By Kayla Perry, Editor-in-Chief

As many students have learned by now, university is a balancing act. Often, we’re juggling social commitments and academic goals, all the while managing to fit in part-time work, volunteering, or extracurricular actives.

Now that we’ve officially passed the halfway point of the semester, it’s clear that the year will only get more busy: while the freedom of October’s reading week feels like a memory of the distant past, students now have to prepare for midterms, then final papers, and eventually, final exams – all of which will have a large impact on our final grades in a given course, and ultimately affect our GPA’s.

The entire process is notoriously tiring, stressful, and sometimes all-around unpleasant.

While this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week tackled topics such as the stigma surrounding mental health and ways to deal with stressful times and scenarios, it’s important to acknowledge that mental health is something which needs to be considered year-round, and most especially during times of high-stress levels for students.

Which is why it’s crucial that, even in the midst of midterm and exam stress, students set aside time to take care of themselves.

Set aside time to take part in an activity that relaxes you (whether it be going for a walk outdoors, fitting in a session at the gym, or even catching a movie). Try, as best as you can, to incorporate some sort of regular sleep schedule and healthy, balanced diet into your life.

While it may seem counter-intuitive to actually take time off from studying/working, I’d argue this is the best thing you can do to help yourself get through stressful times: balance taking care of yourself, both physically and mentally, with everything else that you have to do.