The Slow Climb

With the excitement of the new semester long gone and the cramming for the first round of midterms nearing an end, every college student faces what I like to call the slow climb of the semester. There is not a huge rush of tests or projects due, but there seems to be a never-ending supply of them to work on and turn in even if it isn’t all simultaneously. It is at this point in the semester that you will begin to see the light in the eyes of a college student fading. The joy and hope that the engineering students had at the beginning is gone and they are starting to turn into the zombies everyone comes to associate with engineering. The business students are working on their group projects and the number of late nights spent in the library is on the rise. The humanities majors are spending more time in their special spots, reading and writing. Every student on the campus is seemingly going out less and spending more nights in. But the common theme among all these groups is that exhaustion is starting to set it. No one day will make or break them, but each day spent recovering or morning spent sleeping in is beginning to cost more and more. No one will admit it, but college is no longer fun, and flipping burgers and McDonalds seems more and more appealing. 
            It is at this point that healthy habits and resolutions slowly disappear but before they are completely ignored during finals week. Energy drinks are seen more often and the expensive but quick food from the campus cafeteria is eaten. The healthy snacks of fruits and vegetables are slowly replaced with a sugary treat of choice and caffeine seems to be the most important food group now. While this type of stress is ubiquitous in college life, the mental health challenges the current generation is facing seem to be growing at an exponential rate and the consequences of that shift are starting to show up. The last few classes of college students seem to be even worse because they faced the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic and never learned the skills necessary to cope with the stress or the study skills to succeed, making college that much more difficult. 
            One common theme among most universities now is that they are at a loss for how to best help their students succeed and overcome the challenges of learning. Costly programs are put in place, and students are told about resources they can reach out to for help. But they don’t seem to make that big of a difference. There does seem to be one thing that makes a significant difference in the lives of those struggling and that is connection. In a world where we can talk to anyone at any time, making genuine connections and letting people you care about is still difficult. One of the ways that you can help the college student in your life is by giving them a simple yet meaningful and relevant gift. The standard box of chocolates or their favorite candy might help a little bit, but when their diet is already declining giving them more sugar might make them feel worse in the long run. That’s not to say they won’t appreciate a few treats though. A beneficial gift might be some of their favorite treats in addition to some multivitamins and supplements to help them fight colds and keep them in the best health they can be in. At Thoughtful Expressions, we aim to provide individuals with the highest quality and practical gifts to help create the memories and connections that come from giving a gift applicable to one’s situation. While we are going to make it as easy as possible to give your college students what they need and deserve we understand that not everyone can purchase one of our gifts for their student. If that is the case, we still strongly encourage you to give your student something special because it truly will make a huge difference in their life and help them do the best that they can do. 
Best of Luck,
-Aiden