The Struggle is Real
Image Courtesy of Funny Animals Facebook
I’ll be the first to admit–and I’m sure I’m not alone–that it’s one week into the semester and I already feel like I have no idea what I’m doing!
Test is tomorrow?
Paper is due when?
Six essay assignments due by next week?
Group projects begin now?
Wait, do I actually know any class material yet?
Oh, you want me to pick up an extra shift at work?
Okay, but when do I get to sleep?
Due dates, deadlines, and stress. . .oh my!
Image Courtesy of Avi Singer
College throws you right into the storm, head on, and expects you to tackle it perfectly. Sometimes, if not often, it’s hard to not feel like you are overwhelmed and a little behind. There’s nothing worse than knowing how much work you have to get done, and then having a complete mental block.
Image courtesy of Justin Carper
This was me trying to come up with a creative and interesting post, but struggling to come up with an idea. For the life of me, I could not find anything I wanted to talk about. Those of you that know me, Taylor not having anything to say is a rare occurrence. My writers block has never been such a barrier.
So here I am, writing a blog post, about not knowing what to write in my blog post.
While looking into Public Relations and Communication blogs for inspiration, I came across a truthful article from Spin Sucks. The writer talks about life lessons we can learn from taking a vacation when you’re stressed about all the things you have to get done. After reading, I had somewhat of an epiphany. Here’s my take on her main pieces of advice.
Slow Down
It’s okay to not come up with an idea immediately. Good writing can take time, and it’s okay to search what’s out there to pull inspiration. Especially when it comes to posting/writing for a company, you want to know what works best and what flops.
Be Present
Sometimes it’s hard to let your mind shut out everything going on in life. Trying to concentrate on one task can become difficult when you start thinking about all the other work you aren’t getting to yet. Be present in what you’re doing. Sit down to work on one thing, and commit yourself to that. It’ll not only help you concentrate, but you’ll feel more productive.
Challenge Your Brain to Switch
One of the biggest difficulties for me is to get my brain to think of writing in different ways. It can be hard to switch from formal essay, to PR post, to blog post, to social media, back around to something more formal. It takes a certain type of thinking. Again, be present and slow down; challenge yourself to approach things differently and think outside the box.
Just Breathe
When stress hits hard, you’re overwhelmed, and trying to be creative, tension builds and makes any mental block 10x worse. Trust me, it happens to my brain often. One of the best de-stressors can be to simply close your eyes and take ten deep breaths. Loosen up and try to relax where you feel tension. The mind works so much easier that way.
Image courtesy of Bob Lotich
Seek Advice
Whenever you’re in doubt, use other people’s advice and thoughts as a guide. When it comes to blogging and the world of PR, people are always willing to be interactive and give their advice. The great thing about this digital age is the interactive qualities it possesses!
Social Media, by Regina Luttrell, emphasizes this idea by stating, “. . .the blogosphere is fueled by people–people who are part of the human network of connections we make on a regular basis” (p. 55). It is through these connections that we can use others as great resources to gain inspiration from.
At the end of the day, I’m still just a stressed out college kid, but I have a better frame of mind for blogging and writing in the future.
Hopefully this helps ease some of your minds. If not, well, I tried.
Book Reference:
Luttrell, Regina. Social Media: How to Engage, Share, and Connect. 2nd Edition. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2016, 55.
Taylor Bojeri 
When I started reading and saw the question’s that you had written down, it was like everything that was already going through my head was right in the screen in front of me. As a senior now I’ve already gone through this routine three times already so you’d think things would get easier, and although it has a bit, juggling everything going on in life still can be quite tricky.
For the vast majority of people in college, just going to class isn’t just the only thing that we have going on in our lives. Some people have family obligations, some are part of clubs or organizations on campus, and others like you mentioned also have jobs.
With all of those things going on, it really can be overwhelming at times. The last thing that we think about is stopping to relax because if we do we think that we’ll get behind on something. I know I for one am guilty of having the mindset of, “I know there’s something I should be doing right now, what is it?” Sometimes it’s okay to just take a breather, and your post was a nice reminder of that.
I also really enjoyed how you mentioned your thought process at the beginning of your writing. It made the post feel really authentic because I know for at least myself, I have some of those exact feelings when am starting to write my paper. Starting can be the hardest part, but you did a really nice job of just rolling with it. The audience then is able to follow you into your transition to the advice while including the original link from Spin Sucks, which was a good read in itself. Nice job!
Jordan Ross
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Thank you for the kind words! It’s funny because those starting questions were actual thoughts I had had that day while driving home work, while stressing of course. I’m happy you found it so relatable. I think as college students we sometimes forget that we aren’t the only ones feeling the way we are feeling. We aren’t alone and it’s important to remember that if we are going to survive this craziness.
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Thank you, I really needed this advice right now. Especially the slow down part as my mind is always racing a mile a minute and I have a really bad habit of not telling people no even though I know I can’t fit it into my schedule. You did a really good job presenting this and how you put all the information there and it is well written.
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Oh trust me, I can absolutely relate to not being able to say no. I want to do it all and help wherever I can–be it shifts at work, extracurricular activities, or just spending time with people I care about–and I just struggle to say no. I spread myself too thin and it seems like we all have those same tendencies!
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