“Most of the time I’d say no,” Lynn Brunemeier said about finding college life stressful. For some students, college life might be stressful, but for many here at DMC, college life is what you make it.
Brunemeier is a non-traditional student who has a family and a job but still manages to stay grounded and not let stress get the better of him.
He wakes up at 4-4:30 a.m., goes to the gym for about an hour, heads to work for a full eight-hour shift, and then makes his way to DMC for classes three nights a week.
“Everything has a certain amount of stress – dealing with tests and homework and trying to prioritize to make sure that you get what you have to get done accomplished and trying to succeed – but it’s just a matter of managing that stress,” he said.
Many students find recreational activities a good way of managing the stress of college life.
“I just try to stay involved with my hobbies poetry and dance as well as writing articles for One on One Magazine,” Bernadine Borden, communications major said.
Chari Heck, director of DMC Intramurals, agrees that staying active will help keep stress down.
“Anything you do that’s physically active can be a stress reliever, but even art and music can be a stress reliever. It really just depends on the person and what they find a passion for. But always with physical activity, it’s going to make a huge difference with stress. You just have to find something to be an outlet for you, whatever that is but when you’re always in better health your going to feel better,” Heck said.
While hobbies and staying physically active work for some, others tend to find relief from stress through spirituality.
“I set aside about 30 minutes in the morning to pray and read the Bible and then I do it again for about an hour when I get out of class,” Borden said.
Brunemeier said, “I am a Christian, so I read my Bible every day and go to church and just do stuff with my family.”
Be the first to comment on this article!