If you saw my post last week about how school has slowly been taking over my life, you'll know that I've been drowning under homework. For the last few months, my days have revolved around going to class or preparing for class and I've been pretty miserable in this cycle. I've realized that one of the reasons this has hit me so hard recently is because I haven't had the chance to do anything that I'm interested in and want to do.

I haven't been able to work on the things I love or do the activities and hobbies that I'm passionate about. This is a reality that many people deal with every day: being so consumed with work that they are unable to do — or even discover — activities that they love.

Some of the ways I like to spend my time are reading, painting, hiking, playing video games, and spending time with friends. Unfortunately, I've had hardly any time since this quarter started to do any of these things. These hobbies and activities are ones that I love and that bring a lot of happiness to my life. The absence of these things in my life has made me realize how vital they are to my overall happiness and mental health. Spending your entire life working is a sure-fire way to make you miserable. Hobbies are a great way to keep that from happening.

While I know that it is sometimes hard to find the time to do the things you love when you're busy with things like work, school, and family, it's so important to make the time. Even if that means waking up an hour early or staying up an hour later. Or, maybe, rather than sitting down to zone out in front of Netflix, pick up a book or some paints and canvas.

We need to make it a priority to cultivate the hobbies and activities we love. Not only do these things give us a productive and engaging activity to work on, hobbies are a great way to brighten your day and meet people who share similar interests.

Even though I've been busy with school and plans for the future, I've realized how important it is for me to spend a little time each day doing a hobby that I love. With this in mind, I've decided to make time every day to do something that I'm passionate about. I don't want my entire life to just be work and homework, I want to do the things that make me happy.

Reading, painting, hiking... Whatever it is you love to do, do it.