Seriously, stop being so serious.

“Don’t take life very seriously. No one gets out alive anyway.”

I don’t know who originally said this, but it’s clever. Everyone should use this piece of advice though. I mean, is it necessary for you to freak out because you broke a plate and now you have seven rather than eight of a set? Is it necessary to get your panties in a bunch over things that won’t matter in the long run, or even immediately? I understand that being caught up in the moment and human emotion sometimes prevents you from being calm and sane. I’ll admit that I’m guilty of not following this advice. But I’ll reflect a few moments later that what I did probably wasn’t the best course of action.

As a college student, I’ve noticed that my peers and I do tend to take things quite seriously at times. Exams, papers, projects, and presentations can be overwhelming. Trust me, as I speak I have two papers (one due at midnight the other due tomorrow both on a novel which I have partly read), online Shakespeare coursework due tonight (Coriolanus, your SparkNotes were more interesting to read), and a geology exam tomorrow evening at 7pm. Oh, and on top of all that, I have class from 9am-2pm and work from 2:30-5:30pm. And I’m sick. Am I sleeping tonight? No. Am I overwhelmed? Most definitely. Have I lashed out at people for tiny things that could have been easily taken care of? Yes. I feel awful, but my instincts are making me roar at my friends when I should just tell them I’m stressed or that I can’t talk to them right now.

Therefore, in conclusion, I think taking one deep breathe, taking one step at a time, and doing what you must at hand with some form of enthusiasm is what’s needed to stay sane. Seriously: people who take life seriously don’t have time to laugh. Laughing is fun. One step at a time. Deep breathes. You can do it. That’s it. So whatever it is that’s bothering you, just calm down and conquer it. It’ll all be fine in the end.