Coping With College

Being away at school has been pretty great but also very difficult in several ways.  In order to handle the daily challenges from being chronically ill as well as all of my schoolwork, I had to develop some rules to live by.  I figured someone else might benefit from them also, whether they are chronically ill or not.  Here they are.

1. Breathe

Having a busy schedule is part of being a college student.  It's okay to need some time to just breathe. Your friends will understand if you can't always "go go go" like they can.  If they don't, then maybe they aren't the friends you should have in the first place.  

2. Health Comes First

I know that going to that class is important, but so are you.  If you don't figure out your health today, then you might set yourself up for missing class the rest of the week.  You will be better off missing a couple of classes now than you would be missing the entire week of midterms because you got yourself hospitalized.  Don't ignore what your body is telling you.

3. Stay Active

It's easy to become so caught up in school work that you become mentally and physically drained. When we let this happen, exercise goes out the window.  Even if all you can do is walk a couple of stairs everyday, do it.  Trust me, your body will hurt worse if you aren't using it.  

4. Remember to Understand

As a chronic illness sufferer, I tend to get so caught up in what "normal people" don't understand about me that I forget what I don't understand about them.  This can be frustrating because I will get angry about little things that they do.  The thing is, they DON'T know what it's like, and that is okay. They shouldn't have to know.  When they say or do insensitive things, just remember that they don't mean to offend you.  They probably just don't know anyone else like you.  

5. Give it to God

God has this so that you don't need to have it.  This is the most important rule.  It is also they hardest to live by. When I am freaking out over the slightest thing I want to handle it all by myself, but I can't do that.  God wants me to rely on Him, and, let's face it, He is the only one who can ALWAYS handle the situation.  

I'm not perfect, and I forget to follow my own rules much of the time, but you'd have to admit that they are some pretty good rules.  Thanks for reading.