STRESS-RELIEF 101: FINDING CALM IN UNIVERSITY CHAOS

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 I’m in the final month of my final year in university, and I can confidently say, "stress is real". 

It’s not just exams or final projects. It’s that heavy “what’s next?” feeling that follows you everywhere. The kind that sits quietly in your chest even when you’re trying to relax.

Most days, it feels like my brain has 50 tabs open, and they’re all frozen.

I didn’t discover crochet in some aesthetic, life-changing moment. I found it out of pure boredom. I had a bit of interest, some yarn, and a desperate need to stop thinking about my to-do list for five minutes.

My first stitch? A total mess.
My tenth stitch? Still a mess.

And honestly, that annoyed me at first. I’m used to understanding things quickly. I’m used to getting results.

But somewhere between the frustration of holding the hook correctly and untangling loops of yarn, I noticed something strange:

I wasn’t thinking about school.

For the first time in months, my brain wasn’t calculating my CGPA. It wasn’t replaying deadlines. It wasn’t asking me what I’m doing with my life after graduation.

It was just focused on one single thread.


Progress doesn’t always look organized.

That’s when I realized crochet wasn’t about making something cute. It was about giving my mind permission to pause.

In university, we’re subtly conditioned to believe that if we aren’t being “productive,” we’re falling behind. That rest must be earned. That hobbies are distractions.

But I’m slowly unlearning that.

I’m learning that intentional rest, doing something simply because you enjoy it, not because it will add to your CV, might be the only way to survive these final months without losing yourself in the process.

This is the start of my Student Survival Edition. I don’t have everything figured out. I’m still navigating stress, procrastination, and the quiet fear of what happens after graduation.

But I’m choosing to find calm where I can.

Even if it starts with a single stitch.

So, be honest,  when was the last time you did something just because you wanted to, and not because you had to?

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