The Brown & White

All human beings have the basic needs of eating and sleeping, but it seems like a third action is beginning to dominate people's lives: the need to constantly worry or stress out.

I make time for myself each week to help keep the stress off and enjoy life. This past Sunday, a few of my fraternity brothers and I made our somewhat weekly visit to Waffle House late at night.

No, this did not directly help me in completing my accounting assignment that was due the next day, but the delicious combo of waffles and vanilla Coke helped me unwind from a busy week and get me recharged for the week ahead.

It happens to everyone, not just college students whose constant stresses include exams, papers and extracurricular activities. From celebrities to famous athletes to billionaires, people who live the glamorous life as some would like to call it, still have their own stresses and worries too.

Back in June, Philadelphia Eagles guard Shawn Andrews abruptly left the team during preliminary workouts and did not return until just before the regular season started. It turns out he was battling depression and had to seek professional help.

Similarly, this past Monday, family members of Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young called Nashville police to report that they were concerned about his current mental state after he left his house without his cell phone and didn't tell anyone where he was going.

It turns out he was just at a friend's house, but there could be a problem brewing if it caused enough concern among those closest to him to notify the police.

Occasionally, you'll hear on the news that a politician or an executive of a company suffers from depression, or in extreme cases, commits suicide.

Everyone, including those who on the surface "have it all," must deal with a lot of stressful moments throughout the course of their lives.

Unfortunately, some people try to take it all on themselves rather than seek the help of those who know them the best and are the closest to them, or seek professional help when necessary.

All of us at Lehigh will face many pressures at several points this semester alone, whether you are a senior who is trying to find a job for next year or a freshman who will soon face the wrath of the first round of four o'clocks.

If you ever feel overwhelmed, remember that you are not alone. Your friends, family, professors and places like the Center for Academic Success or the Counseling Center can all support you, each in their own unique way.

Your family will be there to support you through tough times, even if they are not happy with something you have done.

Professors and other academic resources can help you understand the curriculum and show you how to do certain problems that may appear on a test or homework assignment, which is very helpful.

But perhaps the most important resources for you to use during your time here are your friends, since they are the people you see day in and day out. The kind of help that your friends can give you is two-fold. Sure, you can form study groups or work on homework assignments with them, but friends are also there to support each other.

Friends can be great listeners when you just need someone to vent to or to just want to hang out and not think about something, whether it is school-related or not.

On certain days, you may have a ton of homework and club meetings to attend, so your free time will be limited. But sometimes, we tend to get too caught up in worrying about every little thing we have to do as an individual, whether it's due today or two weeks from now, and forget to put aside some time to relax and enjoy ourselves here at Lehigh with our friends.

These four years of college are supposed to be the best of your life, and believe it or not they fly by quickly.

Take the time to enjoy the most out of these years and make them last. We're all in this together, and we only have a few years to spend with each other, so why not help each other out and make them worthwhile.