Summer vacation is almost here, and it’s creeping up behind MSU students pretty fast. After exams are over it will be staring us in the face. What will you do? Work at a job or internship, party for four months straight? Thanks to Michigan’s economy, many students will have to look elsewhere for summer employment, which means traveling for interviews and maybe even moving to a new and exciting city.

Sometimes traveling along is more dangerous than laying on a beach (photo credit: sxc.hu).

Last year, for the first time, over half of MSU students relocated outside of Michigan for a job said Karin Hanson, a Communication Arts and Sciences field career consultant. “Usually 50 percent of our students relocate, but last year we reached 51 percent,” she said.

If offered an interview or position at their dream job some students wonder if it will be worth making the move alone to a new place. It can be scary, confusing and sometime lonely, but overwhelmingly the response is yes.

“Jump in head first, even if you’re unsure, because you never know what is going to happen,” said acting and advertising senior Matt Kaufmann. “You’re going to work out if you have a good work ethic.”

Hanna Kleiner, child life senior, agrees.

“If you are questioning it, at least go and try it. If worse comes to worst you can leave and go home,” she said.

Antonio Gentile, civil engineering junior, compared his experience to a study abroad trip, which thousands of Spartans go on every summer.

“An internship in a new place is a chance to enjoy life,” he said. “It’s like a study abroad thing; take as much from it as you can.”

In most cases, the opportunities and benefits outweigh the worries that students have.

“The best parts of moving are the new people and change of pace,” said Gentile who moved to Texas for an internship. “It’s like a new life because you can start over fresh. And I liked the weather, too.”

In Kleiner’s opinion the best part was meeting new people and having new experiences.

“Also, it’s fun when you actually get to see what the city has to offer,” she said. “Nashville has so much. The worst part is that you want someone you know to share those experiences with. Sometimes you get lonely, but that doesn’t last for long.”

Kaufmann, who lived in New York City last summer, experienced the same feeling.

“If you are going to a big city just be prepared,” he said. “No one gives a shit about you, and that can be very intimidating. Just know that you have to put on your thickest skin, and it takes a while to get comfortable.”

But once you start to get comfortable a strange city can feel like home.

“It wasn’t until the end of the summer, but I had a routine and friends that I would always call,” he said. “Just give it time.”

It helps to have friends or family around when you are getting acquainted to a new place, but it’s not necessary.

“I had one roommate, and that was the only negative part of my trip,” Gentile said. “I didn’t know the guys that I would be living with, and I did not get along with one of them. He was a religious nut. And when I would call home my friends would be busy. I could understand, but that’s when it would get lonely down there.”

Hanson said that career services does a great job of matching students with alumni organizations in new cities. “Knowing alumni can make the transition easier because MSU has connections and resources around the country and even the world,” she said.

Alumni can help build you network wherever you decide to move. They can also give advice and help students select neighborhoods and housing. This year, the Chicago Alumni Association is throwing a huge event to welcome students who are relocating and get connected in the area.

It is also beneficial to make connections with coworkers like Gentile did to combat the bad roommate he had been assigned.

“The guys at my job really liked me because I could always make them laugh,” he said. “I adjusted really well to life down there because I like meeting new people, and every place you go is different, so it’s interesting to see the kind of people you meet.”

When moving to an unfamiliar city and traveling alone for the move or interview, it is very important to be safe. Just because you have stayed safe in East Lansing doesn’t mean other cities are similar. Traveling for an interview can be some student’s first experience traveling alone, and it is a good idea to take some precautions.

“I am pretty comfortable traveling alone because I do it about six times a year,” said Britt Hegarty, accounting senior who traveled to Chicago to interview with Price Waterhouse Coopers. “I definitely take a lot of precaution, though. I am more aware of my surroundings because you never know who is at an airport. You also want to make sure all of your personal information is taken care if, just in case it gets stolen, you want to be able to get to your location.”

Kleiner also made sure she was aware of her surroundings and also kept her boarding pass, luggage and purse close to her at all times.

