Students blog

I love fall. It’s the best season for fashion, fragrance, and fun. With fall comes crisp mornings, stunning sunrises, and petrichor. Where I live in Washington State has it all: mountains, trees, and water, but it’s lacking in sunshine in the wintertime. I’m originally from the Caribbean, a place known for its hot sun and volatile weather. I’m used to sunshine, so you can imagine when I first came here and experienced winter for the first time, my mental state took a hit.

Later, I would realize that I suffer from what is known as seasonal affected disorder, more commonly known as seasonal depression. You might recognize the signs within yourself: a persistent low mood, losing interest in the things that usually bring you joy, and an unstated sadness. I believe everyone who lives in Washington and places that receive less sunlight in the fall and winter can experience some measure of this—it’s normal. Here are some tips and tricks to hijack this uncanny state so that your fall and winter may be a bit brighter.

Keep Up with Hobbies

During this time, indulge a little. Be a kid and spend time doing what usually brings you joy. Set some time aside to intentionally engage with your hobbies. Even though you might not feel like it, your mood will be lifted. I personally like thrifting and dancing. Do what makes you happy, whatever that is: embroidery, playing tennis with friends, hiking, paddleboarding, etc.

Address Lower Sun Exposure

Since sunlight helps produce vitamin D, less sun in the winter can lead to a deficiency in that area, which can affect your mood. Consider increasing your Vitamin D levels with supplements. (Always consult with your healthcare provider before taking supplements). I have found that another helpful way to address lower sunlight exposure during winter months is to use a light therapy lamp, and it does wonders. Just having a source of light that mimics the sun in my space brightens up my mood.

Nature Therapy

I would also recommend you spend time outdoors. Nature therapy works, at least for me. If you can’t do that then bring the outdoors to you. Do you like plants? I love them! My space is overflowing with them, and I feel happy every time I look at them. You’re also taking care of something and that’s motivating. Pets are especially great mood boosters. If plants are not your thing, then some picked flowers work equally as well.

Winter is not an easy time. The world is filled with depressing stories, but if you take a bit of time out of your day to do what you love and consider self-care, I promise you it won’t go to waste.

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Camping is good for the soul. No matter how much you hate dirt, bugs, non-perishable food, or sleeping on the ground, camping for a few days out in nature can do wonders for your mental health and perspective on life.

In August of 2021, a group of 10 friends and I landed in the midst of towering mountains in St. Elias-Wrangell National Preserve. St. Elias-Wrangell is our largest national park, containing 13 million acres, and is found in south-central Alaska. So remote, we were flown in from Tok, Alaska on a 3-person plane in 4 separate rounds. The trip and transportation were organized through Xavier Expeditions, an initiative at Xavier University to introduce students to the beauty and peacefulness of nature. 

Camp Set Up

Dropped in the remote wilderness, surrounded by a mountain range, the only sounds we could hear were the rush of the river and the soft wind. We kept our food in bear barrels, large metal barrels that conceal the scent of food, in an effort to keep the bears from venturing into our camp. Any time we cooked, all the food was required to be eaten–otherwise the bears would be attracted to our camp. At night, we traipsed into the thick of the trees to sling the bags of food over the branches above, keeping them out of the bears’ reach. As you can tell, many precautions were necessary for our safety. 

The pressure to overachieve has definitely increased as social media has become more prominent for our generation. As students, it can sometimes feel like everyone is meeting their goals sooner than you and getting a ‘yes’ to everything they have tried for. However, it is incredibly important to remember that everyone’s path to success looks different and is on a different timeline.

You Only See the Best

As college students during this time, it can sometimes feel like everyone is getting their dream internship that turns into their dream job right off the bat. However, that’s just not the truth. This new sense of pressure to overachieve seems to be rooted from the fact that every achievement is posted on social media without the ‘no’s’ included. Seeing the highlights of somebody’s life without the lows can make it seem like everyone has it all together except you.

Trust the Process

This is why it is completely vital to try to not compare yourself to what your friends, coworkers, or roommates are doing and succeeding at in college. Trusting your own process and trying your best is all that you can do. A key thing to remember is that you are not on any kind of time crunch or perfect journey to success. There are going to be ups and downs no matter what and oftentimes doors close so that a better one can open for you.

