“My dorm room looked like a jail until I got plants,” Zac, a freshman, beams as he adds a hardy succulent to his recent collection of plants.
An Ikea pop-up had just hit Zac’s campus — in exchange for signing up for Ikea emails, he got a cactus for his dorm room.
It can take something just as small and inexpensive or free to uplift students starting out in college — especially the Zoomers whose mental health was disproportionally impacted by the pandemic.
Unfortunately, we can’t reverse the toll of Covid-19. The negative effects on youth and young adults are widely known. Psychiatry Research (National Library of Medicine) explains: “Quantitative findings indicate high levels of depression, anxiety…. Overall, the negative themes relate to social isolation, and interpersonal tension, and worsening mental health.”
However, the paper does suggest that there are some silver linings: “Themes pertaining to positive impacts emphasized the benefits of time and space from the stressors of daily life, more opportunities for self-reflection, self-care, connecting with others…Together, these results portray a nuanced picture of the impact of the pandemic on the mental health and wellbeing of youth.”
These positive impacts can lay some groundwork for dealing with stressors in college. So, if you are, or know, a student heading off — or returning — to campus, these sanity savers are more important than finding those twin XL sheets.
Tips To Decompress:
Don’t Cheat With AI, Don’t Cheat Yourself
With AI programs like ChatGPT so readily available, the temptation to submit it as your original writing is high — especially when there are stressors like family pressure, maintaining a high GPA, scholarships. But here’s the rub, teachers might raise their eyebrows when the source for a slew of facts doesn’t exist or references an unverifiable source.
Ask yourself, do you know any 18-year-old who speaks like this: “Walking through the labyrinthian path of my youth, there lies a rollercoaster of fears and fortitude”?
Chances are no one — of any age — writes like this. Even a boomer prof knows this. Students can get slammed with an F for plagiarism and/or be reported for breaking the school’s honor code — which could have consequences like suspension.
Better to avoid such temptation by having strong time management tactics in place first. Or, when the clock’s ticking, try talking yourself down — consult a trusted friend or adult, or counselor. If that fails, reach out for an extension.
Get Offline
Self-reflection during the pandemic led many of us to realize the downside and limitations of screen time. “Doomscrolling is the worst,” says Nina, a first-year student enrolled in a Florida college. Doomscrolling doesn’t just mean scrolling through depressing news — like this week’s natural disaster — it refers to entering the time warp of endless clicking and mindless viewing.
Know And Use Your Resources
While exploring campus, locate the health and counseling center — even if you don’t think you’ll need them.
Explore free resources like the writing center for libraries or tutoring — some offer free subscriptions to the New York Times and the Washington Post.
Check out clubs — from baking clubs to outdoor adventures, you might find a home away from home here.
A Solution? Go Retro
Try something novel and old like knitting, nature walks, listening to podcasts and vinyl albums, reading books that aren’t required reading, journaling, or learning to play guitar.
Get Organized
Time management is a pervasive challenge for college students. With more freedom, it’s hard to juggle work, sleep, and a social life.
Plan early and refer to syllabi often. Did you read the syllabus? Hopefully — now it’s time to add due dates to any kind of planner, online or off.
Retro-plan your ideas. Include colorful pens, bullet notebooks, old-school spiral notebooks.
See WIRED Magazine’s recent paper planner — unwired! — article for specific ideas.
Professor Brian Eugenio Herrera — Lewis Center for the Arts, Princeton University — has some practical advice.
“As I was prepping for what I think is my 11th year of advising a new cohort of Princeton first-year students, I distilled 4 main pieces of advice I try to give my advisees.”
Professor Herrera’s go-to tips for college contentment and success…
1. Go to class — even if you don’t want to, even if you haven’t done the reading, even if you just want a little more sleep.
2. Go to sleep — have a regular bedtime, have a regular wake-up time, you won’t always be able to maintain them but it’s good to have them in place.
3. Go to office hours — as early and as often as possible, even if only to say hi, even for the “scarier” profs, even for the TAs or Section/Lab leaders. Don’t wait for an invitation or an emergency, just go — the rewards will be intangible but formidable.
4. Go to one new-to-you place on campus — or adjacent to campus — each week. The weekly grind can all too quickly make one’s routine feel like a rut. So, mix it up at least once a week and just go to the music library or the anthro building or that dining hall you’ve heard about but never been to. You don’t have to do anything but if you get yourself in the habit of just going to new places on campus, it can keep the campus bubble feeling big and rich with opportunity.
