College is always referred to as a giant hurdle of academic and personal independence that must be trekked alone and full of hardship. While it’s true that college is a huge change in both of those ways, the last thing you’ll have to worry about is being alone. Specifically, at my college, there is a ton of support put in place for specifically that reason. When I was a freshman first taking my midterms, I was a wreck. Everyone else seemed to know so much more about what to do than I did, and I felt unprepared both academically and systematically with not knowing how the whole process worked. I ended up luckily being fine, but the whole situation was extremely overwhelming and way harder than it had to be. Unbeknownst to me, there were plenty of resources at my disposal to nudge me in the right direction. Advisors, professors, and even my peers would’ve been happy to help me if only I’d reached out. Since then I’ve only gotten better and better at the whole process, and I’ve also seen that support growth as well. Mental health events are held at my school to help combat the stress that everyone is feeling, and everyone feels a sense of comradery of all stressing together. That’s why it’s extremely important to keep your social and mental health high during this time, confiding in your support systems who are probably going through the same thing as you have the potential to help everyone involved. This midterm season, students involved in helping with this exact issue walked around and handed out uplifting stickers to students who were studying, and even receiving something small helps immensely.
