College students tackle daily stress

By Erica Martinez | Pulse staff reporter

Everyone has stress whether they want to admit it or not. Throughout the school year, students are faced with many obstacles that can make school more stressful and sometimes students need help managing that stress.

College tuition keeps rising, which means many students are in debt out of school; the economy is slowly making its way back up, which means jobs are hard to come by, especially in your area of interest. A person can handle only so much stress before it starts to affect them mentally and physically.

“For me, stress is kind of difficult to manage because I work part-time and I go to school full-time, which does have its effect, but the most important thing to know is what makes you relax, whether it is knitting, running or even singing,” said Presley Tyler, a second year Pre-Dental student at Palo Alto College.

While some students just work and go to school, others have children to take care of, too. Crystal Gonzalez, a second year Liberal Arts major, has two children to attend to while taking a full load of classes.
 

“Having children and going to school is tough when you first start out, but as time progresses, you start to get used to it,” Gonzalez said. “You know what you have to do when it comes to that, even if it means staying up to the early hours of the morning studying.”

Ashley Cervantes, a second-year History major at Palo Alto College, attends classes full time, works part time and also takes care of her niece.

“Doing all three things is pretty tough,” said Cervantes. “Some days I don’t even have the strength to get up in the morning. You just have to push through all the pain and just say that you’re doing all of this for a good reason, whether it be to make a better life for you or you just want to take some classes on a subject you’re curious about learning.”

Full-time students are required to take at least 12 hours of classes in order to qualify for Financial Aid. This isn’t a problem for some people because they don’t need a job or they don’t have kids, but many students do have to work part time or raise a family.

Sometimes you’re just exhausted from working and when you get home, you still have homework to do. For example, some students probably like to take a nap before work so they can feel energized but if they have homework due the next day, they do their homework instead of napping.

Help is available. You can confide in a friend or even seek professional help at Palo Alto College. Counselors help students who need encouragement to deal with daily stress. They even help with other things, such as making a school schedule or talking over problems.

According to Moriah Solis, a secretary for The Counseling Center, it’s very easy to make an appointment with a counselor. All you have to do is go into the center and sign up. It’s as easy as that.

The Counseling Center is located across from the Palomino Center, between Guadalupe and Nueces Halls. They are open Mondays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Tuesdays through Fridays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information about dealing with stress, please visit The Counseling Center.