It’s not always easy to stay positive during college. Adjusting to new schedules, professors and meeting deadlines can be emotionally, physically and mentally taxing. I went from community college to LMU, so believe me I’ve encountered many stressful times, where being positive was the LAST THING on my mind. However, I’ve figured out ways to tackle stressful situations while remaining calm and positive. It’s not an option for me, I have to be positive and I make an effort to do so everyday. Why? Because I live alone in the United States.
My mental health is my priority.
If I’m not positive, my well-being starts deteriorating. I have to look out for myself because who will? My family is a 20 hour flight away and I am not making them travel across the world to babysit me. No way! I’m an adult now and taking care of myself is part of growing up and transitioning. Living alone has taught me a lot of life lessons that I never thought I would know by the age of 22. Anyways that is a post for another day 😉
I’ve learnt that when I worry about everything in my life and the things that I can’t control, I start losing focus and my productivity levels drop. That is why I think making an effort to keep positive will reduce stress and overall give you long term happiness. Positive thinking has been shown to lower your stress hormones and change your attitude to a negative situation.
Here are five tips I use daily in my life to help me stay positive in college:
Associate with positive people
You are who you surround yourself with. When I am around people who are positive, I actually feel better and my mood changes. Find friends that make you laugh and are genuinely kind. Get their contact information and keep in touch. It will be a trial/error process but once you find those positive friends for life keep them and do not let them go. Friends that have empathy, care about you and are there for you during rough times, are hard to find nowadays. Be there for each other when hard times occur and lift each other up. Helping others will automatically put you in a positive mood 🙂
Exercise
I think endorphins is synonymous with positivity! I mean doesn’t exercise trigger positivity? When you exercise your body releases chemicals called “endorphins” and that creates a positive feeling in your body. The gym for me used to be purely for aesthetics. I’d go in and be like: “Yes today is leg day and I can’t wait for my quads, glutes, hamstrings to be lean, toned and I can’t wait to go back home and show off ” But ever since I moved to Los Angeles and life here is fast-paced and stressful, the gym is no longer just for aesthetics for me. Now, it serves as my emotional outlet and gives me the best therapy session. I leave the gym with a smile on my face, no matter how exhausted I am from lifting. I also sleep better at night. Knowing that I went to the gym when I had a bad day makes me feel fearless, empowered and like “don’t mess with me” feeling hahaha! Okay I don’t know what word to describe that feeling, but I think you get it 😉 Lifting weights/strength training has made a positive impact in my life and I hope you find that too with the gym.
Get your homework done in advance
Stress kills positive vibes. The last thing you want to do in college is cramming. Cramming is just stressful. PERIOD. I don’t see the point of cramming anymore because I used to do that in high school and I hated the feeling of being pressed with time. I know some people who work well under pressure but that is not me. I am the type of person that works around a schedule, a routine. I like to know when I’m in and out and done for the day. I have to make time for the gym, cook, run errands, blog, do my homework and enjoy my life too! Time is precious for me. That is why I finish my homework in advance. When I go out I focus 100% on enjoying the moment and quality time with friends. When I’m at school I focus 100% on making sure I’m prepared and involved with the school community. I don’t like to mix these things together. As in, I don’t want to be hanging out with friends and thinking about homework. Its just stressful for me. There is a reason why I work hard because I like to be rewarded!
Don’t compare yourself to people on Instagram/Facebook
I have a bad habit of checking Instagram before I go to bed. I know I shouldn’t do it but I am a victim of this bad habit. I tell myself only 5mins and it turns into two hours of comparing myself to models, bloggers, singers and wishing I had a life like them. I won’t lie to you but there are times where I wish my parents had more knowledge about college or I had x amount of money to hire a content editor, photographer for my blog and the list goes on…But I’m learning and it’s taking some time for me to embrace my journey. I know my community college to university experience wasn’t the ideal 4 years that my parents wanted for me but I am just focusing on moving forward and how I can share my story to help others who might have the same path as me. So don’t compare yourself even when its tempting to do with all these pretty social media platforms. Remember people can filter/mask what kind of life they want to put on for the world. So don’t believe or hear everything you see.
Cut off people who are emotionally draining
This is the best thing I’ve done for myself this year. I’ve had to stop being a people pleaser and thanks to that, my self-respect is back intact. I don’t have a lot of friends. My best friend is myself. I do most things alone and my close group of friends that I turn to are genuinely awesome, have empathy and they are not emotionally draining. They lift me up, empower me and keep me motivated. So surround yourself with those who lift you up and not suck the energy out of you. You’ll thank me for that 😛
You deserve to make yourself a priority no matter how busy your day is. Be positive for yourself.
For my next post, what would you like me to write about? I’m feeling a little indecisive and would appreciate your feedback; Life in LA? Pros & cons of going to private university? Fall semester goals?
Hehe I hope you liked this post.
Comment down below! 🙂
Bisous,
Catherine Ha
