Hi everyone! How are you? Another weekend, another blog post! 🥰 I hope you’re doing well. Today I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone but please don’t let that lead you to believe any actual birds were harmed during the making of this post 😉🤣. I recently mentioned I had started something new and that I was afraid to bring it up incase I jinxed it, well instead of waiting I thought I’d just go ahead and say what it is as it has been all-consuming lately to the point where there are times when I need to talk about it.
Around 3 weeks ago, I started college!! I’m studying a business degree at honours level and to say my mind has been all over the place is an understatement! I will save the major detail for another day but just know that the last time I got into this college for a degree was 10 years ago and I had to end it because of my health. Now, I feel ready but recently (as can be expected from the huge change in routine) I have been feeling overwhelmed.
This new journey has opened my eyes a lot and I can’t wait to share more with you about it! For now, this recent blogging prompt got me thinking…
How do you make time for self-care?
My sister said something to me the other day when I felt stressed. I had been in need of a pep talk as my mind isn’t used to my current situation. She told me that I need to be operating on a level of calm so that when stress gets added on, I can handle it better. This is in contrast to feeling stressed and then adding on more stress. In other words, I need to do things for me, that I enjoy and not pile on extra worries in the lead up to classes. This means not going into doing work with a head full of worries, but with a mind better prepared because it has been focusing on things that calm me.
These words hit home as it put into perspective what a body can and cannot handle. Since that moment, I have been actively incorporating moments of self care into my days and making time for the things I love to do again. I treated myself to one of those line tracing books where the art is already coloured in and you just draw the outline. It’s a Halloween themed one and I can’t wait for it to arrive!
You guys know me, I love to cook and even though most days I can’t now, I still have time to use my rice cooker for a healthy lunch and it might sound silly but I love doing it! 🫣🤣 Just the simple act of cleaning the rice, measuring out chicken broth and adding in my choice of beans for the day really grounds me (I heard pinto beans and black beans are the best for rice and that they have heaps of protein so they are what I use most!).
I’m in constant study mode and it’s hard to switch that off so I have been timing myself whilst I study a lot of the time which I hate as once I’m in the thick of doing something and finally understand it, I don’t want to have to stop 😂 but it’s for the best so I don’t go mad. I don’t want my mind to crack like it did when I had the breakdown a few years ago, so I’m trying my best to tread wisely whilst in the process of following my dreams.
I often have to mentally pinch myself when I realise I’m a college student – it’s something I’ve always wanted as my mind needs to be learning. It’s that thing again where I won’t say where I hope it will take me as I don’t want to jinx it and I stand firmly on that but it will all come to the light one day. Until then? I’ll study, try my best and take you along with me! 💕
So, the cat is out of the bag! (…gosh, not another animal being harmed in the process of making this post 😬🤣). Have you guys got any tips for not letting studying take over? 🙏 I feel like I need to constantly remind myself not to overdo it and also remind myself what the things I enjoy doing are. I don’t want to lose myself. I also don’t want this to go downhill and affect my chronic pain. I’m taking advantage of any help I can get: exam extensions, the fact that this is a blended, part time degree and of course, I’m gonna take on any tips you have! 😁
I’ve gotta go now but letting this out felt so good! (I trauma-dump on you and then run away 🤣). Let this be the beginning of something beautiful 😍 which feels incomprehensible as right this second my laptop won’t come on 😑.
I’ll see you again next Saturday! Until then, I hope you are able to implement some self-care into your life too! 🫶🏽 take care, stay safe and buh-bye 🥲✨️💗.
