R.E.A.L. Talk: All stress is real stress

Sitting in a room with eight first-semester R.E.A.L. students on a Monday afternoon, I see myself reflected in them. A series of younger, shinier versions of myself sit around the table waiting for a seminar to begin. Today’s topic: how to manage stress — something that I still struggle with in my fourth semester at Tufts. The new students are barely halfway through their first semester and in the middle of midterms. This seminar could not be better timed.

Stress is not the same for R.E.A.L. students. At least, not in most cases. I don’t mean to say that traditional age students don’t experience stress — far from it. I was referring to the combination of outside forces that manifest themselves in a R.E.A.L. student’s life. Family, work and friends can be both a support system and a burden, depending on the circumstances at the moment.

One of the first things discussed during the seminar was where everyone’s stress level is now. Answers ranged from two to nine on a scale of one to ten. Reasons ranged from midterms to papers to situations at home or work. If I had to answer, my stress level would be at a seven, but I rarely find myself below a five. For me, a seven is a good day, while for someone else a seven may be the verge of an emotional breakdown. Each person is unique in what causes stress and how they handle it.

None of this is different from traditional age students. The R.E.A.L. students are the same as any other students when it comes to the college experience. They worry about tests and papers that are coming up. They worry about a job interview on Friday and what they will do after they graduate. They think about what they are sacrificing to be here at Tufts.

R.E.A.L. students relieve stress in similar ways to traditional age students, despite the age difference. Finding something that interests you and engaging that interest is the most common way to release tension or reduce stress. Some of the examples of stress relievers that R.E.A.L. students rely on include rock climbing, listening to music and working out.

Sitting in on this seminar made me realize something that I had not thought about before. This could easily have been any group of students on campus. We all experience stress, and we all look for ways to minimize it. Sometimes you just have to withstand the bad days and look forward to the good days. Sometimes you need to decide if the stress you are about to take on is truly worth it.

There are so many things that all students must deal with while they are in school. Exams, homework and roommates are all part of the college experience. Some people have more stressful situations, and some have less. R.E.A.L. students typically have more, but that is a generalization. Everyone needs to manage their stress level and recognize that other people have stressful lives too. Exams will end eventually, and then the fun can begin.