Ugh! Finals prep, sick of Worcester Dining options, allergies, out of dining dollars, burnt out from the Thursday through Saturday routine, and feeling like a burden to be around…yup, that sounds like April. I had a professor today read a poem after I had informed him I was drenched after walking to South College from Sylvan without checking the weather app. It was titled “April is the Cruelest Month” by T.S Elliot, which really resonated with me. In a way, it restored my semester’s hope by reminding me that everyone is drowning in this spring downpour, whether it be from the stress of school, friendships, on-campus housing options, relationship navigation for the summer, etc. The poem inspired me to begin to get my house in order — a saying Donna from Parks and Rec coined in my vocabulary when having an intervention with Ron Swanson that basically means “get your sh*t together” –; however, I will be the first one to say that mentality and vocabulary are key when trying to move past a conscience slump, so, therefore, we say house.
Here are some beginner steps you can take to help get the ball rolling to conquer the rest of whatever this semester has in store! Issac Newton wasn’t wrong when he said, “an object in motion stays in motion.”
1. Cleaning!
Taking care of literal housekeeping projects is a huge way to declutter the brain. The satisfaction of doing a load of laundry after looking at a dirty pile of clothes for 2+ weeks is seriously unmatched. The same goes for making the bed — it’s a small chore that will make a huge visual difference every time you come back to the dorm from a long day out!
2. Spa day!
Finding the motivation to get into the shower when the weather is fluctuating between 40 and 70 degrees is hard, to say the least, but this mysterious UMass water does unwashed skin wonders by drying out all the oils that have built up over the past however many days you’ve gone since washing it (and I’m not being sarcastic!). The refreshing feeling of getting clean is something you owe yourself because believe me, you’re WORTH IT!
3. Me Time!
Being a college student means losing yourself every other week. When you’re constantly around your friends, then your classmates, then your roommates, it’s really easy to lose the “me time” everyone needs to feel fulfilled and happy. I personally try to spend one to three hours a week on my various hobbies to allow myself to spend some time alone and catch up with my emotions, as well as to be able to have a physical representation of my time spent working on myself through art projects.
Take these last few weeks day by day. Slowly you will start to feel the calm after the storm that is the mid-semester slump.
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