We all had a lot to be thankful for over Thanksgiving break. I realized that nothing beats being home.

Here’s one thing most students were probably thankful for: a break from school work. You’d undergone enough stress, you were tired, you were writhing in frustration and you needed a change of pace. Academic servitude needed to take a backseat for a few days.

So you’ve been failing a class and are graduating in the spring. Or you’re not doing as well as you want and can barely look at yourself, making you hit the snooze button twice because going to class won’t improve anything.

Five days of comfort were allotted right there. Five days of catching up with family and friends, leisurely pursuits, lost sleep from exam cramming and papers, etc.

But stress is always in the back of our minds. It is a result of our many responsibilities as students. We can’t prevent it, but it can be controlled.

According to Oklahoma University’s “Oklahoma Daily,” stress is most hazardous to the college-aged and can result in depression. If you feel overly stressed, utilize services such as counseling before unhappiness peaks.

And stress may be more widespread than you might think. According to West Virginia University’s “The Daily Athenaeum,” the American College Health Association found in a 2004 survey that more than half of stressed college students become depressed sometime during college and that 15 percent become clinically depressed.

You just have to learn how to handle it. Balance is needed in a student’s daily life — absolutely needed. Physical activity can be just as important as academics, cardiovascular activity especially. Go for a workout at FitSpace, a swim, etc. Whatever soothes you most will balance things.

Stress gradually builds until midterms, from where it begins soaring. As a result, students should become adept at dealing with stress and preventing it from dominating their lifestyles as each semester progresses.

College is a transitional phase where each students must find his or her own niche beyond hereditary roots and maintain grades at the same time. Opportunities arise, conflicts stir and tension mounts. Vast changes are occurring: personal, academic and soon enough, financial. The thought of having to go out and find a real job is terrifying. Will it be a six-figure pay or just enough to get through the monthly bills?

Grades are your ticket to further educational pursuits, i.e. graduate school. But they don’t always constitute your garnished wages or indicate one’s potential for success.

The future is unpredictable.

College is a big place; Binghamton can show that. It’s very easy to get lost when you’re one of more than 11,000 students. The competition is fierce and the work load can be overwhelming.

But don’t lose yourself to stress. Know yourself, be yourself and seek happiness wherever you can find it. There’s light at the end of the tunnel. It’s just two weeks away.

Andrew Davino is a junior English and economics major.