Everybody needs a stress outlet. Everybody needs that get-away. Everybody needs that one thing in their life to keep them sane amidst the inevitable insanity around us.

A large portion of our lives is dealing with adversity. Whether it is in school, at home, among family, among friends, among boyfriends or girlfriends, hardship creeps up on everyone in differing ways. It is how you deal with these times of heightened stress that define who you really are, forreal. I mean, are you the type of person to bathe in your own tears for a day straight after a breakup? Are you the type of person to throw your putter in the pond after missing a par putt? Are you the type of person to curse out every supernatural being believed in after stubbing your toe on the corner of the bed?

By now, we have had ups and downs and realize that life is not all milly-rocks and dabs. Sometimes the ice cream falls off the cone onto the concrete. It is bound to happen. When it does for me, I mow the lawn.

As silly as it sounds, mowing the lawn is my zen. It is the thing I use to outlet my entire spectrum of emotions. It is the thing I use to get through the rough by listening to rap and practically running to finish; it is the thing I use to get through the smooth by listening to Frank Sinatra and letting my neighbors know it (Sorry, Conner). It is even the thing I use to come up with topics for these articles. Put in the most simple terms I can think of: mowing the lawn is how I gauge my life.

When reflecting on the why, I began to think of the repetitive nature of pushing those blades in the exact same way every week. There is something so comforting and satisfying doing the same thing over and over again with precision and accuracy. If I could not rely on anything else in life, at least I could rely on that hour and fifteen minutes of the sound of the engine and my thoughts. If I felt like I was a failure and did not accomplish anything that week, at least I could say I mowed the lawn. If I felt on top of the world that week, hey, I still had to mow the lawn. Depending on the situation, mowing can be uplifting and humbling. It keeps me neutral: brings me back to home base.

I truly believe everyone needs something like mowing the lawn in their life. It is when people start internalizing emotions that problems start to arise and the adversity you are dealing with seems much worse than it really is in perspective. This is where feelings can really eat at your mental and eventually physical health if you are not careful.

Good outlets are the key to happiness. For some people, an outlet can look like eating more than you want. For some people, it is holding grudges. For some people, it is lying to yourself and internalizing. It does not have to be. It can be something as simple as ranting to someone close. It can be lifting weights. It can be playing a video game. It can even be mowing the lawn.

So, for your sake and sanity, find a good outlet: you will be able to deal with ups and downs as good as a surfer.