Last night after work, I went to City Market and picked up a block of my favorite cheese. It cost me $10, plus an extra $5 for the crackers I wanted to go with it. So, why would I—a broke college kid—drop 10 bucks on cheese? The answer is simple: because taking time to take care of yourself is important.
Ultimately, this isn't about a $10 block of cheese. It's not me convincing you that you should spend money on expensive food that you cannot afford. For me, some good cheese is a way of spoiling myself, just like taking a bath with my favorite Lush bath bomb. Spoiling yourself every once and a while is so important. You don't need to spend money to spoil yourself either. Going hiking, spending a day outside, taking time to read your favorite book (which better be "Harry Potter" or we can't be friends) are all ways of taking time to care for yourself.
As a college kid, life can get stressful. I work Monday through Friday at a job I don't particularly enjoy, and I go to school full-time during the academic year. In the summers I work to save more money, and the cycle continues. Sometimes I feel like I am on the verge of a mental breakdown with tests and projects piling up and no time on week nights to get them done, or that I am not making enough money. In the midst of this craziness, taking an hour for myself helps keep me sane. It reminds me of my worth and allows me to relax. Sometimes I go hang up my hammock in the park and take a nap. Last night I had expensive cheese.
No matter what you choose to do, spoil yourself every once and a while. Why? Because you are worth it. You are worth more than test grades, or work life or what other people think of you. It's your job to supply your own happiness but that won't happen unless you do something that makes you happy (what a concept!). You'll find that when you start carving out time weekly to take care of yourself, you'll feel more confident, you'll be less stressed, and you'll find more fulfillment, even in situations you don't always enjoy.
Life is stressful, even in the summer, and it's important to remember that you are worth taking care of. You are worth spending some money or taking some time to make sure you feel good. You deserve to spend a day doing exactly what you want to do for a change. Take a day off and binge watch Netflix or take a hike. Do whatever you want to relax. I promise you will feel so much better afterwards.
So when life becomes crazy, and you're not quite sure how to cope, remember that you are allowed to take sometime to love on your self and that's perfectly OK.