My best advice to handle the pressure to overachieve is to reflect on your own accomplishments, work towards your own goals and understand that your road to success won’t always be smooth and straight. And no matter how it may appear online, no one else’s will be either.

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Growing up, I always struggled with my cultural identity since I lived in a predominantly white area. Most of my peers and friends did not look like me, and most knew little to nothing about the country I was born in, South Korea. Therefore, I went through a very long phase of cultural rejection. I refused to speak the language and never wanted to take any Asian food to school. I tried my best to fit in with my peers.

Accepting My Culture

It wasn’t until seventh grade that I became more open-minded and susceptible to learning about my Korean culture. Food was always a part of my life, but now I craved Korean food more often than I did before and would ask my mom to cook certain dishes. I incorporated more of the culture such as music, tv shows, etc. into my life. This was a turning point in my journey of embracing my Asian American culture. Time passed and my culture became a bigger part of my life, but there was still more I could learn, and I felt like there were communities out there to help.

Progress Stalled

My progress was stalled when I decided to attend college at a predominantly white institution (PWI). I was hoping to go to a college with a bigger Asian American community. However, this could not be further from the truth. In the days leading up to leaving for college I started to worry that I would lose all the progress I’d made so far or hit a dead end since there was no difference from the environment I grew up in my whole life.

A Search for a Cultural Community

As soon as I got to campus, I was obviously comfortable with the environment since I was used to being around people who don’t look like me. But I wanted to challenge myself and continue my journey of finding my cultural identity. I decided to immerse myself in the different cultural communities on campus. The community that allowed me to finally feel a strong sense of belonging was my Asian-interest sorority, alpha Kappa Delta Phi. (This group uses four Greek letters in its name and chooses not to capitalize the first letter.) Being at a PWI, this sorority provides a home away from home and is a tight-knit group of young women that are pursuing a college degree and finding themselves. One of the pillars of this sorority is Asian Awareness which has played a huge role in helping me to truly find my cultural identity and embrace my Asian American culture. I have never been able to share so many experiences with so many other Asian American women. Being able to relate to so many other people was the best feeling in the world.

How Can I Make This Better for The Next Generation?

In addition, I have been able to engage in many dialogues with my sisters and talk about what cultural identity means to us and how we want our kids to be more in touch with their culture. Despite my worries, I have felt the most pride in my culture and am the most in touch with my culture during my time here in college because of this community that I found.

I urge you to share your stories, traditions, and ways that have made an impact on you and find a community that will help you embrace your culture. There is so much to learn about where you come from and what makes you, you. It’s never too late to start embracing your culture and striving to learn more about your identity.

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If you haven’t created your LinkedIn account, it certainly is not too late to do so! Not many realize that LinkedIn is purely beneficial to your career, and online persona; it’s a great resource to contact recruiters, alumni, and countless other people you’ve come across professionally. Whether you’re creating your LinkedIn for the first time or updating your profile, here are a few tips to best utilize this platform to your advantage!

First Impressions

First and foremost, make a few simple updates your profile by adding a profile picture, headline, and bio. Although a professional headshot is ideal, any professional-looking photo or even a picture taken of you against a neutral background taken with your cell phone camera should suffice. If you have an iPhone, simply place the camera app in “Portrait Mode” to achieve a clear and focused DIY headshot! Add a headline with your current job/degree prowess, and there’s a solid start right there!

Next, add a bio in the ‘About’ section on your profile. This does not need to be any longer than 100-200 words, but it is nice to provide an introduction into yourself. Think about it as a condensed cover letter. Make sure there is a space for additional contact as well, such as your email address. You want your profile to look good and to make the lasting impression that is easily transferable to a contact at any point in the future.

Experiences & Activity

All jobs, internships, and volunteer activities can be listed here on your profile! While it is beneficial when you list associations and institutions with their own respective LinkedIn pages, any experiences that have made an impact on you that can be spoken about has its place on your page. An easy way to update this section is to copy and paste bullets from your resume or supporting documents into the description text box. It is also possible to rephrase a summary of the experience in paragraph format. If choosing the second option, make sure to keep it brief!

