Hobbies help students deal with stress

Knit one; purl two.

I know that doesn't make sense to some of you, but to me, that's the recipe to send stress packing. Knitting has been in my life in some form for as long as I can remember.

My Grandma has always made sweaters, blankets, dishrags, little toys and things like that. My apartment is littered with stuff that she's made over the years.

When I was 7, my Grandma swears up and down that I sat at her house and refused to do anything else until she taught me how to crochet. Now, yarn is an every day part of my life.

I use photography as a way to zone out, too. Those who are around me on a regular basis tend to be surprised if I don't have a camera or needles in my hands. Both of these hobbies give me time to think and process the world.

I know quite a few people who are passionate about the things that they are involved in, and the great part is, they're as varied as the people themselves. Their ability to focus on something else besides their stress level allows them to get things done.

Don't get me wrong, a healthy level of stress can give someone motivation. It's the reason I'm going to graduate on time next semester. But too much, as many of you know, can cause a breakdown.

My favorite thing about getting to know someone is learning what he or she does to distract themselves from some of the negative aspects of life. It helps me to learn so much about who they are as a person.

My good friend Mary is an incredible runner, Lauren is a career sleeper who loves Kevin Jonas and another one of my new friends happens to be Howl.

I found out that Mary is a compassionate, dedicated person on the inside and strong on the outside. She finds herself when she's out running.

My friend who is Howl happens to be a very happy, energetic person in everyday life, and Lauren is definitely a dreamer. All of them have their ways of dealing with daily stress, and they are better people because of it.

Pay attention to those around you and what their hobbies are-it can tell you a lot about their personality.