![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernjournal\/files\/2018\/04\/STRESS-1024x576.jpg\")
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Caity Healy | Lifestyle Editor<\/span><\/p>\n This last term has been both an incredible struggle and a valuable 10 weeks of learning about who I am and what I\u2019m capable of. My winter term was introduced by my roommates telling me they were leaving within the first few weeks and me having to find a new place. It wasn\u2019t exactly a warm welcome to the new season but, luckily, I found a new place quickly, moved in and started my new term. That was what prefaced my next 10 weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n I wasn\u2019t taking many credits; I had three classes in person and one online. It didn\u2019t seem like the workload would be all that daunting. What I didn\u2019t realize was just how time consuming all of my classes would be. <\/span><\/p>\n If I was only a student, then this would\u2019ve been doable. However, I also work two jobs. During winter term, I worked anywhere between 45-65 hours a week. When you factor this in with the workload I had with school, I\u2019d leave every week feeling exhausted and struggling to find energy. It quickly took a toll on my mental health. I was sleep deprived, I wasn\u2019t eating well enough, and I would have frequent breakdowns. Constant stress kept me from feeling like myself. By the end of the term, I felt proud of what I had overcome but I wasn\u2019t happy with where it had left me.<\/span><\/p>\n To manage and get through this term of hardships, I found myself looking to those around me for support. I had my key group of people who would always be there for me, whether it be for a spa day or a midnight run to get food. Whenever it became too much, I chose my health over my work; this wasn\u2019t an easy decision to make. I found myself occasionally having to miss classes because I had surpassed my limit, and I\u2019d use that time for myself and to destress. My health was my priority.<\/span><\/p>\n This spring, I\u2019m making it my goal to reduce the time I spend on work, make sure I get enough sleep, make sure I\u2019m eating well and find time for myself. Ultimately, my health is the most important thing and it has to be my focus. Had I continued to repeat that schedule that I was following in winter, I know my health would\u2019ve rapidly declined \u2014 both mentally and physically. By learning a mixture of time management skills and an understanding of my limits, I know I\u2019ll be far more successful this term, and I will finish the year out in a way I can truly be proud of.<\/span><\/p>\n Contact the author at chealy16@mail.wou.edu <\/span><\/p>\n Photo by: Paul F. Davis<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Caity Healy | Lifestyle Editor This last term has been both an incredible struggle and a valuable 10 weeks of learning about who I am and what I\u2019m capable of. My winter term was introduced by my roommates telling me they were leaving within the first few weeks and me having to find a new […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1030,"featured_media":7475,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"modified_by":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1030"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7508"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7508\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}