Fueling Yourself

Eating regular, fulfilling meals provides the energy to get you through your day. It helps you to pay attention and think clearly (important for keeping up with your schoolwork!) and it helps to balance your mood. Think about how you feel on a day when you don't eat well, miss a meal, or feel like you shoveled in food but didn't really taste it.  Probably not so good.  Making dedicated time in your day for meal time also gives you a break to slow down and breathe. It's a great opportunity to socialize with others. So, it's important to consider scheduling in regular meals to your day to help you fuel your engine in more ways than one.

Where do I sit? Who can I sit with?

Walking into the dining commons can be a bit overwhelming. Ask your roommate to join you. Ask your RA about having a floor dinner to get to know your hall mates better. Ask the person you met in class to join you for lunch. Then set up some regular days and times to meet up so you have someone to share a meal.

This doesn't taste like home

To some, the dining commons is the best buffet of food ever and to others it’s not quite like home and can evoke homesickness. How do you make it your own? Think about your favorite foods and construct those meals from what is offered. Perhaps consider trying out something new!
For many students, college is the first time that providing daily meals for themselves has been a concern. Even if you are not cooking at home, choosing wisely to provide you with the fuel you need to get you through the day is an important life skill.

Food, Nutrition, and Basic Skills workshops and food demonstrations put on by Health & Wellness focus on kitchen skills, nutrition facts, sustainable food supplies, shopping on a budget and more!

Food Insecurity

  • 22% of students do not have reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food
  • 25% of students have skipped a meal to save money and go hungry during their day

Access to healthy food choices can greatly affect students' mental and physical health as well as their academic success. Associated Students Food Bank has developed not only a food pantry for students to get free, nutritious food, but they also get students connected to the CalFresh Program and other community resources to ensure that they never go hungry.
Location: 3rd Floor UCen
Phone: 805-893-2276
Email: asfoodbank@as.ucsb.edu

Getting Enough Sleep

Students often sacrifice sleep in the service of other activities. Whether the fear of missing out (FOMO!) is keeping you active at all hours or a tough academic schedule and tons of homework creates pressures to stay up late, sacrificing your sleep is going to have a significant impact on your physical and mental health AND it will have a big impact on your ability to achieve your academic goals. Find out more about how to get enough sleep to fuel your engine and still maintain an active academic and social life.  

Managing Your Money & Sticking to a Budget

College is expensive. And we're not just talking about the tuition. Books, phone, rent, food, clothes, quarters for laundry, going out, entertainment, etc. all can add up. Without a plan, students often find themselves stressed out about the expenses they have vs. the balance in their bank account. Check out the link below to learn how to create and stick to a budget. If you find yourself struggling financially to cover the basics, check out the financial resources, food banks and food pantries, and lower cost shopping options compiled by Association Students. 
@MHPeers Helping You Tackle Freshman Year:
Last pair of underwear. Time to do laundry! #oneload #doihavequarters #ucsb2021 #freshmanproblems #classof2021

Help! I'm buried in laundry

Living independently provides students with a lot of new responsibilities. Laundry is one of them. You might not even really know how to do your laundry…there’s no shame in googling that! Even though it might sound silly, it takes time, energy, and planning to keep on top of it. Having clean clothes is a way to take care of yourself and provide yourself some comfort---think clean sheets, a warm sweatshirt that just came out of the dryer, or that shirt you wanted to wear on Saturday night. 

Set aside a regular time of the week that you plan to do laundry. Take a book or magazine, listen to some music, or perhaps make it a date with your friends, Adding it to your routine is important to help you feel ready for the upcoming week.

Create a Regular Weekly Routine

To allocate time for all that you are trying to do--sleeping, eating, class and studying, socializing with friends, regular personal maintenance (e.g., laundry, shopping), extra curricular activities, and work--you need to be organized. For many students this is the first time they are trying to juggle all of these tasks on their own. Keeping a consistent schedule will help you to know what to expect generally each day and each week and this will help to ground you. 

Map out your regular weekly schedule in a planner, a calendar, or your phone. Some students also like to have a big calendar with major events (e.g., exams, breaks) marked on it to make it easier to visualize the whole term. Need some help with planning? Check out our tips as well as visit CLAS for workshops on time management.