Hey, you. You did it! The blood, sweat, and tears is over. Your papers and projects are handed in and you have taken all of your finals. All of those hours of maximum overdrive anxiety, cramming, and excess caffeine are over. You're free. You're SO glad you're done. You spend the next couple of days catching up on those much needed ZZZs and Netflix binges, but now what?
It's nice to be an unproductive couch potato for a little bit, but we should use this free time to better ourselves and do the things we say "we don't have enough time for" during the academic semester.
Here are some productive things that we can do instead of sitting in our rooms refreshing SOLAR to see if our grades are finally posted.
1. Clean your room.
And by clean, I don't just mean dust. I mean TAKE THAT ROOM APART. Throw away or donate things that are just taking up space and have no value to you anymore! I get it, I let my work space get messy, but now that you have time, make your room SPOTLESS! Not only are you de-cluttering your space, you're de-cluttering your mind! Not to add that it's a pretty decent workout.
2. Pick up a hobby.
When I tore apart my closet, I found a whole bunch of crap that led me down memory lane. My notebooks from high school, old pictures, and a stuffed animal were just some of the ancient artifacts found deep inside the Narnia in which is my closet. I also found some jewels - my flute from middle school band and my tennis racket from that time I tried out for the tennis team my freshman year of high school. I thought to myself, how about taking up these hobbies again? Time to polish off the ol' flute and start playing tennis again for fun? I think so.
3. Do some odds-and-ends work.
Whether or not you have a job, there is always some supplemental, easy money that you can make! One easy way is to recycle your cans and bottles, and get paid for it! You'll not only make some cash, but you'll help the environment a little. You can do this anywhere, like at your local Stop and Shop.
4. Take a walk.
It can be long, it can be short, it can be challenging, it can be leisurely. Just go outside, bring some water, blast some music, and GO! You will feel amazing afterwards.
5. Get a massage.
You worked your butt off this semester and you deserve to treat yo' self. Invest in a professional massage and let all of your thoughts melt away as you sink into another realm. If you're not a massage fan, treat yourself to a manicure, pedicure, or haircut - sometimes we just need some healthy human touch.
6. Read a book.
Believe it or not, there are these things called "books," and they still exist. You can even read them for fun! Turn your Netflix off for a hot second and take a trip to your local library or bookstore and get lost in the aisles upon aisles of books. You can't bring Netflix to the beach, but you can sure bring one of these!
(PS: I totes recommend Water For Elephants.)
