After a wonderful Saturday morning, I’ve been doing some reflecting and thinking about how important it is to find time to do things that make you happy. So no matter what it is, find time to do it.

The hustle of everyday life catches up to you, especially when you are fighting so hard to outrun it. The days filled with work, school, hectic social interactions, phone calls, deadlines, and meetings can be draining—we’ve accepted that is just part of life. So learning to balance work and play is something I want to master early on because I refuse to let my life be consumed by only chaos. With everything going on, I have been persistent on finding time to enjoy life and to live without having anything weighing on me, even if it’s only for a few hours.

I love going to the beach, practicing yoga, eating at little cafe's for breakfast, and hearing the waves crash on the shorelines. Those things are so simple, but they bring joy to my life and that’s why I’ve made time for those things in my weekly routine. Almost every Saturday morning, I wake up and gulp down my coffee and meet my mom for morning yoga on Fort Myers Beach. The peace I feel in that hour clears my mind from a wild week and puts me in the perfect mood to relax and enjoy the week to come. Following the yoga, we go to Times Square and eat outside at one of the little cafes for breakfast. Taking the time out of my busy schedule to focus on myself is vital for my own mental health because it’s an escape from reality and nothing else seems to matter. I think it’s super important to find what you love doing and make sure you put it in your schedule so you can have a breath of fresh air and enjoy too. Life is too short to always be consumed and too busy for what makes your heart happy.