stress – Committing to the Commute

I feel like I am due for another appreciation post. This one concerning my little study buddy, my dog.

One thing I’ve noticed when doing school work before the pandemic and now more than ever, is that I’ve always had a little support system every step of the way. Countless times I’ve gotten up from doing my homework and have almost stepped on my dog because he’s always by my side. Don’t worry I’ve never stepped on him.

However, it can get annoying at times being constantly crowded. But I think I’ve learned to love it because he’s just there to love me.

It’s great especially when I’m getting stressed out over having to work on a paper, a project, watching 10 videos, and reading 3 chapters, etc. etc. (anyone feel me on that :/) and then I can just look down and see that my dog is there wagging his tail ready to be pet. He’s not a certified support animal, but he sure is one to me.

8 Things You Didn-t Know About Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT)

I feel like animals can be great ways of helping you relieve stress. And I think we need them now more than ever.

I’m certainly lucky to be able to live at home and have my pet with me at all times as I know it can be challenging for residents who cannot have their pets with them. I call that a commuter perk 🙂 even though no one is currently commuting.

But as for people who don’t own any animals, regardless if you are a commuter or not, you are not getting that stress relieving support that could be very beneficial to you. And we should all know by now that college students, at one time or another, have stress; if not, what’s your secret!?

That is why I always appreciated when my college would have what they called Pet Therapy days.

Those are the days when WSU’s Counseling Center would bring in dog owners twice a month and let the students come for a couple hours and pet and play with the dogs. It is always a big event, so much so that articles have been written about it and even the local news has come. This program is 13 years strong, and hopefully when this pandemic is over, they will keep the tradition alive.

I find this program to be very helpful in relieving your stress or helping your mental health in general, even if it is for just a moment. Whether it be a paper due tomorrow or your car is parked in a faculty spot and you saw cops patrolling (by the way, please don’t do that), being with those dogs just makes you forget about your worries.

I get it you may be skeptical. Like how could a dog just take all the stress away when people pay tons of money for therapy? But I’m telling you, it helps! It took me a few times of going, but I learned that it does help. Petting animals can relieve stress. There have been many studies to back it up, which I highly recommend looking into if you don’t believe me; they certainly educated me on the topic. But remember I’m not a medical professional, so please ask them if you do have issues or concerns about stress or your mental health.

Now I’m not saying therapy isn’t beneficial. Everyone has there own ways of dealing with any issue they have. I’m just saying, don’t knock pet therapy until you try it! And please, let me know in the comments if you have any other ways of relieving stress; any tips could certainly benefit us all. But in the mean time, how could you feel upset looking at this cute face.

A picture from WSU’s Pet Therapy (Courtesy of WSU’s Instagram)

Now you might be wondering, “Does my college have pet therapy?” If the answer is yes, then I highly recommend giving it a try, even if you don’t think it could help with stress. Just going could be a good activity for you to take some time away from studying. But if you are someone who does not have it, I would highly recommend bringing it up to your counseling center. Use your voice and let them know. They are there to help you, so why not take advantage of that and get some furry cuddles out of it.

But in the mean time, you could be like me and enjoy your own little furry friend at home (sorry again to the non-pet owners). I’ve come to learn and appreciate that by having him near me he calms me and helps me get through the day. I know that when I’m feeling stressed, he’s there for me and makes me feel like everything is going to be okay; just keep wagging that tail.

So I say to you, take a deep breath, go to your pet, give them a bunch of scratches, remember to feel appreciative of all the good things in your life, and just keep wagging that tail.

Hunger games salute GIF - Find on GIFER — “May the odds be ever in your favor”-Hunger Games

With it now being the second half of my college semester that can mean only one thing… it’s class registration time!!

One of the first things that was told to me when going to WSU was to wake up early because that’s the only way you will get the classes you want. That terrified me!!

It’s like:

Hi welcome to WSU. You are now going to fight to the death for a chance to land a spot in Communication Law. There’s only two time slots with 20 seats open each. Good luck and “may the odds be ever in your favor”.

And if you’re wondering, YES I did just quote the Hunger Games!!

This quote definitely stands out to me when I think of registering for classes because for me it almost feels like I’m going into battle. If you want to be the victor, you better come prepared. I also just really like the Hunger Games book/movie series all together so any way to use it in my daily life I’ll take it.

Now to others I may be over exaggerating, but as a commuter I find it can be quite challenging in getting the exact schedule you want. For starters I want to not have to come in everyday because that’s not only a waste of time for me, but also a waste of gas. If I could also get my classes as close together as possible that would also be a dream because who wants a 5 hour block between two classes. Sure you could go home, but what about those 1 hour commuters? It’s not like we can walk to our dorm rooms and take a nap.

It doesn’t help either that the classes I do want tend to only be available at one time which may or may not work with my few times a week or close in proximity desires. And don’t even get me started on needing certain classes and they’re not even available.

Needless to say, this can be a very stressful time for everyone, but I think commuters have a little bit more to think about when they are deciding what to take. For example, does it ever cross your mind that someone has to make a schedule that works around their work schedule, or making sure they’re home in time to pick up their kids from school? That’s why I think more options for different class times and days, along with more of the same classes would be very beneficial because picking you classes wouldn’t be such a bloodbath.

Bruce almighty GIFs - Get the best GIF on GIPHY

If you’ve ever gone black Friday shopping or waited for a drop on a famous online store, then picking classes will seem very similar. So suit up, drink some coffee, have your classes ready, and type as fast as your fingers will let you.

And to reiterate…

May the odds be ever in your favor!

Tag: stress

My Study Buddy

“May the Odds be Ever in Your Favor”