“I made sure that I was checking the departure and arrival times on the TVs because I was alone and didn’t want to miss my flight,” she said.

Boarding the plane is only half the battle. Once landed, students must find a way to their hotel or interview destination. This may be riskier for women travelers who can become an easy target for criminals when traveling alone.

“If you’re in a taxi, you want to have an idea of where you are, especially if you are a girl,” Hegarty said. “If you feel like someone is taking you to a weird location, you want to be on higher alert and be able to describe where you are. That is the most important thing: to be alert enough to describe where you are.”

Kaufmann agrees that girls have a lot to worry about when traveling or living alone.

“There’s a heightened statistic that women get taken advantage of, but in New York City it’s such a diverse place. It would be easy for me to get put in the same situation, masculine and feminine men are different. Also, girls are more likely to get help than men if they are being attacked.”

Either way, it is important to get in the habit of traveling safely because many MSU students will soon become business professionals that are asked to travel for their jobs.

Forbes.com reported that many business travelers think they are traveling safe but are not. They have offered some tips that may come as a surprise to some people.

First, secure your home. Many people don’t think they will need to take this step, but something as simple as a few lights left on or an alarm system sticker on the front window can deter burglars from entering your home.

Don’t get absorbed in phone calls or texting while traveling because when you’re immersed in something you exclude everyone around you and are setting yourself up as a prey.

“Criminals strike most when people aren’t paying attention,” Forbes.com warns.

For women travelers, Forbes.com suggests buying an inexpensive portable lock for hotel room doors. The device can attach to the strike plate and slide over the door knob, which keeps it in place. This may be a good precaution.

“Female business travelers need to be extra cautious since they are perceived as more vulnerable than men,” according to Forbes.com.

Finally, don’t connect to an unsecure network at an airport. Hackers can set up these networks just to steal passwords and information from travelers. Surprisingly, many travelers don’t see this as a threat.

If you are still not convinced to try something new this summer, take Gentile’s advice.

“Be open-minded and stay positive. If something gets to you, just remember that it is temporary. If you like change and meeting new people, go for it.”

Hanson agreed and said she hasn’t met a student who wouldn’t travel to a new city again. She also urges students to remember that being flexible can only help your career, and you will always learn something from the experience.

“There is a risk associated with doing it, but it is an experience to build upon,” she said.

Kleiner sums it up best when she said, “there are so many new experiences that you can have, if you don’t go you’ll never know they are out there.”

So go forth Spartans, and enjoy your new summer experiences. Just remember to travel safe while getting there.

I stood behind the bar with my hands raised looking at the crowd of hundreds in my SoCo-soaked boots. At that moment I looked around and wondered what the fuck I was doing at Tripper’s flipping around liquor bottles on a Sunday night when most MSU students were at the library studying for midterms.

design credit: Brianna Ritivoy, photo credit: Kara Keller

I had to think back eight weeks to answer my question.

On Thursday, three days before the first round, my manager asked me if I would be interested in making some drinks for a competition.

“Uh, maybe,” I thought. “I’m not even a bartender anymore; I haven’t been since August, so I’m not exactly confident in my drink-making abilities let alone being judged on them.”

After she told me half of the Tripper’s contestants dropped out, I needed to give her an answer by close and I had to create an original drink recipe by Sunday night, I was floored. But in my usual bite-off-more-than-I-can-chew style, I agreed and got excited about creating (and taste-testing) my new drink.

After much recipe searching, tweaking and making, I gave up and decided to make an Orange Crush Bomb – a Tripper’s signature shot – into a drink and just wing it at Old Chicago on Sunday.

“How hard could it be? I’m just making two drinks, and I know that they taste amazing; I’m going to win for sure!”

I invited my friends and coworkers to come eat some pizza and cheer for me. I had no idea what I was getting myself into and really had no idea how prepared the other bartenders were.

I thought the competition was about personality and drink taste and only a few weeks long. If I lost, oh well, at least I’d get my Sunday nights back. If I won, I’d get to tell my managers how sweet I am. This is a win-win situation, right?

