As hard as it is, we all need to make time for us.
Time? For yourself? What a concept. As someone who operates under a “go go go” mentality, taking time for myself has never been something I’ve really invested in. Why set aside time for yourself when you could be studying, or going out for drinks with friends, or leading every organization on campus? Why take time for yourself when you can give yourself fully to others, stretching yourself in every possible direction until you spontaneously combust? Oh right, that’s why.
Throughout college, I’ve learned the importance of taking time for myself. As someone who operates via a wonderfully organized planner and Google calendar, I schedule and have always scheduled my days from sunup to sundown. The only difference between freshman and senior year? Today you’ll find a yellow portion in my calendar entitled “me time.”
“Me time” is what I call the portion of my day where I focus on nothing but myself. Whether that be cleaning my room, reading by the water, designing my planner for the next week, indulging in chocolate, or simply binge-watching “The Bold Type” on HULU, I find time for myself. Daily. I have to be honest with you, it’s been such a positive shift in my life, and I’m so thankful that my type A personality finally allowed me to realize the importance of relaxation and personal time.
As someone who moves at the speed of light and gets bored by the idea of free time, integrating this into my schedule took a little convincing. Both my mom and advisor had to tell me many of times the importance of slowing down, appreciating yourself, and appreciating the things you’ve done for you. While it sounds a bit cheesy, I thought of it in a different way. Do me a favor - think of your friend, your best friend. Think about the last time you were there for them during a difficult time. What’d you tell them? Now think about the last time that you dealt with a difficult time. What’d you tell yourself?
Those two scenarios were probably a bit different right. Somebody tell me, why is taking your own advice so damn hard? When I give my friends advice, I’m always telling them to take time for themselves, do what they need to do to feel better. When talking to my mom about this, it dawned on me - why don’t I give myself a chance to feel better everyday? Why is it okay to tell my friends to take time for themselves when they need to, but it seems like a chore to me? Someone once told me that being your own best friend is so unbelievably important, and I’m starting to believe that.
And being my own best friend is letting myself watch that extra episode, spending 20 minutes cleaning my room, or indulging in Halo Top (again). Being my own best friend is realizing that I need to take the time to do things that make me feel happy, that make me feel healthy, that make me feel good.
As college is coming to an abrupt end, I’ve struggled a bit with taking time for myself. One more night out, one more dinner with friends, one more walk to Blank Slate - they all sound great in theory but are far too overwhelming for me. And, I’ve been struggling. I’ve been struggling again to find that balance between being there for others and being there for myself. I’ve been struggling with FOMO and the regret I instantly feel when I don’t take an hour to just be by myself. I keep reminding myself, however, that I need to come first sometimes and that’s okay.
As I go into the real world, I want to take that with me. My big girl job isn’t going to be easy. Seeing my friends isn’t going to be easy. To be quite honest, I’m scared. I’m scared my health, both physically and mentally, is going to regress. I’m scared to end up back where I once was. I’m hoping though, that if I focus on being my own best friend sometimes, I’ll get through it. I’ll let you know if it works!