The Extremely Stressed Student's Guide to Surviving 2015

“How’s it going with year 2015?”

As a language tutor, I’ve asked many of students this question. I’ve also gotten a whole plethora of answers, ranging from the usual “okay lah” to an extremely detailed expository on it. “Okay lah” is usually the more common answer though.

Back to the topic at hand, the common thread tying most of these answers together would be two words: ‘excitement’ and ‘stress’.

Either way, most of us want to start the year right and (hopefully) end it well. If you’re feeling either of these two, we’ve got just the thing for each of you! We’ve even broken it all down into nice categories for you, so read on!

“Okay, lah.”

Perhaps you haven’t quite thought about it. Perhaps you defy all conventions and are apathetic about the year ahead. Perhaps you just didn’t like the nosy teacher asking about your personal year plans.

If you’re person one or three, this would be for you.

Think through a handful of things of what’s important to you. One year is not a whole lot of days, and most of our personal experiences will tell us that while much can be completed in one year, that isn’t always the case for the things closest to our hearts.

Think through what’s genuinely close to your heart. Think about what really makes your blood race and gets you excited about living – beyond just existing in this country. Think about what’s going to help you advance in this life. We are mere beings with a limited emotional and mental capacity.

It might just be time to de-clutter and focus on those things. If you don’t care about whatever it is and it doesn’t help you to grow as a person, cast it aside. If it doesn’t help you to advance in your studies, cast it aside. If all it does is sap your emotional energy, cast it aside.

“I am excited/stressed.”

Quite a number of us have already made plans for the year ahead, and are excited for what lies in store for each of us. Whatever it is, being excited about it and having a passion are truly wonderful feelings to have. Not everyone is blessed to ever feel such a thing.

Meeting the end-goal, however, is not driven by just passion and excitement alone.

We think about the rewards we will reap and get excited about it. However, we tend to forget about the problems that will lie ahead. During those times, commitment is what will pull us through.

Think about what exactly it is about the thing that makes you excited. Recognize it and hold onto it. When the going gets rough, that is sometimes the only thing that you’ll have to keep you going.

Let passion and excitement motivate you. Have commitment to keep driving you forward.