Wrong! Turns out, this competition was a pretty big deal.

Banzai Energy Drink and City Pulse were sponsoring the Banzai Cocktail Wars with a grand prize trip to Las Vegas. The Cocktail Wars pinned 48 contestants from 12 Lansing bars against each other in an eight-week long final four bracket style competition complete with a Blind Pig losers bracket.

Yeah, this was definitely more than just making a drink.

Sarah explained the judging rules to all of us:  20 points for audience voting, 30 points for flair and 50 points for drink taste.

So people had flair? And this flair is?

I found out that Inky, my competition, had plenty of flair. This flair included blue martini glasses, special garnishes, blue rock sugar and, oh yeah, a freaking blowtorch! My Flair? Oh, just a bit of smiling and red sprinkles. I was doomed.

She had two full sleeve tattoos, a cut off camouflage tank top and a cheering section that took up half of the bar. Me and my eight cheering girlfriends didn’t stand a chance.

I put on my happy face and made my drink anyway. I lost but walked away with an invitation to compete in the Blind Pig bracket and a suggestion to add sour to my drink. As my competitive side started to come out, I knew I was not quitting without beating someone.

Poston pours out her signature drink in the heat of competition.

I practiced the whole next week and the Orange Crush went from an orange drink in a boring pint glass to a martini rimmed with Strawberry Pop Rocks and an orange. It was sexy and delicious, so what wasn’t to love?

The next week I competed at a small Lansing dive bar that I’ve never heard of – the Colonial. I only had one person cheering for me, but I was determined to kick some ass. I beat a boy who wasn’t a bartender but decided to compete as a favor to his uninterested girlfriend. I walked away with a smirk on my face and an invitation to compete at Leo’s Outpost the following Sunday.

At the log cabin themed Leo’s, I arrived with my one fan feeling pretty confident after my last win.  I was ready to bring it until I saw my competition talking and laughing with the judges and competition organizers. I was nervous, but then I tasted his drink. Let’s just say, the main liquors were different flavors of Smirnoff and it tasted like something I made in my freshman dorm room. The judges agreed, and I was on my way to the next round.

The following week I was told the marketing director was organizing a photo shoot for the remaining contestants.

“Oh God, a photo shoot? On Saturday morning? In Lansing?”

After getting lost for 20 minutes I found the creepy warehouse that we were shooting at. While I waited for an hour freezing without heat to get my picture taken, I got to chat with Michelle and Christy, two other bartenders. During the photo shoot I had to “look natural” while holding a martini glass still, smiling, being fanned with a cardboard box and having a flashbulb the size of a pizza pointed at my face. I thought it must have been a disaster, but no one would see it right?

No one besides the Greater Lansing Area?!

Oh yeah, my picture, along with seven others, was featured in a full page City Pulse advertisement. I got calls and emails about it, and my sister decided to save it for the “wedding box,” a box that I didn’t know existed, but apparently it’s full of embarrassing photos of me.

“Thanks, Cassie.”

Next week was the semi-finals, and I was competing against my new friend Christy at the Draft House. Obviously I wanted to move on to the finals; they were being held a Tripper’s, but I wouldn’t’ be that upset if I lost to Christy. Knowing I had to step up my flair, I practiced flipping empty drink shakers. Turns out it’s not that impressive compared to the bottle-throwers.

Christy was up first, but she dropped her Smirnoff bottle and shattered it.

“Good, no pressure. I can’t do worse than that, I might even rock it.”

Well, I dropped a bottle too, but luckily mine landed on the bar mats that were put down minutes before. Because of a quick recovery I won by four points and was headed to the finals!

In the off-week I practiced my shaker-flipping and bottle-throwing skills meanwhile Tripper’s developed some photos.

When I walked in to work on Thursday I found 50 of my pictures staring back at me, including six poster-sized portraits above the bar!

Poston pumps up the crowd (photo credit: Kara Keller).

I was everywhere.

