Reading week. These are the two words students look forward to after the first month in school — to be able to take a long-awaited rest. However, I cannot help but feel uneasy about taking a pause given that I will have to apply for jobs and study for midterms. So, it will not really be much of a pause in the continuous flow of things… will it?
Take a break.
Take. A. Break.
Last semester was a rough ride for me given that it was my first time doing school online and I had zero face-to-face interaction to prevent the virus from spreading. I started the semester full of hope and motivation to do my best but ended up burning out barely one month into the semester. I straight-up just moved from my desk to my bed, inevitably lying down and browsing through TikTok.
This year, I started with the same cycle, especially since I have 6 courses, job applications, and interview preparations to do, all things that many of my peers are undoubtedly struggling with as well. But that’s when I came across it: the Dice Roll.
So, the literal version of the Dice Roll is to take a risk with the hope of gaining something positive from it, but the Dice Roll I am talking about is the classic f-boy move, one that you must have inevitably seen on TikTok. All you have to do is go for a stroll while gesturing as if you’re rolling dice with one hand (preferably while looking in the mirror, but that is an optional step).
I started doing it as a joke and NGL, it felt silly at first, but then it actually started making me laugh, making me happy. So now, whenever I start feeling tired I get up and boom, dice baby dice.
Now I know better, so I compiled a list of things I could be doing for Reading Week that may not directly help me academically, but will definitely improve my mental and physical state.
- Talking to my friends and catching up with what they’ve been up to.
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This one might seem mundane but it actually means the world to me since I haven’t exactly been in contact with my friends because of my heavy school workload.
- Baking.
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I cannot stop raving about how good baking feels. Last year, I went from barely knowing how to work an oven to religiously making my own bread this year.
- Reading.
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I preordered A Court of Silver and Flames by Sarah J. Maas, which is coming out next week and can’t wait to immerse myself in it. #Nessian
- Fulfilling my daily intake of 10,000 steps.
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I also like to add a yoga or TikTok dance routine.
Even now as I am writing this, I feel the anxiety creeping in, telling me I could be doing much more work instead of taking a break. But this article is a sign instructing me and many others to rest. Rome was not built in a day and there is not much of a point to overworking if you can’t even enjoy the fruits of your labor.
So, unclench that jaw, take a deep breath, and straighten up your shoulders. You will get through this.
As a bonus, add a dice roll and there you go; you’ve got a recipe for laughing out loud.