Education is also important to list in your profile. Any degrees or programs completed or in progress should be listed here. Your alumni network is vast, and this shows potential connections that you both have the institution in common, which helps to instill talking points.

Make Connections!

When meeting someone in class, a networking event, a coffee chat, or any other occasion involving a potential life connection, you may as well add them as a connection on LinkedIn! There is an option to leave a note when connecting if you would like to say thank you for their time, or simply remind them when/where you interacted. For any number of connections up to 499, the exact number is publicly listed on your profile. Once the threshold of 500 connections is made, then it is shown as “500+”. For that reason, it is not necessary to spend time connecting with numerous individuals. Once you get connected with your high school or college class, there will be hundreds already established within your network. Once connected, one’s profile is a “1st” connection when you are signed in.

It is also doable to reach out to secondary connections! When someone is one degree of separation from your profile on LinkedIn, they show up for you (and vice versa) as “2nd”, and any more degrees of separation away is “3+”. In this case, a 2nd connection can be made into a 1st connection when your mutual puts you two together, or by personally reaching out to the 2nd connection due to a dedicated interest.

Is LinkedIn Premium Worth the Cost?

Premium has a heavy cost to it, and thankfully this can be accessed via a free trial for each account. There are a few bonuses that come with this subscription, and from personal experience utilizing the free trial, I find it can be quite helpful when actively searching for a job or internship, but not necessarily year-round.

There is a yellow badge that appears next to your name on your profile to notify others of your premium access. Those with Premium can see who specifically is viewing their profile and receive metrics based on viewers. Up to five “InMail” credits are given, which allow for direct messaging to recruiters! This can be especially helpful when applying for sought after roles to place yourself above the standard application process.

All in all, I would say it is definitely worth taking advantage of the free trial when it will be useful for you to do so. From there, it is up to you to figure out when to continue having LinkedIn premium. Just make sure to turn off auto-renewal when you begin your trial!

LinkedIn is the top networking and job searching site. It’s free set up make it easy to make connections and get noticed by potential future employers. Try these tips and you’ll get your LinkedIn profile in top shape in no time!

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Choosing a college when you’re in high school seems like the hardest decision in the moment. I remember being torn between the University of Cincinnati and Miami University. Both were close to home, and I had family at both colleges. Tours and months later, Miami University blew me away and my decision became easy; I knew it was where I wanted to spend my college years. Now as I approach graduation, two features stand out that helped make Miami University my college home.

Campus Beauty

My favorite thing about Miami University is the environment and the beauty of the campus. I look forward to walking to class because of the activities that are always happening, the unique brick buildings, and the flowers all around campus. Miami maintains the same brick design from building to building, creating a cohesive college campus look. And the inside of the buildings is even prettier. I spend the majority of my time at The Farmer School of Business where piano is playing and students are studying. I also love the trails and walkways throughout the campus and am making it a habit to explore them every week before I can’t anymore. I only have one short month left here at Miami University; I don’t know how time has flown by.

Lasting Community

From the forever friends I’ve made, the professors who’ve taught me lessons professionally and personally, and the memories I’ll never forget, Miami University will always be a home in my heart. My friends became family to me, and I couldn’t imagine going through college without them. The professors on this campus truly care about their students more than just how well they do in their classes. The professors are more like mentors at Miami who you can ask for advice, guidance, and real-life experience. I’ll carry the memories and their words of wisdom with me for the rest of my life.

My advice to anyone looking at colleges and going through the application process is to tour every campus, go outside your comfort zone, and listen to the people on those campuses about their experience. College is only 4 years, and it goes by fast. The choice seems hard, but you can never make the wrong decision in the long run. The decisions you make will bring you friends, mentors, and memories like Miami University did for me. College is an exciting time in life, and I am blessed to have had the experience I had, making it my hardest goodbye.