There was even another quarter page City Pulse ad, featuring just me.

“Great,” I thought. “More filler for the wedding box.”

I was super nervous but excited; I was the only person representing Tripper’s on our home turf. I was set to compete against a randomly-drawn wild card bartender. If I won, I’d face Inky again.

Not that many wild card bartenders showed up and, as fate would have it, I had to compete against my newly ex-boyfriend, who was also a coworker.  The air was thick with irony, but of course I pulled myself together and won!

Next I was up against Inky and her blowtorch. Even though I had my flipping, throwing and even a cute little saying (“Tripper’s, I’ve got a crush on you”), I still couldn’t beat her.

Michelle, from Brandigan Brothers, won against the crowd favorite, Curry, and moved to the final round. Both were amazing, but Inky won and walked away with the trip to Vegas and an oversized cocktail trophy.

Maybe it was destiny or maybe it was her intimidating blowtorch, but Inky was the Cocktail Champion. I reassured myself with a few Orange Crushes and called it a night. I had a great run on the competitive cocktail circuit, but I have to admit, it sure will be nice to lose the Monday morning hangovers.

Plenty of single women are taking the opportunity to have a girls’ night with good friends instead of chasing the traditional Valentine’s Day dream of dinner, chocolates and budding romance. Whether it’s an expression of independence or a stand against those dates that have gone wrong in the past, it’s happening, and it might just be a refreshing way to spend your February 14.

“I’ve had a girls’ night [on Valentine’s Day] many times,” said social work master’s student Cherie Michaud. The more I think about it, it’s a kind of Valentine celebration with the people you care about who are friends instead of a significant other.”

Others have taken to this trend, as well, celebrating with people who they love, not necessarily a significant other.

“I’ve done it with my girlfriends so that no one has to spend Valentine’s Day alone. I look at it as spending time with the people that you love regardless if it’s a friend of significant other,” said creative advertising senior Nina Altadonna.

But it’s not just the ladies of MSU that are banning together to celebrate.

“It’s not only the girls; it’s just anyone who doesn’t have plans,” Michaud said.  Friends, regardless of gender, are finding a fun way to spend the day.

“We usually just invite whoever is available,” Altadonna said.

And the men agree.

“I probably won’t hang out with a girl; I’ll hang out with my guy friends,” said economics junior Trevor Stiles.  “If it is a guys’ night, it would be because we’re all single, and Valentine’s Day is a reminder that we’re single; it’s good, and it’s bad. There are two ways of looking at it.”

You might just call the emerging tradition a “friends’ night,” not deliberately planned, but powerful nonetheless.

Beth Woodworth, an advertising senior, has a Valentine this year, but if not she would be spending the holiday with close friends.

“I wouldn’t be looking for a date. I’d probably just go to the movies with my friends and include some drinks,” Woodworth said.

Publications and event listings are even catering to this new trend. New York Magazine has a special feature for singles, which reads, “Trust us: Being an uncoupled city girl on the most romantic day of the year means there’s fun to be had.”

The article includes reviews and suggestions for places to go out with your friends.

“If Valentine’s Day fell on a weekend, I’d be going out to the bar, but since it’s Sunday we will stay at home and drink some wine instead,” Altadonna said.

With friends to fall back on, the urgency of locking down a date has almost disappeared from campus.

“I am absolutely not looking for a date. If it happens, it happens, but I am not worried about it,” Stiles said.

This sentiment is echoed from many students.

“No, I am definitely not looking for a date.” Michaud said. “I feel like it is a day to spend with someone special, not someone you grabbed off the street and said, ‘Hey, take me to dinner!’ I think it should have a little more meaning than that.”

“I’m not looking. I don’t care to have a date. I would want to be out on a date with a boyfriend, but I don’t want to be cliché and date just because it’s a holiday,” Altadonna said.

If no one is actively looking for romantic dates, are we in the midst of a Valentine’s Day transformation? You have to wonder if friendship will replace the traditional date in coming years.

