My biggest struggle outside of the classroom is learning how to deal with stress. Working a full time job and going to school full time tends to stress me out most days of the week. I have had a really hard time learning how to cope with it and not take it out on my friends, family and relationship. I finally found something that works for me, traveling. When I can find the time I love to go on trips with my family and/or my boyfriend. Disneyland is definitely my favorite travel spot but I have also visited a lot of parts of Wyoming, California, Florida, Nevada and the Bahamas. It is my goal one day to travel the world with my boyfriend and our future family. I have learned in my 3 years of college that it is important to take time for yourself. My attitude and performance at work exceeded greatly when I finally realized that I needed to start treating myself and not being so hard on myself all the time. When I travel I am able to forget about all the worries and stresses of life, school and work and just take time to create memories with the people in my life that mean the most to me. If there is only one thing I take away from my college experience I hope I always remember to take time away from life to focus on myself and my mental, physical and emotional health.
Another thing I have learned is to keep your mind active. I love to read books and am always learning new things or words from those. Being outdoors also helps me keep my mind thinking. I feel like whenever I'm outside exploring new places sometimes I just have to sit down and think about everything I'm trying to take in. There is so much to learn about outdoors and whenever I'm outside I try to learn about something new each time. It is also very important for you brain to get physical activity. I'm not a really big fan of the gym so I get my physical activity in by doing things I love outdoors such as; fishing, hiking, boating, camping etc. Every chance I get I am outside doing something. I hate sitting inside and not doing anything, I have to be constantly moving or I just sleep. I am very active and love to get my daily exercise in with beautiful scenery all around me in the mountains. There is so much to learn in this world we live in and it makes it a lot more fun to learn about things you are interested in and enjoy. You can learn something new from anything. I challenge everyone to take a step back and start learning about things you wouldn't normally think to research about. If you enjoy sports go to a sports game and find something new to learn. If you enjoy the outdoors go fishing and research up on a type of fish you caught. If you like to travel research your dream vacation, learn about the cultures, food, religions and then travel there to see your findings in real life. Learning doesn't always have to take place in a classroom, challenge your mind to think outside of the classroom and focus on things you enjoy doing. It is a lot more fun that way!