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Managing day-to-day college life can be a tough time, from managing time commitments, striving to stay organized, maintaining relationships, and even meeting that 11:59 pm deadline. Constantly trapped in your mind with so many thoughts, you just want that one moment of relaxation. Here are five tips/ways to de-stress: 

Meditate

Meditation is scientifically proven to help decrease stress and promote an overall wellbeing. If you are a beginner, starting out is very simple; you can look up “guided meditation” videos and/or audios to help move you through the tranquil process. Most videos or audios range from five to fifteen minutes. Choose what fits into the time you have available.

Take Breaks

Another way is just to take a break. Even though this seems like a cliche, it seriously helps you clear your mind off your task. Stress can take over not just our mental, but our physical health as well. Just by taking a few minutes away for yourself, you can do certain things that you enjoy such as: listening to music, taking a bubble bath, doing a facemask, or even calling up a friend. These few alone-time minutes can seriously help you and your mental health.

Get Moving

Move around and keep your body active to de-stress! While exercising, your body releases positive hormones called endorphins, which means that it’ll help you feel less stressed. There are many ways of exercising, whichever one you choose to partake in, your stress levels will slowly but surely decrease. Take a walk around your campus, enroll in a dance class, or go to your local gym for an hour or two. 

Unplug From Your Devices

Another tip is “unplugging”. This is one I personally struggle with sometimes. To “unplug” is to move away or turn off the electronic device that’s distracting you from the task at hand. Since Gen-Z grew up with this type of technology, it’s a little difficult to take it out of our lives even just for a couple of minutes. We’re so used to looking at the blue light, waiting for a notification from our favorite person or influencer. Simply putting your phone in the “do not disturb” feature or silencing it will help you not worry about it as much.

Journal

Lastly, step away from a stress-filled situation to spend a few minutes journaling. Writing your thoughts down can help increase positive thinking and even help you better understand yourself. If you not sure where to start, search online for many different interesting prompts to help you on your journaling journey. 

Overall, stress is something all college students experience and strive to manage. I hope these de-stress tips helped you out!

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When I was in high school, I had a romanticized vision of moving away from home for college. New scenery, new friends, finally escaping my hometown. When I found the University of Vermont, it was a match made in heaven. I fell in love with the campus, the mountains, and counted down the days until move-in day. The reality did not hit me until my parents drove away from my freshman dorm, leaving me 6 hours away from home. It all came crashing in on me. I was alone.

I tried to suppress my homesickness by keeping busy and pushing the thoughts of home away for many weeks. Yet, that made those emotions hit harder when they bubbled to the surface. The newest chapter of my life was starting, and while I was excited, I had to navigate those emotions and fears that came from moving away for the first time.

A lot of responsibility and expectations fall on your shoulders in college. It can be hard to keep a handle on the emotions that come with moving far away. Here’s some advice that I wish I had known earlier that helped me deal with my homesickness!

Don’t compare your difficulties

While it is hard, try not to compare your college transition to others. Your emotions are valid and unique to you. Some people have no problem adjusting, but that does not mean you cannot struggle a little! Most college kids are 17 or 18 when they move out. We are still kids, even though we often have adult responsibilities. It’s natural to be nervous, but you are as capable as the next person to have a successful college career.

Identify your fears

Take a moment and identify the cause of your emotions. What am I scared of? What do I specifically miss? Who do I miss? All these questions are essential to organizing your thoughts and making a plan to work through them. Once you identify the root of your emotions, things become a lot clearer, and a solution seems more doable.

Make new connections

Try and get yourself out there! Many colleges offer lots of activities the first week on campus, so get involved! Talk to other people, explore club fairs, take in the school spirit. Get out of the dorms and make some acquaintances! With each week that goes by, set small goals to introduce yourself to neighbors in your building, talk to someone in line at the dining hall, or strike up a conversation with older students. These connections are vital in establishing a new friend group and family away from home.

Bring a little bit of home along

Make your room a safe and comfortable environment. Dorm rooms seem plain and boring when you first arrive, but this gives you a unique opportunity to put your personal touch on a blank canvas. Put up pictures, trinkets, or other things you brought from home. This can bring a sense of comfort after a long day. Bring a little of home to your new college home!