“[Girls’ night is] definitely taking over, at least in college, because I think it’s so rare to go on sporadic dates with people who aren’t in relationships. Even my friends who have dates will go out to dinner, but meet up with us afterwards,” Altadonna said.

Woodworth agreed and noted the increased amount of anti-Valentine’s Day sentiment.

“Now there are Facebook groups being made against Valentine’s Day and events inviting people to go out to the bar instead.”

There are also those romantics who believe that faith is not lost in the traditional date.

“The date is still very idealistic, and the girls want to have a date for V-day because it is just the way we’re programmed. Anyone’s first choice would be to go on a date,” Michaud said.

The traditional dinner, chocolates, flowers and heartfelt card can be interpreted as an intimate expression of love or a sad attempt to capitalize on the holiday, depending on who you ask.

According to History.com, the truth is that the tradition of Valentine greetings date back to the Middle Ages with written Valentine cards coming on to the scene around the 1400s. The first commercial cards produced in the U.S. were made in the 1840s.

The Greeting Card Association, has estimated one billion Valentine cards are sent and received each year, an amount second only to Christmas cards.

“I think it’s been so blown out of proportion it goes past what the day should really be about,” Michaud said. “Things like love and caring for someone. I know that flowers, candy and dinner are kind and meaningful gestures, but now it has become expected. You’re not even surprised anymore.”

“I think a lot of [the holiday] is Hallmark, because they try to juice as much out of it as they can. With jewelry, cards and candy, corporations and businesses are taking advantage of it,” Altadonna said.

Considering all of the hype and money spent on this holiday, it can sometimes be hard to remember what the day is all about.

“I think it’s a little overrated but cool because you can take a day out of the year and spend it with who you love,” Stiles said.

The true meaning of Valentine’s Day is not lost at MSU. Instead, it is being celebrated in different ways. Those who do not have a romantic partner to go out with will join their friends for the night. The idea is that no one will be left alone because true love is still being celebrated, regardless of the form it takes.

If you’re still feeling pessimistic about V-day this year, just remember that there are worse holidays to look forward to.

“It’s way better than Sweetest Day,” Stiles said.

“I would never date a man whore,” said advertising senior Brittany Hickman.

She’s not alone. Around MSU when women talk about promiscuous men they, more often than not, refer to them as man whores.

A promiscuous woman is labeled a slut.  Is a man whore the male equivalent? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary does not even recognize “man whore” as a word. It is a term in pop culture that women have made up.  That does not make it any less significant, though.

“A man whore is a guy that gets with a lot of girls but doesn’t have any standards. He’ll get with any girl, any time, any place,” said political science senior David Das. For guys, the man whore is usually the source of entertainment among his friends. “It’s a double standard, [for man whores and sluts] when your friend is a man whore, it’s always funny, like free entertainment,” Das said.

Among men the consensus is when a woman is called a slut it’s more offensive than a man being called a man whore.

“The word slut is demeaning to a woman, but when we use man whore we’re not looking down on anybody, or any guy,” Das said.

“Slut is a more degrading term. You hear guys being called sluts, too. I hear that all of the time. Being called a male slut is worse than being called a man whore, though,” said economics senior and self-proclaimed “retired man whore” Alex Mortenson. Now focused on graduation, Mortenson said that he used to get around a lot.

“Girls think it’s one of the worst things you could say about someone.”

Traditionally a man who sleeps with a lot of women is called a player or a ladies’ man, but now the term has changed.

“A ladies’ man hooks up with a decent amount of girls, but he puts in the work. He’s not with a different girl every night, and he doesn’t go up to every girl and ask for it,” Das said.

“The difference is rejection,” said electrical engineering senior Billy Mattingly. “A man whore doesn’t mind being rejected; it’s like he’s on a mission. If he’s rejected 30 times in a night, he’ll take home girl number 31 if she’s willing.”

Mortenson admits to being called a man whore more than once in his life.

