Throughout the semester it is important for students to check in with themselves, mentally, emotionally, and physically. Take stock of how you're feeling across the board. Does your body feel run down and exhausted? Are you running on a high of stress and caffeine? 
Taking just 5 minutes to check in with your body can help you assess where you are and what you might need to adjust to make it through the remainder of the semester. Your university will almost certainly have a variety of resources that you can, and should, make use of. These resources range from academic assistance such as writing centers, to free counseling and mental health services, to affordable or free health clinics and vaccinations. But in addition to those services, there are a few minor things you can do right away to get back on track. 

​Are you struggling with racing thoughts?

• Take 1 minute to do a guided meditation. 
• Ask yourself where the majority of your stress is coming from, and what you can easily change or take control of. 

Does your to-do list feel endless and overwhelming? 

• Do a quick triage of your tasks by writing down every single thing on your to-do list, then ranking them in terms of deadline and importance. Tackle the most urgent ones first, and let go of some of the less important things where you can. 

Feeling generally unhealthy and off-kilter? 

• Try a brief social media detox. 
• Try to schedule in time for exercise. If a 30 minute run isn't in the cards, just do what you can. Exercise is not all-or-nothing. Fit in a few short walks by taking the long way to your next class or your car, or squeeze in a quick stretch break between homework assignments. Do these things WITHOUT your phone glued to your face. Just listen to the sounds around you, pay attention to your thoughts, and generally be a part of your surroundings. 

Are you maintaining healthy attitudes toward food? 

• During times of intense stress, food can easily become a crutch for comfort. Don't beat yourself up. Use Intuitive Eating strategies to honor your hunger, avoid diet culture, and retain a sense of body neutrality. 

Have you done something kind of someone else recently? 

• Engaging in small acts of kindness toward others can boost our own moods, self esteem, and happiness. In fact, kindness toward others can improve your life in a myriad of ways. 

Finally, did you remember that you are a whole and complete person who is worthy of love and kindness, just as you are? 

• Your worth is not determined by your grades or your achievements. You are doing a good job. 

This week, inspired by terrific work by Mirya Holman, I want to talk just a little bit about peer mentoring. Often when we think about mentors we think about older, wiser people who will guide us. But peer mentors are incredibly important for undergraduate and graduate students as well. You can be a mentor yourself, and find a mentor among people you already know. Perhaps it sounds silly to you to even talk about peer mentors when you're in college. Let me assure that it is not. 

So, why peer mentors? 

• Your fellow college students are going through exactly the same things you are. They share common experiences with you, and can give you advice or commiseration in real-time. 
• Your professors and advisors are likely already overburdened and may not be able to meet with you or respond to your emails as quickly as you would like. 
• It makes your college experience less lonely. 
• The college experience has changed drastically over the last 10-15 years, so your professors may not fully understand their student's lives. 
• It makes other people's lives less lonely / difficult. 
• No one person can be everything to everyone or know all the answers. Having multiple peer mentors can distribute the load, and give you the best support from the best people. 
• Peer mentoring builds community 
• It makes you a better person. 

So how can you help your fellow college students? What kinds of peer mentors should you find? Here are a few simple ways you can help other people, and things you can ask for help with yourself: 

• Feedback: You can provide feedback to other students on their research papers, essays, or task management / organization systems. 
• Hype: You can nominate your peers and friends for scholarships or awards. Amplify the people who deserve it! 
• Accountability: Help keep other people on track (and ask them to keep you on track as well). For example, I have a friend with whom I often text goals - we text each other our goals for the day, check in at lunch, then assess how we did at the end of the work day. 
• Check-in: Just check in on someone who might be having a hard time. Ask them how they're doing, show up with a coffee, and offer a listening ear. 
• "No, that shit is real": Confirm / support if someone has a terrible experience, gets talked down to, has a racist / sexist / homophobic experience, and especially if they're being gaslighted. 
• Hidden knowledge: In college there is often a "hidden curriculum." These are aspects of college like the norms, values, and expectations that are not explicitly stated, but which are required to succeed. Can you tell someone what is really going on? What they really need to know to succeed? Where to access tools and resources they might not know about? 
• "It happened to me too": Can you help someone feel less alone and like their experiences are valid? 
• Cheerleader: Can you reassure someone that they are doing a good job? Remind them that they can do hard things! 
• Reality check: Can you make sure someone is grounded and is doing what they need to do? 

If this post rings as true and important to you, then go find your people and get to work! 

For students who struggle to know when they are "done" with an assignment or paper, having a final checklist can be helpful. If you are one of these students, here are a few minor things you can do to make sure you're getting full credit on class essays /papers and that you are producing your best work. Below, I present to you a pre-submission check list. If you do all of these things before submitting an assignment, you should be setting yourself up for success.  

Pre-Submission Checklist: 

Substance 
[] Did I utilize all required class materials? If I was still not confident about the subject, did I use any supplementary materials provided? 
[] Did I actually clearly address all questions asked in the prompt?
[] Did I understand the purpose of the writing assignment and write something insightful and interesting in response? Would I want to read my own work? 
[] Does my paper flow in a logical and organized manner? 

Sources: 
[] Did I appropriately cite (in-text) class resources in my response? 
[] If I used outside sources: were they appropriate academic sources, and did I appropriately cite them (both in-text and works cited)? 
[] Did I make any unfounded claims without backing them up? If so, consider removing the claim or looking for evidence. 

Proofreading: 
[] Have I checked my grammar, spelling, and punctuation?
[] Check for consistency. For example, am I using the same tense (present / past) throughout? 
[] Is my writing concise? Remove unnecessary words meant to impress people or lengthen my word count (these don't fool the professor). 
[] Did I remember to include the word count or page numbers, if required? 
[] Did I put my name, and any other required heading information, on this assignment

For Online Discussion:
[] If this is a discussion board posting, was my response to a fellow classmate kind, clear, and a good-faith response to their posting? 
[] Did I engage my classmates in a way that I would want to be engaged with? 

For a research paper:
[] Do I clearly state the purpose of the paper? Do I explicitly state the motivating research question? 
[] Do I provide a roadmap of what is to come in the paper? 
[] Do I have at least one sentence that explains why anyone cares about this research? 
[] Have I engaged with the research on the subject? (In other words, I read a variety of research, understand it, and know where I fit in to it). 
[] Did I clearly explain how I conducted my research? 
[] Do I summarize main points for the reader?
[] Does my conclusion clearly state what I set out to do and what I found?