There are so many changes that happen when you go away to college. Sometimes they hit you immediately, sometimes they hit you later. Your expectations can affect how you perceive this difficult transition that looks different for everyone. Though it is hard, hopefully these four tips can help you get through this homesickness.

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As exciting as college may be, it’s no secret that some classes are notorious for pushing students past their creative limits. In my freshman year, I remember staying up until the single-digit hours, crouched over my desk in a fetal position, lit only by a dim Target light, wracking my brain for ideas that were due 45 minutes ago. Even after switching to a less artistic major, I still found myself wondering where all those bright ideas from my fresh-out-of-high school brain had gone.

The truth is, sometimes high school doesn’t prepare us to exercise the creative freedoms and ideas that college expects, so we find ourselves under our Target lights stressed, bewildered, and idea-less. Luckily, over the past few semesters I’ve learned a few tips to jumpstarting those creative juices.

1. Ignore everything you’ve been told and get on your phone.

We all know that our main distractions come in the form of dinging notifications and seemingly an endless supply of flashy pictures, but the reality is, there is also a plethora of creative ideas behind our screens. Most of my best project ideas came from things I found looking through my phone. The trick is to know where to look so you don’t end up losing hours mindlessly scrolling. Pinterest and Brainsparker have fantastic visual prompts and the option to make curated boards specific to your project. Unstuck and Simplemind have word-based cues that combat creative blocks. Unconventional places work just as well: Look through Letterboxd or Goodreads to see what people are saying about media related to your topic. Even TikTok is occasionally helpful, if you have enough shame to heed those “you’ve been scrolling for too long!” ads. 

2. Take your work outside. Honestly.

I used to find “just go outside!” to be a cop-out when it comes to mental health and brain refreshers, but truth be told, leaving my dim, dark room from time-to-time is exactly what the brain doctor ordered. And I am not anti-dim, dark room – it’s just that sometimes you forget what the sky looks like and what air smells like outside of this space! You may not have a creative epiphany looking at trees, but simply getting distracted by a change of scenery will help you to think outside the box. You don’t literally have to touch grass, but you can at least look at it from a distance. 

3. Make a list of topics you actually care about.

Even though it might seem easier to pick a random, seemingly easy topic to write, read, draw etc. about, in the long run you will thank yourself for researching one of your genuine interests. I cannot count the number of times I’ve been grateful to me-from-the-past for picking an assignment topic that aligned with my interests and saved myself the pain of digging through library archives, hunting for an obscure source for something about which I didn’t care. Creative ideas follow naturally when you’re working on something you're enthusiastic about.

4. When in doubt, put a twist on it.

This is like the infamous improv rule: “yes, and”. Look into some completed work that is like your project and make it personal; even if the project isn’t necessarily aligned with your career goals, you can make it work for you. For instance, if you’re an accounting major writing a history paper on vintage movies, you know there are a ton of published research on old Hollywood but, consider looking into how film royalties have transformed over the years. Or if you’re a psychology major who also likes linguistics, you know there’s an abundance of studies on the brain, but what about how different languages affect behavior? Don’t be afraid to get specific– the more specific you are in your topic, the more time you save trying to cover multiple bases, the more confident you will be in your subject (especially if you also follow Tip #3!) – the list goes on. 

5. Remember that you are not your grade.

Believe it or not, straining yourself to perfect every tiny detail in your assignment will do the exact opposite for helping your creativity. Getting caught up over small things is kind of like tunnel vision – you miss the bigger picture and potentially creative ideas that truly would have made the project yours. If you are really concerned, I advise keeping extra credit in mind, but remember that the best creativity comes from treating yourself like a friend. Trying to force a revolutionary idea out of an overworked, overstressed mind is like trying to make cold brew out of a single coffee bean. Cut yourself some slack and be proud of what you have gotten done. As endearing as the Canvas confetti is, real life celebrations are even better.

Do you have a compelling story or student success tips you’d like to see published on the Pearson Students blog?  If you are a college student and interested in writing for us – click here to pitch your idea and get started!