“I guess if people hear that you’ve slept with more than one person in a short amount of time they’re going to call you a man whore. Even if you met three gorgeous girls, and you like them all, you’re still called one. It is not necessarily true.”

“With a lot of guys it’s a pride thing too. If a girl says it, it’s not a complement. If another guy calls you a man whore, though, it’s definitely a complement,” Mortenson said.

Men may think that having a man whore around is fun, but women tend to think differently.

“A man whore is someone who knows how to talk to women, and they charm them. They do this to get what they want from a girl, and usually sleep with multiple women and aren’t ashamed of it,” Hickman said.

Some people think that it’s just human nature for men to behave this way and boys will be boys, but it is hard to ignore that American pop culture is driven by the media. Movies our generation watched as preteens, like Austin Powers and American Pie, glorified male promiscuity. Now current television shows like Entourage reinforce the same ideals.

“I think that the media influences you, but not to the extent where you act on it. Maybe there is a desire to be like Vince from Entourage; what guy wouldn’t want to get any girl he could? But it also has to do with age. People our age know that it’s the movies; maybe for younger people the media has more influence,” Das said.

“American Pie and Old School were the two that began all of it,” Mortenson said. “They had a lot of influence on that genre. I was influenced by those movies when I was younger.”

Others disagree and believe that men are not simple creatures who repeat after any movie or TV show they watch.

“Movies are just movies. They are telling the story of how men behave, over the top, of course. But I don’t think it’s really glorified. Like ‘American Pie,’ for example, Stifler is the man whore of his friends, but they’re not glorifying it in any way, unless you want to be like Stifler. A lot of people don’t,” Mattingly said.

If the media doesn’t contribute to man whore behaviors, men must be acting naturally with television and movies mirroring life. This isn’t a new occurrence; MSU has always been full of promiscuous men looking for action with no strings attached.

“Yes, this was back in 1972. Of course it was the age of free love and sex, but as far as the media went it was kind of in its infancy. On broadcast television there wasn’t a whole lot. There was some suggestive humor, but not as blatant or open as it is today,” said MSU alumni Mark Iansiti.

Mortenson suggests that the average age of college students may explain the population of man whore’s around MSU.

“I feel as people get older they slowly realize that life is not all about sex. It is the age of people that around campus, they are all 18 to 22,” he said.

As a father, Iansiti is able to see the influence that the media has on his son’s behaviors and actions.

“I think there is some innate behavioral hard wiring in young people to explore, act out and rebel. But I think that the movies and the media industries capitalize on that and recognize the interest young people have in that behavior,” he said.

“Because sex sells [television and movie studios] take real world situations and glorify them to make them into Hollywood dramas. At least a mature audience knows that it’s been glorified and not realistic,” Das said. “It’s a fantasy thing.”

Children and teens will always have idols that have questionable behaviors, and it’s easy to compare the free love preached by rock stars of the seventies with media’s promotion of man whore’s today.

“It depends on where they get their influences,” Iansiti said. “Some people were motivated by music and some by TV.”

Men may not like to admit that they act like the characters in pop culture, but there are always women to call them out.

“Guys totally act the way they do because of popular movies and TV shows,” Hickman said. “I’ve noticed my guy friends acting different. It’s like they’ve got more testosterone after watching movies like that.”

The reasoning behind the man whore population around campus may boil down to the age old question of nature verses nurture, but every person has their own opinion. In the future maybe we will answer this question with experiments and research studies, but for now womankind is forced to live with it. Or as Mortenson suggests, wait it out until the current man whore is grown up like himself.

Do us a favor, man whores of MSU, before you use a pick up line from a movie, just remember that we’ve probably seen it, too.

If you thought that being a senior in high school was stressful, wait for your senior year of college.  Thanks to demanding midterms, job applications, internship requirements, full-time jobs and pressing student loans, senior stress levels are being pushed to the max.

The pressure is much greater for seniors graduating now than in the past when jobs were easier to come by. This leaves seniors to wonder how they will ever get hired and if they will have to relocate to land a job.  The national unemployment rate has reached 9.8 percent, according to the United States Department of Labor, the highest rate in over 20 years. Michigan is far beyond that with a rate of 15.3 percent.

