The conclusion of 2018 is rapidly approaching and usually during this time of the year is when I hit a wall creatively, socially, academically, emotionally, you name it. Therefore, I thought it would be beneficial to set goals for what remains of the year in order to motivate myself to press on!
Carry Myself with More Confidence
Once the heat of summer begins to dissipate and the coolness of fall has graced us with its presence, I tend to get a little lazy when it comes to clothing. I gravitate towards the hoodies and sweatpants, especially for those morning classes. While I've found these types of outfits to be comfortable to wear, I've also found that they tend to hinder my confidence both in my appearance and in my academics. Dressing well helps me to carry myself with a little more confidence, not only in how I look but also in how I perform academically. However, I also want to challenge myself to stand tall when I do grab the sweats. My confidence should not depend entirely on my appearance. My confidence should come from the Lord and the fact that He cares for me and loves me.
Read More... for Fun
Reading is pretty routine stuff for a college kid, particularly for an English major. I find myself constantly reading articles, essays, poems, novels, etc. for class, however it has become a rarity to carve out time to read for personal enjoyment. I want to carve out that time for myself and give my mind a much needed break from academic readings and Netflix.
Go on Dates with Myself
This sounds incredibly cheesy, like it came from some self-help book, I know. However, in college and life in general, we are constantly surrounded by people: in classes, at work, in sports, etc. Spending every waking moment with other humans is draining both mentally and emotionally. Therefore, it is so important (especially for all my introverts out there) to take the time to recharge by yourself. To make it a little more fun and motivate myself to actually do this before 2018 concludes, I like to call them dates. Some ideas I have for this include: going for a walk in the park, buying myself a coffee and reading at Art Bar, and cooking a delicious, possibly healthy, meal for myself. I know it sounds like I am actually 85, but dates with yourself could be literally anything!
Cultivate a Cozy Night Routine
Again, yes, I am an 85-year-old woman trapped in a 20-year old's body; however, this one has proven to be so beneficial for me already. I found that my schedule during the day had exhausted me so much so that I would come home and be completely dead. You would think that it would be super easy for me to fall asleep, that was unfortunately not the case. I would lay down in bed and scroll on my phone for hours, which is proven to hinder sleep; and then lay in bed with my mind completely racing with no signs of it shutting off anytime soon. Therefore, I've changed up how my nights look. Instead of coming back and immediately getting on my phone I do one of two things. If it is early enough, I will sit in the living room with my roommates and watch some sort of television show, or I will read a book in bed. Either way, this helps me to start winding down. Before I read, I plug my phone in across the room and set my alarms for the next morning. This way, I am not scrolling on my phone prior to bed and if I fall asleep reading it's no big deal. My quality of sleep has improved so much already and I am moving right along towards my goal of reading more for fun!
Focus on Loving God, then Myself, then Others
Going along with having time to myself, I have found it extremely important to have time with God first thing in the morning. I've found that if I skip this step I am more apt to be grouchy and annoyed with other people as well as myself. I know that if I don't focus on loving God and myself, then I will not be ready to love on His people in the ways He expects. By having a quiet time with the Lord, I am able to equip myself with the truth, learn more about my Creator, and be prepared to love on all those that He has created.
Get Up Earlier
Ugh, even typing that out makes me want to crawl back into bed. Oh, how I love my bed. I'm sure I'm not alone in this, but getting up in the morning is hard! The initial blaring of the alarm and pulling back of the covers is enough to make my skin crawl. I despise it! However, it is, of course, a mandatory step in being a functioning adult. Therefore, I would like to get up even just thirty minutes earlier than usual. Why? Well, I have found that when I am not rushing around because I woke up late I can enjoy my morning and everything that comes with it. Suddenly, my coffee tastes a little better, I don't have to rush through my quiet time with God, and I can look presentable for class. Wow, what a revelation!
Do the Little Things That Make Me Smile
Wow. I should really write Hallmark cards. This is the last goal I promise. Okay so like I said earlier, being a college student/athlete is time-consuming and unbelievably stress-inducing. Therefore, I want to take the time to do things that revive my happiness. Similar to making time to read for fun, things like writing and listening to "old music" tend to make me a lot happier of a person. I highly recommend doing things that you love in order to alleviate stress. It helps I swear
