Self-Care for my granola soul

This summer, I am living at home, between graduating in May and moving to Philadelphia in August, and if I am being honest, having free time is hard for me. Don’t get me wrong, after finishing college in three years and working since my sophomore year in high school, I am grateful for this break.

But after 21 years on this earth, I still struggle with unstructured time and “sabbath”. Jokingly, I attribute this to being type A and a scorpio, but I think society has drilled into us that if you are not working, socializing, or furthering your career in some way, you are wasting time. In college I became accustomed to using newly discovered free time to try and apply to yet another internship, or volunteer with a club, try to study (never happened), or commit myself to another responsibility. Somehow, I was able to successfully evade free time, so I would not have to learn to deal with myself on my own.

Sounds weird, huh? You would think that by this age, I am comfortable spending extended time by myself, but I struggle with it. This summer, I am patient zero, as I have no formal job until August, little friends in the area, no more schoolwork on the horizon, and living in yeehaw Stokesdale. Yet, over the past month, I’ve developed strategies on how to entertain myself, grow into myself, and learn to love myself.

Here are a couple tips from yours truly.

1. Rest is not exclusively passive. I’ve joined a gym and those 2 hours (hopefully) each day allow myself to focus on working out, not think about the world, and sweat my pores out for better skin (fingers crossed).

2. Set to-dos or goals for each day. I love lists and being able to cross off accomplishments. Even if it is walking the dog or doing laundry, every task you accomplish is needed for upkeep or your mental satisfaction.

3. Rediscover your childhood passions. Since high school and college, I find it really hard to pick up a book and sit down and read. This summer, I’ve made a book list and try to read at least one book a week.

4. Cooking! What is better than being in the kitchen with all those spices and aromas, steam rising around you, and the increasing smell of those brownies in the oven (treat yo-self right?)

5. Naps. In college, these were a necessity and typically lasted up to twenty minutes in between classes and study sessions, but since I have plenty of time, there is nothing wrong with a nice afternoon nap.

6. The catharsis of writing/journaling. At me, but to all the scorpios out there, we like to hide emotions behind mental barricades, unable to speak unto our existence our feelings and frustrations. Instead, write out what you can’t speak, this often can help process traumatic or difficult memories and emotions.

7. Embrace yourself and your oddities. Our culture loves to label, and as a ~millennial~, I hate being labeled. Cast aside the assumptions, and do what you want to do, what your mind is curious about and what your body craves (yes I am looking at you sour patch kids). We are beautifully created and we should lift up how unique we all are.

So here you have it. My life is a work in progress, and it always will. I like to picture my life, as you guessed, on a hike. I am on the trail, and in the far distance, I can see the setting sun nestled in the rosé clouds. There are many valleys and summits, full of shadows and dappled with sunlight. The journey is long and a significant portion, I may be myself. So, I might as well get to know and love myself, so I can enjoy time with others and self.

I hope this advice helps, or even if you got nothing out of this, the true purpose of this entire blog is for my continued mental sanity.

As always,

He Climbs Mountains.