Article 2

Managing Stress

By Jiayi Xu

It is certain that all incoming college students are facing stress. Going to a brand new environment, meeting different people with all kinds of culture background, arranging our academic and social lives all by ourselves- all these challenging things are coming towards us, which could actually overwhelm us. However, stepping to a new chapter of our lives with positive attitude provides a firm foundation to our future success. Thus, I’d like to share some of my methods of managing stress.

1.      Join Your Own Community

The major stress for me is coming from going to another country alone. I’m worry and nervous about being left out or leave out something important such as opening bank account, purchasing insurance and applying a new phone number. But we can get help from our community. I joined an online Chinese Freshmen Group, which is organized by some of Chinese upperclassmen. In the group, hundreds of incoming students are asking the events you concern about, and the initiators are there for you. They can tell you which kind of bank is more convenient and economical for international students, when and how you can get insurance and where and how you can get a calling-plan that best suits your need. You can feel free to ask anything. And when you feel prepared, your stress will be alleviated majorly.

Source: http://image.baidu.com/search/detail?ct=503316480&z=0&ipn=d&word=%E5%8A%A0%E5%85%A5%E6%96%B0%E5%9B%A2%E4%BD%93&step_word=&hs=0&pn=5&spn=0&di=149490&pi=0&rn=1&tn=baiduimagedetail&is=0%2C0&istype=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&in=&cl=2&lm=-1&st=undefined&cs=3569524936%2C1496116757&os=1040904225%2C2361948521&simid=4081221907%2C384536238&adpicid=0&lpn=0&ln=966&fr=&fmq=1563873584025_R&fm=&ic=undefined&s=undefined&hd=undefined&latest=undefined&copyright=undefined&se=&sme=&tab=0&width=undefined&height=undefined&face=undefined&ist=&jit=&cg=&bdtype=0&oriquery=&objurl=http%3A%2F%2Fali2.rabbitpre.com%2Fd6dbab07-4219-4778-ba13-546e188c0637.jpg&fromurl=ippr_z2C%24qAzdH3FAzdH3Fooo_z%26e3B6wkktpr6j_z%26e3Bv54AzdH3F4AzdH3Ftm6qUzH%3Fsv%3Dd%26f7t%3D7VwzuQJV&gsm=0&rpstart=0&rpnum=0&islist=&querylist=&force=undefined

 

2.      Contact Different People

As an international student, I’m concerned about not being involved by local students. What if we can’t understand or tolerate each other? There is no way but actually contacting native students to relieve this thought. I reached my three American roommates through email provided by official OSU housing website. We introduced ourselves through social software and were happy to find out that each one of us was excited to meet one another. All in all, every new college students are going to a new place and looking forward to making new friends. Therefore, knowing that everyone is in wanting the same thing by communicating directly with different people will help us dealing with our pressure.

Source: https://image.baidu.com/search/detail?ct=503316480&z=0&ipn=d&word=%E4%B8%8D%E5%90%8C%E7%A7%8D%E6%97%8F%E7%9A%84%E4%BA%BA&step_word=&hs=0&pn=5&spn=0&di=6830&pi=0&rn=1&tn=baiduimagedetail&is=0%2C0&istype=2&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&in=&cl=2&lm=-1&st=-1&cs=2146697170%2C3879417246&os=2876150006%2C2882801690&simid=0%2C0&adpicid=0&lpn=0&ln=1597&fr=&fmq=1563874230452_R&fm=result&ic=0&s=undefined&hd=undefined&latest=undefined&copyright=undefined&se=&sme=&tab=0&width=&height=&face=undefined&ist=&jit=&cg=&bdtype=15&oriquery=&objurl=http%3A%2F%2Fthumbs.dreamstime.com%2Fb%2F%E4%B8%BE%E8%A1%8C%E8%AF%8D%E7%88%B1%E7%9A%84%E4%B8%8D%E5%90%8C%E7%A7%8D%E6%97%8F%E7%9A%84%E4%BA%BA-45183568.jpg&fromurl=ippr_z2C%24qAzdH3FAzdH3Fvg_z%26e3B16jw4fpt4j_z%26e3Bv54AzdH3F%25Ec%25BA%25ln%25Ec%25AD%25lb%25E0%25bc%25A0%25E0%25bl%25b0-%25E9%25Bb%25BE%25Eb%25A8%25bC%25Eb%25AF%25bD%25E0%25bb%25B8%25E0%25lA%25b9%25E9%25Bb%25bD%25Ec%25la%25bC%25E0%25A0%25bD%25Em%25l0%25bF%25E0%25lA%25b9%25E9%25BA%25BA-t4w2j9c8bncmb&gsm=0&rpstart=0&rpnum=0&islist=&querylist=&force=undefined

 

3.      Preview Some of Your Courses

We attend university for knowledge. However, the language barrier and unfamiliar learning method might be obstacles for us to achieve our academic goals, which cause huge stress for us. To manage this kind of stress, I suggest that we can preview some of our courses, for example academic writing or mathematics, in China. Like I said in the first piece of advice, being prepare eases our stress. By previewing calculus and taking the ESL writing course prior to arriving campus, I feel much confident about my future academic life. Ergo if you feel that you can’t control your stress, just open your laptop or book and learn!

Source: https://cn.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&id=9ECDAD6AF0173B44BF5D0357D195C7B464C35F1E&thid=OIP.lLIsZO7JwC-YewNqv-IyKwHaEx&mediaurl=http%3A%2F%2Fquotesblog.net%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F04%2Flearn-quotes13.jpg&exph=1255&expw=1947&q=learning&selectedindex=48&ajaxhist=0&vt=0&eim=1,2,6

I sincerely hope that my little tips can help you manage your stress and be more calm and confident to unfold a new page of your colorful and exciting new life!