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Shrink Your Stress!

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Source: Google Images Through Creative Commons
Source: Google Images Through Creative Commons

By Jesse Bihlmeyer

Yikes! Thanksgiving break has come and gone – now, it’s almost finals week. I’ve been studying, cramming, and spending countless hours immersed in my books in order to come out of finals on top. The multitude of finals, essays, and projects swamp us students in stress – making this time incredibly difficult to manage social, personal, and interpersonal relationships.

But at the Women’s Center, we facilitated an art workshop as a way to help students balance the pressure of finals with the pressures of life. On the December 5, 2014 we created shrink art and self-care coupons and asked students to join. We made shrink art (Shrinky Dinks) for a relaxation session that people deserved. People had the opportunity to take all of their wonderful de-stress ideas and create them on shrink art to prepare themselves for the hectic end of the semester.

This was a chance to think about something happy, something relaxing, and was also something that students could give themselves – which they did not need to buy. In addition, people had the opportunity to design self-care coupons they can give to themselves (or others) during finals week to take a break from the stress- it may have been a break from studying, a bath, free T.V. time, a long chat with a friend, or quiet time! It’s important to remember that part of being a successful student means making time for yourself.