Do what works for you
By the time you’re 18, you know which study methods work for you, and how much sleep you really need every night. There’s going to be people all around you telling you how to live your life. And while there might be some really helpful pointers, only you can know what really works for you!You probably have some other ideas, but these seem to work pretty dang well!
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NBC
Your professor mentions there's a test in a few days and you didn't know about it.
You spend all day long in class and now realize you also have to spend the next few nights awake studying.
You take out your textbook and notes, but don't have the energy to actually read them.
You keep reading the same sentence over and over, but it still doesn't make sense.
You can’t focus, and your roommate suggests you go to the library.
You realize there are still over 50 pages left to read.
You reach the two-hour mark of studying and get delirious and want to give up.
You take a Netflix and snack break.
Your friends told you they were staying in with you to study, but they end up going out.
Your friends ask why you need to study instead of having fun.
Your friends send you pictures of them out having fun, but you're stuck in the library and want to run away.
You walk out of the test and realize staying in and studying was worth it because you definitely aced it.
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Lifestyle
Things Girls With Resting B***h Face Wish You Knew
No, I'm not mad, that's just my face
13h
345
Resting b***h face. Defined as a person, usually a girl, who naturally looks mean when her face is expressionless, without meaning to. Many of you suffer from this "condition." You are commonly asked what's wrong, when nothing is. What people don't know is that is just your facial expression. Here are some things they wish you knew.
1. You can't control it.
Most of the time, you have absolutely no idea what your facial expression is. It is not directed at one person, and it doesn't usually reflect your mood.
2. You are not always pissed off.
Although people see you and automatically think that you are unhappy, chances are you aren't. I understand the confusion because your face looks the exact same.
3. Most of the time, you're just fine.
When you actually are happy, people won't know. There is nothing more annoying than people who continuously ask what is wrong.
4. Usually, nothing is wrong.
But after hearing that all day long, you start to get annoyed. Well you weren't mad before, but congratulations now something is actually wrong.
5. Sometimes, you use it to your advantage.
For those days when you really don't want to talk to people, it does come in handy. Walk around campus emphasizing the chronic face, -- it's guaranteed no one will approach you.
6. But you actually are approachable most times.
However, it gets frustrating because you truly are an approachable person most times. People just take one look at your face and think the absolute worst. It's not your fault you got stuck with having RBF.
7. Fake smiling is tough.
People can totally tell when you fake smile. Again, you're doing it to try and be polite and show that you have emotions, but instead it looks even worse.
8. You are not actually a b***h.
You are just misunderstood. Yeah sometimes you use your amazing resting b***h face to your advantage, but most of the time you are just trying to go about your day. You really don't mean to look like a b***h, you just honestly can't help it.
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