Jane Kim-Yang and students discuss Cozy Cinema Club and how to balance school and personal comfort

Transcript:

0:07: Welcome back to Chronversations. 

0:09: I’m your host, Levi Libson. 

0:14: As finals loom over us with the semester ending, students across campus are balancing their studies, work, deadlines and pressure to keep on going. 

0:22: Honestly, good for you. 

0:24: Just remember to breathe. 

0:26: Managing comfort and work is an increasingly difficult thing to master. 

0:30: As such, in today’s episode, we’ll be discussing Cozy Cinema Club, a place to relax amidst a week of tests, and additionally, hear feedback from two students on managing your time. 

0:40: My name is Jane Kim-Yang. 

0:43: I’m a social worker and a therapist. 

0:46: So, at the Center for Student Wellbeing, we provide crisis services, but also a decompression space for students to come and spend time in a

0:59: low-stimulation zone, where you can really soothe your senses and regulate yourself. We also provide one-on-one counseling because that allows us to gather ourselves again so we have the energy to continue that next leg of the journey. 

1:18: On Friday, May 8, Jane Kim-Yang, along with the rest of the Center for Student Wellbeing, is hosting the Cozy Cinema Club, an event designed to help students decompress. 

1:27: Allowing yourself just a moment to sit back and relax in a storm of potential anxiety has proven to help success within students. 

1:35: So, what do they have to say? 

1:38: My name is Emily Keeling. 

1:40: That’s E-M-I-L-Y K-E-E-L-I-N-G. 

1:45: I am a film and television BFA student with a concentration in directing at the School of Film and Television, and I’m a junior this year. 

1:51: My name is Emilio Gutierrez and my major is animation and computer graphics. 

1:55: I am a junior.  

1:56: The Center for Student Wellbeing is hosting the Cozy Cinema Club this week for people to unwind. 

2:00: Do you think events like this help students maintain a more balanced and stress-free workflow? 

2:04: Yeah, the only issue I see is that sometimes schedules are so 

2:10: different for each student that it’s hard to really make space for these events. 

2:15: Sometimes students do have the intention to go to these events,

2:17: the only issue is that they clash with their schedules. 

2:22: But, if there was a way to find the right time, maybe a weekend — which I don’t know if students would be willing to do.

2:30: Whenever there’s an opportunity that works with my schedule, I like to take it. 

2:35: I’m a film student myself, so I find a lot of comfort and relaxation through certain films, and an event like this is good for people who might not live on campus, but are hanging out in between classes and might be stressed about their next final. 

2:52: I think it’s important to have these events on campus, and at any time really, so that students can get that break in the middle of the week which they need to keep going. 

3:03: I think it’s definitely helpful. 

3:05: Beyond attending events targeted towards relaxation, there are many ways of managing workload to allow for self-care. 

3:11: Have you found any useful resources or spaces on campus to help manage your anxiety? 

3:17: There are many actually. 

3:19: The Student Center has a spot on the 3rd floor next to the Career Center —

3:25: it’s a room where you can decompress in a way. 

3:28: It has sensory lights and also a mattress on the floor where you can just rest. 

3:33: Also, there’s spots all around the Student Center, like this one, for example. At the same time, the library is a spot to read or just sit down as well. I would say it’s really good.  

3:45: I think for me personally, keeping to-do lists and also staying on top of projects or assignments that are due is helpful, so they don’t fumble and become this big snowball of late work. Written schedules as well as just keeping a daily schedule on your calendar 

4:03: is so important when balancing work life and personal life, because it does help to not procrastinate as much. You don’t waste as much time worrying about what to do next if you have it planned out. 

4:18: What would you say is the importance of taking breaks, especially during larger study sessions? 

4:22: Sometimes you need to process what you just went through and take in all the information, especially if, like me, there’s work and class on the same day. I find it really important to give myself a minute to process everything that I did, work and then get into a different mindset for my class, or vice versa. With my class, I give myself a minute to process everything 

4:48: and then get ready for work. 

4:49: It’s really just preparing my mind for this new environment. 

4:53: What does comfort look like to you during a stressful week such as finals? 

4:56: I would say getting back home and just sitting down on my couch, that’s my favorite activity to do. 

5:04: It doesn’t even have to be my house, 

5:05: sometimes it’s spending time with the people that I like to be next to and can truly decompress with. There’s no necessity to perform, so I can just be comfortable. 

5:15: Comfort to me looks like a warm bath, low lighting, like pretty dark,

5:23: I’m probably watching one of my favorite shows. 

5:25: I think just turning on a show, getting comfy and hanging out with my roommates is winding down to me, and a source of comfort during these stressful crazy times. 

5:35: What’s one tip you would give to anybody struggling with the anxiety of finals as the school year wraps up? 

5:40: I would say keep going. Literally don’t stop. Make a to-do list, make it realistic and supportive to your needs, your schedule and to how your pacing looks like.  

5:52: Everybody studies at different levels. 

5:55: You might think somebody’s doing better than you or doing more than you, and that’s never the case. 

6:00: We’re all on our own boats and we’re all going through these crazy finals, so just keep up with it and keep going. Make a to-do list. We have a week and a half left, and we’re so close. 

6:10: Let’s do it.  

6:11: Yeah. 

6:14: Make sure to stay up to date with campus and metro news at columbiachronicle.com.

6:19: I’m Levi Libson. 

6:20: Thanks for listening. 

Copy edited by Venus Tapang