Doodld My Friends Florist Character

“I’m such a stupid age! I’m too young to die, yet too old to order off of the kid’s menu at restaurants. It’s eternally frustrating.”

-Radar

ONE DAY

How to Survive College Without Losing Your Goddamn Mind

Most self-care advice just isn’t useful for college students. You have very little time, very little disposable income, and you don’t really have the ability to just “take on less stress”. Playing hooky to have a spa day isn’t really an option when you’re a broke scholarship student trying to get into medical school someday. 

So if you’re actually trying to get through school with a solid GPA and your mental health still intact:

Go to your professors’ and TAs’ office hours. Your professors’ contracts require them to sit in their offices for a couple of hours per week, and most of them are spending that time alone and bored out of their skulls. If you’re struggling with the material, uncertain about how your paper is turning out, or wondering if you’re on the right career path, don’t sit in your dorm room until you’re frustrated to tears - go talk to your professors. Most of them will be happy to help you out just so they have something to do, and they’re more inclined to cut you some slack because they can see that you truly give a shit. I can’t count how many Bs and B+s I turned into As and A+s just by going to professors’ office hours. Go. 

Ask for extensions on coursework if you need them. I can’t count how many times I saw friends sobbing over their laptops while sitting in emergency rooms or after receiving news of a family member’s death, because they had assignment deadlines to meet and they didn’t realize extensions were possible. Life happens. Professors aren’t heartless. Universities are more under the microscope than ever when it comes to student mental health. If you’ve had a personal emergency, mental health crisis, car accident, etc, email your professors the first chance you get, and ask for an extension on coursework. The worst thing they can possibly say is no, and you’d be surprised how many say yes. As a student, I was granted extensions on coursework five times: after a car accident, after my father was diagnosed with cancer, after my godfather’s death, after spending the night in ER with my very sick roommate, and after having a serious allergic reaction. I’ve had friends get extensions after depressive episodes and bad breakups. It’s possible. Ask. 

Don’t intentionally schedule yourself a shitty semester. A lot of students have a weird habit of scheduling all their most difficult or boring required classes in the same semester to “get them out of the way”, usually in their first or second year of school. Don’t do this if you can avoid it. It might seem tempting to have a shitty 4 months and get it over with, but you underestimate the impact that four months of constant stress over classes you don’t care about can have on your grades, your passion for school and your self-esteem. Don’t do it. Space your most dreaded classes out, and try to take at least one class per semester that you look forward to. 

Lay down ground rules with your roommate ASAP. What time do you want the lights off at night? Who showers when? How many people can you invite over at once, and how much notice do you have to give? How clean do you both want the place to be? Even if your roommate seems like the most chill person on earth - hell, even if your roommate is your lifelong best friend - you need to discuss this stuff sooner rather than later, before classes really get going. The last thing you need is a stressful dispute with someone you literally cannot escape from when you’re up to your ears in midterms.

Be upfront and honest with romantic partners and hookups. Again, the last thing you need to be doing is having a tearful argument with your sort-of-SO the night before your organic chemistry final. We’re all adults in college, and it’s better for everyone to act like it. Be honest with potential SOs about what you want, and what you have time for. If you’re just looking for a no-strings-attached hookup every now and then, tell them that. If you are interested in a serious relationship but you won’t be able to answer their texts and messages very often this semester, say that. I had a particularly shitty final exam season one semester because my (non-student) boyfriend couldn’t understand why I suddenly had no time for him. Misunderstandings aren’t always avoidable, but it’s important to take steps to minimize miscommunications and hurt feelings. 

Check in with your advisor at least once per semester. Program requirements aren’t always clear, new classes get introduced every semester, and most students will change majors at least once. Make sure you are constantly checking with your advisor to make sure that you are on track to graduate, and if you need confirmation that a certain course will count towards your requirements, get it in writing. Staying in touch with your advisor during your first couple of semesters will save you a lot of stress and headaches in your last few semesters. 

Don’t use caffeine to pull all-nighters. I can preach to you about “don’t pull all-nighters” all I want, but realistically, you’re probably going to pull one at least once in your college career. I’m in grad school and I still pull them. Be smart about it. Chugging Red Bull isn’t going to keep you alert all night, it’s just going to make you anxious for a few hours before you crash hard. Avoid the caffeine. Drink water, eat healthy snacks, and sit in a proper chair with good posture. If you start to get tired, stand up and do some exercise - do some jumping jacks, go for a quick walk, dance to some music - and splash cold water on your face. You’ll be more effective for longer periods of time if you take frequent breaks and put the caffeine down.

Don’t compare yourself to other people. I know that it’s hard not to see everyone around you as your competition, and it can be tough to not feel a little pang of jealousy or panic when someone else achieves something you want. But this isn’t a healthy mindset. Seeing yourself as being in direct competition with everyone around you is a lonely and stressful way to live. There is lots of room for success. Tens of thousands of people get into medical school and law school and business school every year. Someone else succeeding does not mean that you fail. Celebrate the fact that we have so many brilliant and wonderful people to take on the world’s toughest problems together. Let yourself be happy for others.  Invest in dry shampoo and baby wipes. You’re not always going to have time to shower, and nothing pulls your mood down faster than feeling dirty. Find easy ways to freshen up now and then to boost your mood. Use some dry shampoo, take a baby wipe to the essential bits, change into some clean clothes, brush your teeth. Looking like less of a wreck will make you feel like less of a wreck. 

Have a life outside of school. Have something. A club. A volunteer position. A band. A writer’s group. Have something that you look forward to, that lets you socialize with other people you have things in common with. Having nothing but school and homework in your life is a quick recipe for going full-on “Jack from The Shining”. My best memories from college are all from the clubs and organizations that I joined, and all of my most meaningful, long-term friendships are with the people I met by being involved on campus. It matters a lot, and it can mean the difference between enduring college and enjoying it.  Go easy on yourselves, drink water, eat vegetables, and have a safe and healthy semester, everyone. 

We’ve come a long way since then.

rewatching hq

@bootthesnoot I WUV U SM ;3;

Have you ever met someone on the internet that you liked so much that you sometimes sit there and think “Oh man there are people who are lucky enough to see this person IN THE FLESH ON A REGULAR BASIS and I wonder if they realize how LUCKY they are”

can i just say that im,,,

REAL sick,,

of seeing klance posts where one of them is portrayed as “the girl”

like its usually Keith but once in a blue moon its lance

neither?? of them??? are girls????

they are both???? men???????

portraying one as super feminine and the other as butch is heteronormativity neither one of them is canonically feminine they are both masculine bye

My muse 💚

I'll be switching to mothers & fuckers thank you