As I said in my last Self-Love Saturday article, self-love and self-care are very important to me, and I try to apply them to my life daily. With classes and homework, however, this is sometimes difficult. This is how I came up with the idea of “Self-Love Saturday,” where I give myself all Saturday, every week, to do something that I love.
This past Easter weekend, I went to visit my friend’s family in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. I needed a break from school and the many assignments I have been thinking about. A weekend getaway sounded like the perfect solution, so I packed up my car and left after class on Friday.
When thinking about how to get as relaxed as possible over this weekend, I tried to consider the things that stress me out the most, and eliminate them from the trip. My top three stressors are the way I look, schoolwork, and my phone. I managed to forget about these three things for most of the weekend, especially Saturday, and it benefited me so much. Here’s how I did it:
1. Leave (most of) your makeup at home.
For this trip, I packed only the makeup that I consider “necessities,” or the things that make me really happy. For me, this was an eyelash curler and mascara, lip gloss, and highlighter (duh). My skin deserves a break after dining hall pizza and constant stress, so I wanted to focus on skincare rather than makeup. I brought moisturizer and a ton of face masks in order to revive and hydrate my skin.
2. Wear clothes that you love, not that you think are trendy or cool.
This was the key to a successful weekend for me. I packed clothes that are comfortable, like flannels and mom jeans, and things that I love, like my favorite sweater. I’ve realized that when I wear clothes for myself and not for how cool they look to other people, I feel less pressured to post everything on social media. When taking pictures on this trip, it was because I wanted to remember the scenery and people that I was with, not because I needed a cool Instagram post.
3. Remember that face-to-face conversations are more important than anything on your phone.
Photo by Sammi Ludden
I know that it is tempting to check your friend’s most recent Snapchat stories, but you don’t realize how much you are missing out on until you put your phone away and REALLY listen to what the people around you are saying. I had some really important and interesting conversations this weekend about topics that I am passionate about, such as psychology, sexual identity, and self-confidence. If I had been mindlessly scrolling through Instagram or Twitter, I would have missed out on all, or most of these amazing interactions.
4. Take pictures, but not just to post them.
This was my only exception to the phone rule for the weekend. Photography has always been something that I am extremely passionate about, and I try to take at least one picture everywhere I go, for the memories and for my own personal collection. Maine is beautiful, and I wanted to be able to share that beauty with other people. A general rule that I use is that if something makes me happy, I take a picture of it, but if the only reason I want the photo is to post it, I try to hold off if it will interrupt what someone else is doing.
5. Homework can wait (at least for a little while).
School is important, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes you have to give yourself a break. I decided not to bring any work on this trip, even though I have deadlines. If I had brought my homework, I would have been tempted to work on it the entire time we were in Maine, and I would not have been able to fully relax. As long as you get on top of your work eventually, taking a break for a weekend will never be the end of the world.
I highly recommend giving yourself a weekend to detox from your biggest stressors. I have definitely changed the way I think about things after this weekend, and I, without a doubt, will be heading back to Maine soon to do it again.
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