How to Not Go Crazy 

by Erin Cox, PTK President at York Technical College

I am a student at York Tech, and I am a parent. It is impossible to keep both of these roles separate. The demands of being both is at times exhausting, frustrating, and overwhelming. I spend a lot of time wondering if I can handle it; will I be enough? At the beginning of this semester, it is no different. All the stress and anxiety make me feel like I could go crazy any minute. To avoid this, I have developed a system for myself.

Image from projectavalon.net 

The following are my three tips for not going crazy:

1.      Stay on top of the material for class. I study from notecards. So, I try to write my notecards out every night after class. This is a great way to keep the material fresh and look up further explanations to things that did not make sense. If I still don’t understand, I write a question to ask my instructor.

2.      Stay organized. I keep a calendar with my schedule and my family’s schedule. I even schedule time to do homework before my due dates. I write down my exam dates as soon as I can so that I am sure to not schedule work or doctor’s appointments too close. Being able to see my schedule broken into manageable pieces helps me feel like I can handle the work.

3.      Do something for yourself. It is very important to take time to unplug from the stress in life. It doesn’t have to be long. Take a walk. Read a novel. Watch TV. I try to spend a little me time at the gym or riding my horse. It is physically and mentally unhealthy to stay in a high stress state of being for long periods of time.

While using tips like these will not make the work easier, it will at least make it less scary. Good luck this year to everyone reading this! Please share some of the things you do keep up with being a student, parent, worker, spouse, etc. Or, post your questions for further suggestions!