By: Jessica Cooke

It’s finally here, the moment every VSU student has been waiting on—the end of the semester.

This part of the year is best described as bittersweet; for there is the week of finals approaching, students graduating, going home for the summer, and transferring for the next school year.

Although the end of spring semester in tales a few good-byes, there is still two months of no school to embrace.

This should be the time for students to relax and get into activities that are hard to engage in during the school year.

For students who missed out on spring break vacation, take advantage of a school-free summer and plan a soothing trip away.

To those students looking to enrich his or her finances, make this summer a productive one by filling out a few applications to a variety of places.

Anything is possible, and effort goes an even longer way when there is nothing but time to invest.

However, use summer to help maintain time management and stress for the next school year. UCI.edu’s article, “Stress and the College Student,” describes the statistics of stress in the average college student through a conducted survey at UCLA.

Thirty percent of the freshmen class agreed to being stressed a great deal of the time, and 38 percent of the college women stated that they were frequently overwhelmed.

Stress can lead to alcohol abuse, eating disorders and depression. According to the same article, a national college health survey rates 10 percent of college students that have been diagnosed with depression.

The stats may not be extremely high, but their existence period results in major issues.

Don’t waste the summer upholding stressful situations. Instead, find peace within the break and adjust on a mental level that best fits.

Remember, you deserve it!