Author: ghanrat

College students often feel overwhelmed and overworked by the pressures of campus life. As we dive deeper into the semester it is easy to forget about self-care and become distracted by the stressors of daily life. One of the best things anyone can do (and the thing that is often hardest to do) is to invest time and energy into yourself. 

Spring break is a great time to relax and reset. As we go into break and the last half of the semester, take note of the following self-care and stress management strategies that will help keep you grounded throughout the day, weeks, and months:

Get outside There’s nothing better than some fresh air and sunshine to clear your head and brighten your day. We are stuck in the classroom for a good portion of the day so be sure to change the scenery! Studying outdoors is a great way to make your day a little more tolerable. The next time you begin to feel overwhelmed, take advantage of the South Carolina sunshine and step outside to reset. 

Exercise Moving your body is a great way to release stress. Exercise is an opportunity to care for yourself both physically and mentally. Find your favorite way to move your body and have fun with it! Take your dog on a walk, play tennis with a friend, or go on a hike. When it comes to exercise the options are endless and so are the benefits! 

Spend time with a friend Spending quality time with people in your support system is a great way to ease your stress. Squeezing a quick coffee date or phone call into a busy day, or setting an entire day aside to hang with a friend can be just what you need to decompress from your busy life.  

Write it down Grab a journal and pen and start writing it out, good or bad. Getting your thoughts out on paper will help you sort them out in a healthy way and can serve as a benchmark to look back on. A journal is a great tool for you to calm and organize their thoughts, especially when you have a lot going on. 

Go on a drive, walk or run, and listen to your favorite songs Music is a powerful tool that can help motivate you in many ways. Create a playlist that brings you joy and elevates your day. Listen to it on the way to class, on a run, or in your car. This is a sure way to help boost your mood or ease some stress from your day. 

Get creative Creativity looks different to different people. Outlets to express your creativity include cooking, drawing, dancing, taking pictures, or even just picking out an outfit that makes you feel great. Whatever it is, getting creative and expressing yourself is a great form of self-care that helps relieve stress. 

SmileAnd finally… Smile! It sounds silly, but smiling is actually proven to help reduce the intensity of stress on the body (www.smithsonianmag.com). 

I hope this list inspires you to find balance in your life and take some well-deserved time for yourself. It is so important! 

–Grace Hanratty

Campus Resources: https://www.clemson.edu/studentaffairs/find-support/shs/resources/suicide-prevention/resources.html

National Girls and Women in Sports Day is a celebration of the power of sport that takes place every year in the first week of February. On this day we honor how far we have come and where we are headed in the ongoing effort to provide equal opportunities for females in sport. 

Women and girls fought a long, hard battle to get where we are today in the world of athletics. There was once a time where females were restricted from sport. Some people in positions of authority created social barriers, claiming sport damaged femininity. They spread false ideas that such intense activity would be damaging to female health. With no options for play at school or at home, girls were missing out on massive opportunities that their male counterparts were getting to experience and grow from on a daily basis. With the help of professional female athlete trail blazers, women and girls recognized the missed opportunities and fought hard for change. They demanded equal treatment in areas ranging from access to participation in sporting events to equal pay in the professional sports world.  The work wasn’t easy and it took high levels of sacrifice, but without it, women and girls would not have the sporting opportunities we do today.

Now that you have a little background on what we celebrate in early February, I want to tell a story about an experience I had that opened my eyes to the importance of sport for young girls and women alike. Last week, I was given the opportunity to participate in the day in a unique way. I mentored young girls and boys at Clemson’s Girls and Women in Sports Day event on campus. Female Clemson athletes interacted with children from the community through our shared love of sports. My teammates and I organized relay races between the kids, with an emphasis on sportsmanship. During the first race of the day, a young girl wearing a Clemson bow led her team to a first place finish by just a few steps. Her team cheered in celebration, and as the group moved on to their next station, I watched as she looked down and flexed her bicep, acknowledging how strong she felt. To me, that moment truly summed up what the celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day is all about. Sport influences girls to build confidence, discover their strengths, and develop into powerful women. It is important we recognize and celebrate the power sport has and how far we have come as females in the sports world. Girls and Women In Sports Day has taught me that sport is bigger than just the games we play and it is an inspirational tool for our youth.

So how can you support girls and women in sport? Go to a women’s sporting event! Clemson has eleven women’s sports teams, with the newest additions of gymnastics and lacrosse. Come to a game or meet, cheer on the Lady Tigers, and help us celebrate the accomplishments of women in sport!  

– Grace Hanratty, Communication Intern

Check out the Lady Tigers Here: https://clemsontigers.com