Merry Christmas Y’all

So, the Christmas season is upon us, and I for one am pretty excited about it. The thing is though, Christmas isn’t the same as it was when I was a kid, and I’m sure many of y’all would agree.
No longer do I wake up at 5:30 in the morning and jump on my brother’s beds, and watch cartoons until they actually got out of bed hours later. No longer do I hunt through the house trying to find my presents before the big day…usually J

Once you’ve reached college I’ve found that Christmas is about so many more things….and I shall elaborate on some below because that’s what I do, as my friends say they’re “Wilson Stories”

First Family

You know those cool people that are supposed to love you no matter what. Well when you don’t see them as often they tend to mean a bit more to you (Funny how that works) I know the family relationship that made the biggest difference for me when leaving has been my little sister. We both went off to college this fall at different schools and I’ve taken it a lot harder than I expected to. It’s strange going from spending so much time with someone, sharing a bed sometimes, and a bathroom always, to a complete flip of being forever away from them and having a bathroom to yourself.  So being able to spend time with my sister for longer than a weekend has been a blessing.

 Not to mention eating my mother’s cooking, it’s amazing how good even “just add water pancakes” taste when your mom makes them.

Second Friends

I know that unfortunately for a lot of people they loose contact with those “High School” friends. I can’t lie in the 2½ yrs that I’ve been in college I have in fact lost some of those, but I have grown even closer with some of my best friends from high school and hope to keep those friendships life long. So we all get together and talk about how broke we are and end up trying to find the cheapest possible activity to do together (Movie nights at someone’s parent’s house usually work nicely) But at the end of the night it wasn’t about what we did it was about who we were with. This is true too of Thanksgiving but I think that break is just a tease.

Third Presents

Yep we’ve been old enough for a while to be responsible for those but now it’s really true. Thankfully I am only responsible in my family for the four kids, and a white elephant. But what do you do about those friends that I just mentioned are broke just like you??? This year my amazing friend and I decided to just share the gifts of food and ourselves with each other. So a Christmas potluck takes care of that, and it’s a good time, or should be ;)

So while it may have been real cute if I could have come up with 12, just like the 12 days of Christmas I didn’t. But I do have my own little Christmas poem to share with you…

Finals are over and stress free we are

But let’s be smart and not hit the bars

For Christmas time is Merry you see

And I’d love for you to spend time with me

We’ll frolic and play in the cheapest way

And find ways to brighten our days

When money is tight no presents there will be

But instead great fellowship between you and me

So by plane, train, or car hurry on home

And stop worrying about your student loans

For it’s Christmas time you see

And I’d love for you to spend it with me 

Finals, oh Finals, how I do not love thee

So, for those of you who are in college that may read this I am hoping that it will help you a little as we enter this time of unfortunate torture. I had to submit an article that will potentially go into my school's newspaper for my last assignment in my journalism class. I could not for the life of me think of a topic. Finally, I concluded that I would write about what was on my mind, and the minds of many of my fellow students, stress. I ended up getting a perfect score on the assignment, that brought my stress down some :) So below I am posting my article.

Story by: Crystal Wilson

            “I feel like I want to yell for no reason” Alix, a freshman at Schreiner University said in regards to the way that she feels when she’s stressed. 

We all feel stressed at one point or another during our semesters here at Schreiner University. Some students find stress in classes, some in extracurricular activities, and for others it is just a matter of putting too much on our plates. The question we need to answer is not how stressed are we but, what is the most effective way to manage our stress?

According to healthline.com the top ten ways to de-stress are, listening to music, calling a friend, talking yourself through it, eating right, breathing easy, laughing, drinking tea, being mindful, exercising, and sleeping better. While all of these options are great, sometimes it may be hard to commit to one, or find the time to make the activity happen, so I looked into what answers students here at Schreiner University have to managing their stress effectively.

“When I’m feeling really stressed I like to take deep breaths, exercise, and look on textsfromlastnightnight.com so I don’t feel so bad about my life”, Allison, a senior at Schreiner said in regards to how she manages stress.

Sophomore, Rebecca said “I take an hour out of my day on Tuesdays to watch my favorite show”.

De-stressing your life doesn’t have to be something that you do alone either. Before the fall 2011 finals, the student activities board hosted, holiday bingo, pictures with Santa, and even a petting zoo. All of these activities would be a great way to de-stress.

“Take it one step at a time, and prioritize. Do one right now, and once that’s over, then start something new. If you try and do it all at once, that’s when it gets overwhelming. Also, the occasional DQ ice cream sundae with best friends helps”, Austin, senior at Schreiner said.

Allison also mentioned that the sorority Alpha Sigma Alpha “did a balloon pop at one point around finals time to help relieve stress”.

While these activities may have happened during finals it doesn’t mean you can’t find a group activity to partake in the rest of the semester to help take a mental break. You can check out Student Activities Board, Greek Life, Volunteer Service, or even Campus Ministry, just to name a few.

So the next time that you’re feeling stressed take a deep breath, figure out what your de-stress tactic is and start feeling better. 

So even if you don't go to my school, I'm sure yours has some form of relaxing activities, or hopefully a good friend that you can depend on.

So I wish anyone reading this good luck on they're finals!