Student life is bliss and once high school gets over, life can be overwhelming. Students wait for years to live a life of independence with a drive to make it big – that’s college life for you. With all the foreign experiences, wisdom and new prospects amidst new faces, life gets tricky and stimulating to the core because everything you have anticipated works in stark contrast to actuality. However, in the heart of such a roller-coaster ride what becomes a point of concern is the amount of stress that builds up at the behest of expectations versus reality. The different forms of stress affect a well-designed lifestyle and one’s mental peace to the extent that it paralyzes a student’s abilities to perform – socially as well as academically. Hence distinguishing the root of all problems can help prevent it from becoming devastating.
Academic performance
The pressure to beat others is a common trend among college goers. College students accept their new life with a fresh sense of maturity that directs them towards their goals. Some aspire to secure good grades in class because of their competitive intellect against others while some simply want to keep up with their academic goals or retain their scholarship awards. However it is one thing to be ambitious and it’s another to be always fanatical about grades. The idea to excel is cool as long as it does not turn into obsession.
Visions and goals
A social institution like college is a landmark of diversity. Individuals from varied arenas gather to study but with different objectives. While some have their goals and visions sorted, many on the other hand are ready to run away from any sort of discussions that approaches their future decisions. This happens mostly because of confusion and mixed feelings – whether to go for what they want or to settle for parents’ expectations. Making such major choices in life, that too without the help of someone who actually understands them, is quite stressful.
Financial stress
Becoming an adult has its cons – one starts feeling too loaded once they cross the threshold of eighteen. Nowadays most kids feel obligated for having their parents to bear their expenses after they’re into college and independent. Students try and search for freelancing opportunities to earn their minimum expenditures. It is understandable how motivation is directed towards their sense of responsibility. But then there are students who earn part-time as they might not enjoy financial help from parents. The constant struggle to balance their basic needs and obligations often take a toll on such students.
Social demands
Meeting social demands of constant changing lifestyle can be quite fierce. College life can be real fun if one makes good friends, become popular or hang out in cool places with their preferable company. Meeting new people becomes so exciting that students often lose their grip on the balance of what others expect over what they can afford. Priorities change but most importantly sometimes students, directly or indirectly, are entrapped in a lifestyle which could prove too costly or harmful for them. The urge to be at par with others to simply appear ‘cool’ can be damaging.
Relationships
Friendships, intimacy and many relationships form in college life but they are complex in nature. Maintaining the same requires certain maturity and composure. Otherwise it could be mentally saturating and affects everyday activities leading to depression and anti-behavioral activities.
Although stress can emerge out in many forms yet their solution may possibly point towards the same thing. Students can deal with such by thinking constructively. Be it positive thinking or adopting a different slant towards problems could give a mature turn to stressful life.
