7 Affirmations to Help You Cope With “End Of Semester Anxiety”

Hello "End of Semester Anxiety," my old friend.

This airborne, merciless, and generally crippling phenomenon is about to float around each graduate's or current student's bedrooms across the globe. It’s so common, in fact, I file it within the same category as a common cold.

It’s a way of life for many students, yet something we’ve welcomed with open arms time-and-time again.

With our arms open (including mine in support of my stressed-out peers) let’s calm those nerves with a few affirmations that kept me sane during the last couple weeks of class leading into the first-month post-college.

 

1. this is “the now,” not your forever

Time is a wonderfully frightening thing to accept that has the power to put us at ease or completely erase any sense of peace.

Whenever you're feeling stressed, just remember that every minute is forward-moving. Progression is happening as you experience every emotion, including the ones that feel impossible to overcome. Never convince yourself that life has halted during a bad hour or two. This is just “the now,” not your forever.

 

2. Que Será, Será

What will be, will be. It’s never a good thing to put down your pencil and accept your fate when the possibility to improve exists, but it sure does help one’s sanity.

I’m sure we’ve all had our own experience with some smart-mouth student mocking their peers who choose to study mere minutes before the beginning of an exam. Half of the class is frantically looking over their notes while the other chooses to wait quietly (minus the wannabe 5.0’ers).

My advice is to find a healthy balance. Push yourself, but sit quietly and ride the wave when you can. What is, is and what will be, will be.

 

3. everybody doesn’t have “it all” together, together

Everyone around you is struggling through something. Big or small, there isn’t a soul in any room you enter that isn’t holding tight to whatever they can for some peace.

No, it’s not factual that everyone is walking around with a storm cloud over their head, but I can promise rain has hit everyone’s shoulders at least once (times a thousand).

Simply put, everyone is unintentionally surviving together. Even evil itself can’t break the bond that produces over the course of one semester between absolute strangers. (I can still remember the faces of those I walked past on my way to the language building).

Trust me, this is a group project you'll want to join in on.

 

4. you will never "peak," thank goodness

The worst kind of pressure is the pressure "to peak." The pressure that comes from individuals or that pesky subconscious voice that proclaims absolute success or death—two wildly reckless options.

You were never meant to peak, otherwise, humanity would be useless. The idea of achieving perfection is overdone and tired, as a concept. Even the notion that humans can build perfect machines is being dropped as a goal—blind-sighted by the goal of creating machines with human qualities.

Desiring to peak is for people that don’t want to continue learning. On the flip side, desiring knowledge and wisdom should be the ultimate goal for a sense of satisfaction.

 

5. privilege exists within many opportunities (and you are involved in one of them)

Even though the word “privilege” is being used to guilt people into understanding its definition more than its definition is actually being taught—you’re privileged.

To think, you have the opportunity to obtain an education and legal document, a.k.a the "golden ticket," once you cross the finish line. Wow.

For me, understanding how lucky I am to feel crappy about certain things is healing enough. I may be drowning in a 20-page paper, but I just had the chance to be assigned a paper in the first place. I can sit in class with a laptop of my own and roll my eyes at a professor as she/he introduces that paper? I had access to the classroom by way of enrollment to roll my eyes at a professor that introduces an assigned paper?

Get my point?

 

6. Bandersnatch that ‘ish

(LOL @ myself).

If you’re not aware of my reference, Bandersnatch is Netflix’s first interactive movie created by the geniuses behind the phenomenon that is Black Mirror. (Check it out if you have access to Netflix or a magic password *wink wink*).

This interactive experience was a heart-wrenching and stress-inducing rollercoaster, accompanied by multiple-choice questions every couple minutes that allows the consumer (us) to move the movie along however we pleased.

One minute we are picking what the main character eats for breakfast and then next we are deciding if he should jump off a balcony? (Still triggered by the sheer stress of it all).

Long story short, Bandersnatch your last couple weeks of any semester. Set yourself and your surroundings up in a way that yields multiple possibilities. Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready. Need I say more?

 

7. you either have the tools, can obtain the tools, or will make the tools

One thing I love reminding myself is how accessible success is. Not only is it a privilege for me to live in a country that has the tools I need (although our leadership could use some work), I also understand how obtainable certain things are with work or creativity on my end.

In these times, when we feel out of control of what we have or don’t have, always remember the three possibilities. Either you have, can obtain, or can make/create.

The best thing about either of these options is our sole responsibility to do what we can with our current situation. Most people, including myself, are in the position where “creating” the resources we need to succeed is our main option.

This has been my goal since this blog was created, and a task I’ve been proud to see through for years on end. I believe I am using what I DO have to make what I DON’T have, and that position is freeing (when I’m not stressed about creating my own lane in the first place).

You are already in a lane, can gain access to a lane, or CREATE your OWN lane. Share on X

---

These emotions you may be feeling are valid and raw. The stress that attaches to our core during college can be insurmountable, and something none of us should take for granted.

I hope some of these points were either eye-opening or encouraging enough to set you free from the grasp of guilt or doubt. Nothing lasts forever, first and foremost.

There is plenty of time to breathe, and plenty more affirmations out there to keep your head above water.

If you enjoyed this post, spread the love and share it with your friends. Save it for later on Pinterest, and comment below any affirmations you created for yourself as a student.

As always,
Live (and breathe) Intentionally.