I know, I know, it's another article on the importance of self-care for college students. We're students trying to keep a step ahead of our crushing workloads, and figure out our majors/careers/what to do with our lives. WE HAVE NO TIME to practice self-care never mind radical self-love.
I fully agree. However, I can tell you from IRL experience; five brief minutes or even tweaking a few things you have to do anyway like eating can totally better the quality of your life-mentally and physically. In high school, I'd just worry about my grades and GPA, not me. Now I try so hard to be mindful of my mental and physical needs as a human being and give myself the care I need to help me get all that work done!
Do you really want to love a number on a transcript from than yourself? (The correct answer is "Nope. Nope. Nopety, Nope, Nope.) Here's a few things that I actually do, as a real-life college student to practice self-care.
1. Move your body somehow.
Taking five minutes to stretch, really stretch in bed when you wake up, walking the long way to class, running up the back staircases in the library instead of taking the elevator are a few of my favorites.
2. Talk with someone at meals.
Eating alone is one of the most inherently depressing life experiences in my 18.5 years on this earth. Meet some friends or introduce yourself to the person sitting across the table, heck even making friendly eye contact is somehow heartwarming and self-fulfilling.
3. Cuddle.
Anything soft will do-blankets, coats, stuffed animals, your SO/BFF. And nobody ever said you couldn't study and cuddle at the same time...
4. Read for pleasure.
Again, a mere 5 minutes can make such a difference. Anything non-academic will do-funny social media posts, poetry, BuzzFeed quizzes, comics/graphic novels, or fan fiction.
5. Talk with someone you love.
Whether in-person with a friend or on the phone with someone back home, the act of verbally communicating and connecting with another person can be uplifting especially when you're emotionally overwhelmed with work/life. Texting/writing isn't the same, it's the actual mouth-moving part of communicating that I find so helpful.
6. Figure out your comfort foods and how to get them.
What particular texture/ingredient do you find calming? For me, it's anything with chocolate chips or cheese or wheat bread. Then, try to figure out which dining hall or vending machine or friend's shelf has them nearly always; it's good to find the sources before that weird 10pm desire hits.
7. Create music playlists.
A studying one, an essay-writing one, an exercising one, a trying-to-fall-asleep one, a trying-to-stay-awake one. Nobody wants to be searching Youtube for the perfect song when you're stressed to the point of tears.
8. Try a break from social media.
Folks tend to post the best versions of their lives on social media;if you're panicking about your life/place in the universe/getting your work in on time, seeing a new feed full of people who seem to have their lives perfectly together isn't helpful when you feel like you're in free-fall.
9. Find aspects of your life that ARE inherently relaxing.
Sorting laundry, sweeping the floor of my dorm, making flashcards are things that I personally find somewhat soothing due to their repetitive, predictable nature. Try to leave completing these things for times of greater stress.
10. Identify that one piece of clothing you feel and look great in.
Knowing that my Clark heels are sitting in my closet for the rough days when I struggle to believe in my own fabulousness is such a comfort.
11. Whatever you need.
At the end of the day, self-care is such a personal thing. You need to find the item, hobby, or ritual that's comforting for you personally for those times when the going gets tough.
SELF CARE IS NEVER A WASTE OF TIME BECAUSE YOU AREN'T A WASTE OF TIME. Good luck in your journeys of self-care, my fellow life travelers!
