As a college student, I’ve learned to rely on small comforts to survive midterms week. I wake up looking forward to partake in blush blindness, layering on my mauve cream blush and a bit of topper for that extra touch. I pair it with terracotta lipstick to bring my otherwise unprominent features into the spotlight. When dressing up, every layering piece I add is intentional and coordinates with a color scheme or silhouette in mind. The process is ritualistic, a kind of bulletproof armor I serenely wear to take on the day.Â
I’ve learned to designate 30 minutes (sometimes longer) each day to a midday walk to take in the chilly autumn breeze and loosen the muscles strained by the stationary posture midterms demand. The picturesque landscape of Riverside Park offers an escape from the campus bubble. The marigold yellow, deep red, and apricot orange foliage are reminiscent of all past autumns. The familiar changes fail to take away from the novel beauty of the season.
I often find myself in an introspective state, reflecting on the ways the past semester has shaped and challenged me. My elasticity of resilience has gotten stronger with every club rejection, academic setback, and detour. As we get deeper into the month of October, I fill my memory bank with the highs, the lows, and the spaces in between– the cries of stress and the euphoria of laughter with my girls.Â
My Sunday reset puts the perfect bow on the week. I treat myself to a decadent almond croissant from The Hungarian Pastry Shop, a few blocks from campus. There’s something reassuring about the world pacing down, the true New York coming out in its gentle rhythm of people existing amongst each other. Outside, leaves drift lazily past as I perch on a red chair, wrapping up my homework for the week.
It’s the smallest pleasures that get us through and let us savor October. I encourage you to find your own small comforts, the quiet rituals or sidequests that make midterms a little more bearable.Â