I am staring at myself in the mirror during ballet class – my eyes look tired. The stress from the school day pounds hard against my skull, and the worries of the next day’s exams and work loom over me. I cannot focus on my class, even though ballet is something that I enjoy doing, because I can’t wait to get home. Why? I have math homework. I don’t enjoy math, but I have to do my math homework, so that I can do well on the test, so that I can maintain my A, so that my GPA will be high, so that I can get into a good school, so that I can have a good education, so that I can get a job, and… and…
“What did you do for yourself this week?” I hear my ballet teacher ask. Hands are waving in the air, and girls profess their indulgences: painting, playing with animals, taking long baths.
What have I done for myself?
Playtime is important. My ballet teacher taught her students that 20 minutes of playtime every single day was something we owed to ourselves. Coloring, writing, taking a long aromatic bath… taking time for you is important!
Besides the fact that giving yourself time to play helps reduce stress and anxiety, as well as advances your overall happiness, it has a practical function as well.
Spending time with friends is amazing and helps shape you as a person, however, spending time with yourself helps you get to know who you really are.
Many high school students spend a portion of their senior year preparing for interviews with college admission teams. They enter these interviews with their answers all prepared. They know what extracurricular activities they’ve done, they know what movie character has inspired them and they know who their mentors are. Sometimes, though, colleges will throw a curve ball at you because… they actually want to know who you are as a person.
When asked a general question such as: “How do you spend your weekends?” there are two different kinds of answers a person might give:
- You can find me either assisting the elderly, fostering puppies or being an assistant coach on a girls’ tennis team.
- I realized I really love to paint, so I have been working on a painting of my backyard!
Answer 1 shows a college admissions team that you know what they want to be hearing. It is a perfectly good answer, and if you enjoy spending your time that way, there’s no issue with it! However, it is also an answer that is rather general, and has probably been heard before.
Answer 2 gives the college a clear sense of how you like to spend your time, and also shows that you are in-tune with yourself, and your passions. If you spend some time getting to know yourself, the answers you will be able to give will probably be more unique and interesting!
Although getting to know yourself is a great tool to utilize during a stressful senior year… playtime doesn’t just apply to the college admissions process.
Playtime is a tool that helps both your mind and your body- it has been shown to reduce depression and anxiety, heal emotional wounds and boost productivity. In an age when technology is constantly interfering with our daily lives, it is a great tool to be able to step away from the screen to do a little soul-searching.
We may stop growing externally at a certain age, but internally, we are constantly evolving.
Take 20 minutes. Learn something new about yourself! And remember… Imagination is for people of all ages.