Tag Archives: Stress

Another FIT Perspective: Ashley Gauthier

I wanted to showcase another student’s perspective and lifestyle at FIT. Here’s a video of my good friend Ashley Gauthier and her daily life in New York City, busy with school, internships, and just venturing the Big Apple! P.S. There’s a cameo by yours truly!

Graduation Stress:

For myself and many other FIT students, the next few months are going to be a whirlwind of emotions and to-do lists. Graduation, the next milestone in life, is in May at we are all freaking out extremely excited. Like other milestones in life, graduation can bring with it a lot of stress.

Here’s some advice I think is really good for keeping me calm as we near the day of cap tossing…

Explore different career and graduate school options and to utilize campus resources preparing students for graduation and a future career. Even if you might not have realized all the resources available to you.

Assess what’s important to you –  including skills, interests and values. Learn about or to research different careers so that you are making informed decisions about things that might be a good fit for those skills and interests.

Time management is crucial. Write a pre-graduation to-do list and start working on different tasks gradually, then check them off. The first step is to register for graduation (and know deadlines in general), and the next tasks all depends on your goal. Just remember to not overwhelm yourself with all these expectations at once. Think of what you want to do most and what would be best for you, not what everyone else expects.

At the same time, be realistic. Of course you need to find some way to support yourself after college, so start considering your options now and plan ahead. You might not get your dream job right away, and that’s OK!

Surviving in the Concrete Jungle:

We all know that New York City is one of the most stressful cities in America, if not, the world. Finding time not only for yourself, but for your mind could be very difficult. Here’s some tips to help bring yourself back to center and survive the concrete jungle.

Recall places you’ve been where you appreciated the sounds.

Summon the places where you’ve enjoyed the imagery.

Experience the elements that contribute to your happiness.

Remember where you were when you experienced deep contentment and meaning.

Stay open-minded.

For myself, I try to stay grounded and in a happy place by going back to inspirations that brought me to where I am today. It sounds cheesy, but Sex and The City, The Carrie Diaries, and Ugly Betty inspired my outward dreams to pursue a career in the fashion industry. So I usually binge watch these shows for impromptu injections of inspiration to keep me going.

Sometimes you have to look back to help you move forward.

xx

Mariano

Healthy Snacking for Fall Stashing

As Fall is in full force, the colder the weather gets, the more everyone eats. Fall is a perfect season for getting your diet on track, especially to get you through midterms. Here are some money-conscious healthy snacking tips, great for college students always on the go.

Snacking from Scraps

Sometimes you might have a lot of bits and bites floating around in your fridge. I usually have peppers and ends of cheese. I made a great snack by toasting a couple thin slices of laying around bread and topped them with the peppers and mozzarella. Hummus is another great snack if you have some sitting in your fridge, great with any veggie! Healthy snacking is a mindset, so get creative and feel strong!

Always Keep Snacks on Hand

Store carrots and celery sticks in water in the fridge as crunchy snacks. Keep some dips handy to liven up the vegetables. Nibble on low-calorie quick fixes to take the edge off of your hunger to prevent the temptation to overeat at dinner.

Eat a Fruit + Protein

Pairing a fruit with a protein is a hunger-fighting combination. Eating just fruit will have satisfied, but after you eat that banana, you’ll be hungry an hour later. Add a handful of peanuts to the banana, though, and you’ll go for hours on about $0.65.

Nuts for Nuts

Nuts get a bad rap because of the misconception that they are expensive and high in fat. Though they may be expensive per pound, an 1½-oz serving will fill you up, unlike three servings of chips. Remember, there are good fats and bad fats. Nuts are a source of good fat!

Finals Tips & Tricks

It’s the most wonderful time of the year….FINALS!  This isn’t the most exciting or least stressful part of the year, however it is a time where you can look back and appreciate how much you have learned in a single semester.  Before you panic, take a moment to appreciate that you have gotten this far in your education!  Being enrolled in college is a huge accomplishment and you should be very proud.  In dealing with finals, it is best to take a calm approach.  Panicking, stressing, and cramming will not do you any good, so hopefully by the time you are reading this, you are at a point where you can prepare in advance!

  • Don’t wait until the review.  The final exam review is typically 1 week before the exam, which doesn’t leave you much time to study among all of your other classes, projects, and assignments.  If you write out a study guide or key topics that you discussed in class prior to the review, it will help to refresh your memory and help guide you for the exam prep.  We often forget the information that we learned during week 1, so try your best to review those old notes.
  • Take study breaks.  If you begin studying in advance, you will allow more time to gradually learn and absorb all of the information.  With that, you should allow yourself to take a break from studying to go get ice cream, take a shower, order dinner, or watch an episode of television.
  • Put your phone volume on, but put it across the room.  It may sound ridiculous to keep your phone volume on, but I’ve noticed that I always want to check my phone to see if I got any notifications.  By turning your volume on, you’ll know when someone is trying to reach you rather than constantly being worried if you missed a text or call by having it on silent.
  • Study with friends.  Like all successful business partnerships, your partner will usually possess skills that you do not have.  The same thing applies to study partners.  They may understand a section that you need extra help on and the same can be said vice versa.  By teaching a topic, you are also helping yourself reassure your knowledge and awareness on the topic.

Happy studying!

Ashley