My personal brands of ANTI STRESS

Mountainous piles of work. Exams to take. School projects to be passed. Films, documentaries, and magazines to make. Interviews and Defenses to prepare for. Oh well. Just facing a typical life of a college student.

With this goes gazillions of pimples, a kilo of eye bags, uncombed hair and a very haggard look. Just a typical face of a student like me.

Four years in college and still, I’m new to this kind of life. I haven’t been taking my studies seriously. I do my school works for the sake of just passing them on time but since I am now in my fourth and hopefully my last year in college, I feel like I my body can demolish a tank but my brain is so occupied, I just sit still. Loads to do and here I am, so busy indulging on the things that I think are worth more time than my school dues.

FOOD . Chocolates, fruits, chips, cookies, and more chocolates I store them in my meal box and whenever I feel like killing myself because of the things that are needed to be done, I just pick a bag and munch. Eating is a big, big help for me. Eating makes me relax and at the same time procrastinate. Delicious treats keep my head off of the things that needs doing. I eat and my brain sort of relaxes and pauses from the draining work of thinking. But believe it or not, food saved me from the claws of suicide.

But then, after eating my worries out, and when my meal box is nearly empty, I start on my tasks once more. The food I ate sort of replenishes the energy spent in worrying. And in a little way, somehow, it also helps me take work one at a time.

MILK and COFFEE. Oh yes. The opposites. And for me, they really are opposites because for some unknown reason, coffee makes me fall asleep while milk keeps me up and about. I think this is just psychological but who knows? As long as they help me, I will keep on storing them. Milk and Coffee have been my companions since high school. IU drink coffee at night so that I could sleep well and rest from the stressful day I just had and I then take milk in anytime of the day to boost my energy up. They keep me on and off of work. And I give the deepest gratitude to them for they have aided me in a student’s real life survival.

MOVIES and MUSIC. Yep. You’ll hear me roar whenever I watch a movie or listen to music. You’d notice me roaring in laughter and in tears and even roaring (literally) when I sing to the tune.

I love movies. Yes I do. I owe them for inspiring me whenever I’m stressed with my relationships. Movies make me cry, laugh, and most of all, they make me pause for a while and feel relaxation. I learned a lot from them and I’m sure that I will still learn from the movies that are yet to come.

Music is the reason why I’m bubbly and happy. Well, it makes me want to sing and dance along with the rhythm of the beat and it helps me cast out all the bad energy that’s all stored in my body. It releases me from the grip of stress. I’m very thankful that I met music and movies along the highway of life; for without them, I surely will be doomed, worse, damned.

Another stress reliever for me is my CAMERA, PEN and ART STUFF. Capturing unguarded photos of people are most interesting for me, and of course very challenging. I have to be invisible and I have to have control over myself not to post it in the internet since I could be sued for that. But what makes it fun for me and relaxing is the amazing shots I capture. Simple as it may seem but the pictures I have tell someone’s story and the great thing is that I could keep that moment frozen in the shot.

Also, aside from my photographer self, I also love painting and drawing. Mixing the colors and shaping a face or thing on a piece of paper or canvass just keeps me on my feet. Yes, somehow it brings my head on the clouds because in a way I am quite good but I still manage to be true and keep my feet on the ground. Having to release all the anxiety through art is truly amazing.

Another thing is that, writing keeps me on track with my life. It helps me empty my mind of the unnecessary thoughts like A BOY, that BOY and still more about that BOY. Keeping a journal helps me be real. Aside from making my thoughts flow from my mind to the paper, It also helps me realize that some things in life are not worth to be stressed about.

Truly having my camera, pen and art stuff beside me is addictive. Yes it could keep my mind off my problems for hours. And the thing I’m most thankful about is that it helps me retain my sanity.

Another anti stress for me is my books. Whenever I am reading, I am engulfed in another person’s world. I am in another dimension and I leave behind the things that bother me in the real world. I get to be someone else, anything or anyone I want to be. I get to visit places I’ve never been to and hope to visit one day. I get to know the happenings that caused great change in the universe. I get to dream of what I will be in the future. I get to use my imagination and be free from the worrisome truth that’s very devastating.

Yes, it may seem weird but food, coffee, milk, my camera, music, movies, and my books are the things that define me and keep me going right now. But the one thing that keeps me alive and fighting are my loved ones, my family and my friends. They are the best brand of stress reliever in the whole Milky Way.

Whenever I’m with them, I get to laugh and smile wholeheartedly, I get to enjoy and live life fully! My greatest thanks are given to God for giving me such good persons to keep in life. Because of them, stress                                                                                     will never get into my skin!