It is now upon us. A brand-new semester has started, with new classes and maybe even new professors. No matter whether this is your second semester of college or your 10th, the semester is sure to bring new opportunities, challenges, and hopefully some new friends.

Maybe you’re finally student teaching, or you managed to snatch up that internship you really wanted. Each semester brings surprises. Before we know it, we’ll be buried under a pile of papers, deadlines and books. Of course, we also will have plenty of social commitments. We have friends to catch up with, events to attend, and places to go. Many of us hold down a job, play sports, or participate in clubs or organizations. I’m sure there are some who manage to do all three and schoolwork.

We are so blessed to be able to attend college. We are granted so many opportunities to better ourselves and the world. It is a time of much learning and expanding our horizons. Because of attending college, we will have more opportunities in the so-called “real world.” However, there is a dark side of college life that many people don’t talk about…The mental health of college students.  Depression and anxiety rates among college students are skyrocketing. It follows that the suicide rate of college students is rising as well.

Don’t overload yourself with stress. There is a little, two-letter word that would take barely any time to say, yet sometimes we forget that it exists. That word is “no.” Seriously, we don’t have to do everything that people ask us to do or that sounds interesting. Yes, it’s good to have a marketable resume. Yes, it’s good to be involved in clubs and organizations. It is a good thing to help better your community. However, is everything really necessary? What’s the point if you’re just running like a chicken with its head cut off from meeting to meeting? What’s the point if you are being neglected, and so unable to be as available as you could be to those you help or work with? We need to make time to truly live and simply be. If you lose your sense of self and your peace in the midst of everything, what’s the point?

Please, in the midst of everything, remember to take care of yourself. Take time to pray. Journal. Exercise. Do whatever it is that you love—the things that make you come alive. Make sure to carve special time for those you love, too. Let someone know if you are numb or hurting with depression, or if you are struggling with anxiety. Don’t be afraid to see a counselor. There is nothing wrong with that. Here at Loras, the Counseling Center is free! You also have many friends who love you, even if you don’t feel like it sometimes. We’re all in this together. Enjoy the surprises in store for you this semester, and remember not to neglect yourself in the midst of everything!