Student Blog
Life Hacks

Self-care ⟩
September 19, 2012, by Kendra

Life Hacks School/Life Balance

As with many beginnings of a semester you start out fresh and excited, by week four you’re tired and looking for the finish line. I think that’s just the natural progression of being a student. We forget in the excitement to learn new things and see friends how much work goes in to making the grade. I’m in the mental health immersion right now and while the content is fascinating and inspiring, it’s also draining. By the end of each Thursday I have found myself mentally and physically exhausted. Because of the nature of the content our professor encourages us to perform some ‘self-care occupations’ to help us cope. It can be anything from working out, to visiting with your loved ones, or reading a good book, whatever it is that works for you. Lately my totally un-satisfying self-care routine has been to veg-out in front of the TV until bedtime.

So after feeling run down for two weeks I’ve decided to make a change. I am re-introducing some favorite occupations back into my life!

Let’s backtrack. Another thing that happens when you go into student mode is some/all of the things you had time for before get pushed aside for studying, napping, and studying some more. Sometimes when I come out of the fog of reading journal articles I try to remember what I used to do on a weeknight. I used to go to the movies, read plays, and cook. I love to cook. But lately the most cooking I’ve done is to turn on the oven in order to defrost a Trader Joe’s dinner. Where’s the self-care in that?

This week, instead of sitting home alone watching endless hours of television just to not think for awhile, I’ve given myself the assignment to cook at least three dinners from scratch. I’m two down, and both have not only left me feeling full with leftovers to spare, but the weight of the day is lifted when I busy myself with chopping onions, simmering a tomato sauce, or trying out a new recipe. I am so much more satisfied engaging in fulfilling, meaningful occupations than I am when I sit and watch 5 episodes of House Hunters International.

It’s hard to remember when we are busy and stressed to take care of ourselves, but giving yourself something to look forward to helps the stress melt away at the end of a long day and makes you better prepared for what tomorrow brings.

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Feeling like an Olympian ⟩
September 13, 2012, by Alisa

Classes Life Hacks School/Life Balance

This is Week 3 of classes already! Time is flying by so quickly. This week in my Health Promotion and Wellness class, we learned about the importance of having balance. We got to do a balance wheel of a typical weekday, and I realized that I do not have leisure activities during the weekday. So, after coming home from class, I set forth to do a new activity purely for myself. Since I live near the main campus, I have access to the track and decided to take a nice walk there instead of going to the gym. Instead of doing the elliptical like the usual, I craved a breath of fresh air and decided to start slow by walking/jogging on the track. I spent a total of an hour there, but it was very worth it in the end. I got to enjoy the cool breeze against my skin along with my workout music while getting to see students practice field hockey, doing lunges, and running. I enjoyed the atmosphere and simply being outside. Who knows I might enter in the Mud Run or Color Run the next time you see me? For a brief moment on the track, I felt like an Olympian.

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New Occupations ⟩
September 10, 2012, by Paula

Life Hacks Living in LA School/Life Balance

With the start of another new semester, I was concerned about missing out on the luxury of free time that I enjoyed during the two-week break between summer fieldwork and the start of classes. As a result, I have made a goal for myself to find one new, fun activity to enjoy each week so that I don’t get too comfortable or bored with my routine. First of all, so you know a bit more about me, I am a list person. When I feel stressed or busy, I make a list! You don’t want to know how many different lists I have floating around in different notebooks & sticky notes. It is how I maintain structure and balance regardless of my everyday chaos. 😊 Luckily I have been making a “bucket list” of sorts involving activities in Los Angeles that I have been meaning to get around to but always end up putting off, so I have many, many options of activities to choose from. Last week, I finally went to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery for a movie with some friends! For those of you who are unfamiliar with this location, movie screenings are regularly shown by projector in a grassy area of the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Viewers attend and picnic prior to the film’s showing. I found this experience to be enjoyable on so many levels! The abundant culture, energy, and the shared appreciation of a new experience in such a unique environment was felt throughout the evening. I highly recommend it to those who are looking for something new, or for those of you who have attended in the past but haven’t been back in a while.

I look forward to continuing to make new occupations and adventures a part of my week and finally crossing some of those items off of my list(s).

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Time Well Spent With Me Myself and I ⟩
April 16, 2012, by Floyd

Life Hacks School/Life Balance

I can only please one person a day, and today, I choose me.

Sometimes you just need time for yourself without any distractions of deadlines, projects, and assignments. And this weekend, I did just that . . . nothing! All weekend, I had the “Don’t bother me unless I am needed for surgery” mentality. It was awesome!!!

I got to sleep in, catch up on TV shows, read the first book of the Hunger Games trilogy, and ate ice cream. It feels great because I am refreshed and reenergized for the week to come. I know there will be a lot to do this week, but I don’t let it stress me because I know it will come and go in a flash. Hopefully I make the most of the last few weeks of school. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I am skipping along, while stopping to smell the roses. Gosh they smell good!

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Living Green ⟩
April 13, 2012, by Kimberly

Life Hacks

This week in my Lifestyle Redesign class we learned about the rejuvenating effects of nature on our health and well-being. We all know that it feels good to be in the outdoors, but it’s actually backed by science! Research has shown that hospital patients who are in a room with a window overlooking nature recover faster, have less pain, and complain less than patients with windows looking out into a wall or cityscape. Other studies show that living in areas with more trees affects satisfaction levels, stress levels, and quality of life. Even things like having a nature scene as your desktop background can affect your day to day mood. Interacting with pets has the same effect as interacting with nature as well. So next time you take a coffee break from work or find yourself overstimulated by all of our various communication tools, walk outside for 10 minutes. Will do you lots more good than you might have thought!

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