As my junior year started, I began to find possible topics for my junior/senior project. I noticed how stressed my friends and I were about our school work and this project, so I decided to focus my research on stress. I have always liked to be a helping hand for people when they needed it, so I wanted a project that would allow me to keep students motivated. As I researched more about mental health specifically stress, I began to find some difficult information that not many people are knowledgeable about. As senior year rolled in, I wanted to hold events that helped people channel their stress in health ways rather than being overcome by it. Thus, my project had a purpose.

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Stress, as explained by research articles as experiencing a physical, emotional, or mental strain when a person believes the demands required by them are greater than what they can accomplish. My research was focused on adolescents ranging from ages 15 to 21, who are centered on school and work. Stress in young adults is ironic as a factor of it comes from the desire to succeed at school. However, the outcome for some students results in failing out of classes because of the overwhelming work and the new environments one is introduced to. Toxic stress is the worse type of stress that, if not treated in less than three to four weeks, can lead to suicide. However, there is “good” stress known as acute stress. This “good” stress can enhance the mind and reflexes since stress is the body’s natural response to challenges. On the campus of the University of Houston, they hold an event every spring called Puppies in the Quad. Dogs have been proven to help people’s mental health and decrease stress.

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For my project, I wanted to hold events to help Chinquapin students de-stress. Everyone, including myself, always talks about how “I can’t do this anymore” or “I’m so stressed.” I wanted to introduce ways for people to calm their spirling heads. Each semester, before a certain week known to be stressful for Chinquapinians, I held an event available to all to de-stress. The first semester, the week before finals, I held a yoga class. The Counted Child organization came to campus with yoga mats, a trained instructor, and serene sounds to host the class. For the second semester, I held a Puppies in the Quad event for the school. Alliance of Therapy Dogs brought some teams for students. For those that wanted to de-stress but not be near dogs, there were other stations set up such as arts and crafts, meditation, etc. I recorded people’s emotions before and after the events to get a sense of what helped most. Overall, these were events many Chinquapinians wish to keep happening.