My junior year history class was anything but a history class. Instead of spending our days with our heads buried in textbooks, we indulged in conversations… deep conversations. My teacher ever so often reminded us to be grateful for our youth, adding we would only be so young and so beautiful for so long, which was fresh for my ears, but he also gave us life advice. He specifically told us: “you need to make your bed every day.” He said, and I quote, “If I could force you [emphasis on force] to do one thing each day it would not be some crap about being a good person or eating your vegetables. You guys need to make your beds.” I agree… what an odd piece of advice from a high school history teacher… (and he knew that). He followed up by explaining that there would be days where our individual worlds would seem as if they were falling apart, but an accomplishment as simple as making your bed was an accomplishment guaranteed per day. Truthfully, I do not remember a single history-related lesson from that year, but this stuck. The funny thing is, he definitely does not remember saying this, but I do.
And so, I did just that. I made my bed every day. Without fail, I woke up 5 minutes earlier than usual and pulled my covers up, fluffed my pillows, placed them at the head of my bed, and carried on with my day- and that was one accomplishment before the clock struck 7 a.m.
A little while after I got into this routine, I began paying more attention to my room as a whole. I had this beautiful bed, perfectly made, but it was surrounded by week old empty coffee cups, empty bags of chips, clothes, and other crap piled everywhere. I would never admit it then, but my mom was right; it really did look like a bomb had exploded in that room. But it was my safe space… it was where I would scream-sing country songs when no one was home, the place where I resided for the entirety of my first heartbreak, the spot I go to escape and read a whole book without being bothered. It was- and still is- one of the few variables in my life that I always had complete control over. Soon enough, paying attention to the cleanliness of that room was a part of my everyday routine.
And at this point in my life, I felt good… I felt in control. But I was not completely satisfied; there was still so much to accomplish.
The most consuming part of my life at this time, and for everyone around me: technology and social media. I was addicted to my phone, and I hated myself for it, but I also hated my friends for being the same. There are so many other things I could’ve been doing with my time; so many memories that could have been made, so many walks that were never walked and scenic drives I could’ve gone on. Truthfully, the only thing that helped this toxic relationship with my phone was to become more aware- and it has helped. If you as a reader can take away anything from this, put your phone down, walk away from it, and be present.
The last two habits are my most recent, but by far my most important. The first being skincare. Never will I ever be able to pinpoint when skincare became a significant part of my routine, but it did. The satisfaction of waking up to a new day and washing off the day’s past is unmatched.
The second habit: drinking water. Well duh. Obviously, this is something that we are told to do, I just never did. I downloaded an app called Plant Nanny. This app asks for your weight, the size of the water bottle you typically use, and then calculates your individual intake AND it reminds you every few hours to finish a bottle. As a reward, you “feed” your plant by holding down the “water” button, and you watch it grow. You are able to collect virtual plant babies and name them. For me, as a visual learner, seeing the growth of these plants motivates me to pay attention to things as simple as drinking my water.
I am a self-sufficient, independent, college student. Rarely do I ever go in search of guidance or help from someone else; I would rather fail until I am successful. But every once in a blue moon I take in the advice given to me and actually practice it. If I never took the advice given to me that one day in history class, I guarantee I would not be the same version of Lauren that I am today.