The startling number of suicides that have taken place at Cornell University have put a face on the issue of college pressure and depression. In the past month, there have been three cases of students jumping off a bridge into the notorious gorges of Cornell. While Cornell is considered to be one of the easier Ivy Leagues to get into, it has a documented past of similar suicides, in addition to being one of the tougher schools to graduate from.
But at the end of the day, school is school, and nothing more. As students, we are faced with many pressures, which can range from academics, personal finances or just social pressures. This is nothing new.
While we as students may acknowledge these pressures and how they exist, we often fail to realize the simple pleasures of life, the mere emotion of happiness, or just taking a moment in the day to relax and breathe.
Studying for the next orgo exam or waiting for the last-minute to do your sociology thesis can cause stress, sure, but learn to adapt and avoid getting sucked into a mindless reality of affliction and failure. If that’s the case, there are many resources the University provides, such as the Center for Prevention and Outreach, which deals with a number of issues from depression to drug problems.
As the weather gets nicer and the days get longer with the semester winding down, try to enjoy the simple moments of the day and put perspective behind the stress in your life.
Calm down. Everything will be fine. Seriously. Life is great. Relax.
The Stony Brook Press
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While it is wonderful to see an exhortation averring that there is more to life than school, this opinion piece risks minimizing the seriousness of depression. Exacerbated by intense school pressures (and other factors which may all converge at once), depression may not simply be willed out of existence – even with the help of professionals.