Not only the unemployment rate but rising standards for entry-level jobs make it difficult to get started. Many career fields are requiring that seniors have at least one internship before graduation. For some that internship has become almost impossible to find.

“I thought I had forever to get an internship, but now I’m thinking that it might be too late. I really hope to get a full-time job after graduation, but I’m coming to the realization that I might have to do an unpaid internship first,” said advertising senior Lauren Santucci.

An increasing number of seniors may have to work for free after graduation because the job market has become so competitive that employers only select the applicants with the most experience. Others have to complete an internship as part of their graduation requirements; without an internship there’s no diploma.

“Because the internship was required it was very stressful to interview and find a position. The application process itself was stressful because it had to be completed ahead of time, and it’s unpaid so I’m wondering how I’m even going to live. Now that it’s over I definitely feel a lot better though,” said Hanna Kleiner, a family community services senior.

With so much to worry about, seniors are really feeling the physical effects of stress.

“I’ve had stomach pains before because I’ve been so worried, and I know many of my friends have too,” Stantucci said.

Stress does not have a quick fix or a miracle pill like one would hope.

“College students will be stressed. It’s unavoidable, but to feel less stress you must cope in pro-social positive ways,” said MSU psychology professor Gary Stollak. As a clinical psychologist Stollak advises people on how to cope with stress.

Stollak said daily meditation or prayer is very helpful. It may seem difficult at first, but he said meditation is a skill that improves with practice. Listening to soothing music or tapes also has the same effect. He says it’s all about calming down and being alone with your thoughts, which is actually harder than it sounds.

Having meaningful relationships with intimacy can also help reduce stress. Regardless if it’s a best friend, boyfriend or family member, having a support system helps. When a relationship is intimate it is easy to talk about insecurities and become vulnerable with the other person.

“I definitely feel better after talking things out with my best friends. When I keep things to myself, I only end up worrying about them more and feel worse. We’re all in the same boat, looking for jobs and trying to do well in classes, and it’s exhausting,” said retailing senior Molly Schaffner.

Communicating with those who know you best is a sure way to feel less stressed out.

Stollak also suggested finding an activity that is challenging and requires practice, something that is not a role demanded of you.

“The activity becomes the other side of stress, an energizer. Look forward to something and improve at it,” he said.

Learning and practicing an instrument or a foreign language can become very rewarding over time. Even practicing 15 minutes three times a week is helpful. Learning something new is also a fun opportunity to strengthen a friendship if the activity involves a friend.

A lot of students use drugs to cope with stress. And not just obvious drugs like Adderall and marijuana, but caffeine too.  It’s easy to forget that caffeine is a drug, but the jittery side effects can actually make a person less productive. As a rule of thumb, using any substance to reduce stress isn’t a solution, only a short term distraction.

Watching movies or TV shows are other common distractions from stress. They only provide a short escape from problems, however.

“It’s really about balance,” Stollak said. “The negative side has to be balanced with the positive side. What are you doing from waking up until going to bed?”

The real way to experience less stress is to have small joys or moments of happiness throughout the day. To combat the negative feelings of stress, other parts of the day should be filled with happiness.

“Pay attention to the balance. What is meaningful to you? What’s exciting?” Stollak said.

People say do what you love and you’ll be a happier person, but is worth all the stress?

“I started out double-majoring in fisheries and wildlife and advertising, but I had to drop my fisheries major. It was always my passion but I dropped it because I knew graduating in four years would be too difficult,” Santucci said.

Seniors are changing their plans to survive in the competitive job market. The thought of doing what makes you happy is nice, but it is not always decision seniors make. This fact in itself is reason enough to have seniors stressing about their futures as they find themselves having to drop what they love in order to keep open a realistic career pathway which can lead to a job.

“Advertising was just more practical,” Santucci said. “You can’t exactly follow your dreams when they don’t lead to a job.”