Hey everybody.
Today I have a very special guest.
She is not only a full time college student,
But she is also a fellow youtuber.
And her name is Ashley Elizabeth.
Now she has two channels on youtube.
One of which is her blog.
Where, you know, she talks about her life,
And what's going on with her.
And the second of which is her main channel,
Where she offers advice.
Beauty tips.
And fashion tips.
And she is here today to talk with us,
About her experience with school, stress, anxiety, and the like.
And as a previous student.
As many of you know,
I spent many years in school.
It can be a really stressful time.
But what Ashley and I are here to talk to you about,
Is how we can, as a community,
Learn to better manage it.
So that the stress doesn't feel so overwhelming all of the time.
So Ashley,
Tell us a little bit about what you're studying in school.
And some of the stress that you face today as a student.
So I'm in my second year of university.
I'm actually going for my Bachelor of Arts for Psychology.
And I have come up with four stresses,
That have just completely been a part of my life over the past two years.
And I don't see them being not a part of my life over the next couple of years.
Because this is just what students face nowadays.
First one is really applicable to anyone who is going through any secondary education.
And that's financial stress.
Textbooks cost hundreds of dollars.
Tuition costs thousands of dollars.
Depending on, of course, where you live.
But sitting in class hearing teachers talk about all of the textbooks that you need.
And having them even tell you that you're not going to use it a whole bunch,
But you need it for the parts that you are going to use it.
And you're going to shell out a couple of hundred bucks,
For this thing that you're going to open three or four times.
It's the most stressful and aggravating thing.
And that's absolutely my number one thing.
Is just, money.
And that can kind of be teamed up with my second thing.
Which is anxiety.
At least for me, I have a really hard time for the first week of school.
Because I get anxiety attacks.
And I get really nervous.
And I don't think that I can handle the work load.
And only recently have I learned that it's okay to not take a full load of courses.
Because my mental health needs to come before me finishing immediately, everything.
Because I have always been a kind of person where,
If I don't get it done as soon as possible, I'm failing.
You know.
I'm just, I'm not doing it right.
And this semester I am taking a full course load, technically,
But it's a full five courses.
I had to drop one.
And I was feeling 'Oh my gosh. This is such a fail.'
But then, I started feeling okay.
And I actually sort of wasn't stressed all of the time.
Which was completely new for me in school.
So, anxiety is something that I face.
But I'm trying to work on it.
And I'm trying to let myself know,
That it's okay to take a little bit longer to finish school.
Because I'm not going to hate every minute of it,
By taking one less class every semester.
And then the last two are something that I think apply to a lot of students.
And the first is distraction.
Because I know when I have to write a big paper,
I'm on tumblr most of the time.
I'm not doing my paper.
I'm sitting there stressing about my paper.
But instead I'm on tumblr.
So really, that's just me having to get a little bit more self control.
Maybe using some of those internet blocking sites,
You know, where you can block tumblr for an hour.
And youtube for an hour.
And then the last one is a lack of time.
I hate the idea that I have to spend hours of my day alone in my room,
Writing a paper for a class that has nothing to do with psychology.
That will affect my future in no way.
And instead of doing something that I would love to do.
Instead of going and doing something social.
Or earning money.
Or, you know, just relaxing and watching netflix.
But I feel like that's something that as students we have to deal with.
We have to be able to prioritize.
And sometimes, the crappy things that we really don't care about,
It needs to get done.
Thank you so much, Ashley for sharing your experience.
I know many of you out there have told me how overwhelming school can feel.
And how stressful it is.
And I think some of the things that are really important,
Just like Ashley said,
Is recognising when your mental health needs to come first.
Are you taking more classes than you should?
Then allow yourself to drop a class.
It does not mean you're failing.
It doesn't mean you're not doing everything 'right'.
Just like Ashley said,
She has to put herself first so that she can not only be in school and do well,
But enjoy the process while it's happening.
Because this time in college is a very unique period in your life.
And I want each and every one of you to get the most out of it while you're in it.
So checking in with ourselves.
Getting the support we need.
Calling a therapist.
Or a psychiatrist.
Making sure that we have this network that we need to support us through it,
Can be so pivotal to us enjoying the experience as a whole.
And as always,
Don't forget to subscribe to Ashley's channel.
She puts out wonderful things.
She's very honest and open.
And I love what she's doing on youtube.
And if you're new to my channel,
Don't forget to subscribe to my channel.
I put out videos about mental health all of the time.
And you don't want to miss them.
And lets continue working together,
Towards a healthy mind, and a healthy body.
Subtitles by the Amara.org community