By: Kelly Baker
When entering college in 2021, I decided to take my studies four hours away from home to the University of Cincinnati. With this transition came dorm life, which as you may know, can be very chaotic and fatiguing for those of us who value alone time. I would like to share with you some of the self-care habits I have adapted that have been helpful for me throughout college, even when living in the dorms.
Movement:
While college students spend lots of time walking to and from class, I have found it important to incorporate movement into my life in other ways. One of the ways I like to get moving is through reconnecting with an activity I used to do and enjoy a lot in the past. For me, this specific activity is dance, which is something I practiced since my childhood. By incorporating this type of movement into my life, I have been able to be active in a way that I find fun. I like to alternate between solo activity and group activity. When it comes to dancing, I can either have a dance party in the car or my room or sign up for a local dance class and try something new. I must think of what my mood is on any day and cater the type of activity to that. When incorporating movement into my life, I can get my mind off of present problems and increase endorphins. This has been very beneficial throughout my time as a student.
Journaling:
While some college classes can have a heavy writing course load, I have found it important to incorporate writing, specifically journaling, into my life daily and weekly. Journaling helps me to organize my day and my thoughts about it. By doing this, I can take a step back and evaluate how I am feeling emotionally. Writing things down, whether it be a positive or negative thing I am experiencing, is a way to declutter my brain, which can be very beneficial if you are a student like myself. I tend to ask myself questions like “How did my day go overall?”, “Was there anything that threw me off?”, and “What can I do in the future to make sure my days include something I enjoy?”. Questions like these can guide you and make journaling easier overall.
Time with Friends:
Because I do not have any family in the Cincinnati area, it has been beneficial to my mental health to find a group of supportive friends with whom to spend my free time. Having a good group of friends gives you a vessel to laugh, vent, and destress. Finding friends in college can be easy and hard at the same time. I recommend looking in places where you can find people with shared interests like a class, club, or sport. Things my friends and I like to do together include studying, watching movies, or going to the zoo/aquarium. Having people to lean on has been very beneficial to my mental health throughout college.
Conclusion:
Taking care of yourself and your mental health is one of the most important things you can do, especially if you have a heavy course/workload through school or a job. Finding things you enjoy doing, and maybe even doing them with people you love, is the key here. These are some ideas of things I like to do to keep my mental health on track.
