Trying to balance four executive board positions, an internship, an on-campus job, a bunch of activities and honor societies, a full course load, and a social life is hard enough without thinking about things like eating healthy meals, sleeping, and taking care of myself. I know I’m not the only one who struggles with self-care because the majority of college students have a lot of responsibilities on their plate.
Self-care was never a priority for me because I didn’t think it mattered much. I was functioning fine, and wasn’t getting sick, so everything was good. I always told myself that I liked to be busy and that if I didn’t have anything to do, I’d be bored out of my mind. While this is definitely true, but only to a certain degree.
It wasn’t until the first snow day of the semester that I realized how necessary it is to have some time to myself. Although I spent part of the day doing laundry and cooking, I also spent a good chunk of it relaxing. I watched Netflix, I drank hot chocolate, and I even read a book just for fun. Something in my mindset changed as a result of my free time. I finally understood it was okay to not do something “productive” every minute of every day.
I was so happy that I took some time to slow down and just be with my own thoughts. As someone who is constantly thinking about my grades, my future career, etc., it’s refreshing to be able to forget about it all for a little while. Since that first snow day, even though it was only a few short weeks ago, I’ve tried to give myself a little bit of time each day to do something I enjoy or to catch up with a person I haven’t talked to in a while. I’m already almost done with my junior year, and my years in college are flying by. I don’t want to look back at them and regret all the time I spent worrying about school and work that I didn’t focus on growing as an individual.
In short, having a day to myself taught me that self-care is fundamental to a successful and fulfilling life. We all need to rejuvenate our minds and our bodies, so I’m here to join in on the bandwagon and say: Take care of yourself. You deserve it!
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