What If?!

By Ifeanyi Onwumah

What If?!

As the days go by and as the semester rolls along while dragging me along with it, the intensity of school heightens but definitely not as much as my apprehension and anxiousness. It’s no question by now what this apprehension pertains to, but the real question is in regards to the best way to deal with it. How do you stop the anxiety from controlling and possibly derailing your goals? I noticed recently that I’ve been asking myself a bunch of “What If?” questions and definitely not the good and hopeful kind! I’ve been second-guessing myself and seriously questioning my choices in regards to college and my career. Different people have different ways of coping with stress and anxiety, some people exercise; some bury their heads in a book or whatever activity that stops them from thinking about the stress. My solution? Take it head on!

I really feel like if I take things a day at a time and set short term goals, weekly goals to be specific, for myself, I will be all right. As a college student with a lot on my plate and never enough time to handle everything bearing down on me, I feel like taking things slowly and not letting my problems bombard me is the best way to handle things. I’ve set up a weekly progress report/conference with a good friend of mine to evaluate the goals I set for myself each week and how or if I reached those goals. This way I can keep myself honest and do the things I’m supposed to do, in turn, reducing my workload and the things I usually stress about. I’ve never been known for my organizational skills but I also recently adopted a calendar to further break down my goals to a daily level and complete new tasks daily. This mechanism serves as a kicker for the days when I REALLY don’t feel like doing anything. When I look at my calendar I am reminded that there are things to be done and that there is somewhere I want to be and I’m definitely not there yet.

These changes have helped me start asking the good “What If” questions like “What if I CAN make it? What if I CAN accomplish all the goals I set for myself? On the back end of these questions, there’s always a wide grin that signifies my new – found confidence and self-belief. The ultimate goal is to not ask any what if questions and to have faith in myself and in my abilities. I’ve come too far and worked too hard to undermine myself…Here’s to What-If-less days!

Ifeanyi Onwumah is a senior double-majoring in Philosophy and Computer Studies. He is a commuter student from South Holland, IL. Ifeanyi’s goal is to attend Law School after he graduates from SXU.