By Maggie Dempewolf
I believe that it is very important to have self-care and to let yourself feel whatever it is that you are feeling. We should all try to be nicer to ourselves and make sure that we always carve out some time for ourselves. I can be very hard in our daily lives to do this because we are always so busy with other people and other tasks. I most of the time find that I typically put myself last in life and don’t take enough time to recharge my body and mind when I need it. Taking time for ourselves helps us set healthy boundaries and put ourselves and our emotions first.
Our emotional states can become very hindered when we don’t take time for ourselves and put too much stress from everything else on ourselves. Whenever you take time for yourself, make sure to let yourself feel whatever it is you need to feel. Need to dance around your room because you are so happy? Go for it! Need to cry because you got your heart ripped out? Go for it! Do you need to just sleep because you are just so tired? Go for it! The point is, don’t bottle everything up. Instead, take time to let yourself do whatever it is you need it do.
After I have let myself feel all the emotions that I need to feel, I typically like to do all the things that make me happy or make me feel calm. As for me, I will usuallly read a good book, or I might go and take a long hot shower to relax. The amount of time that you take for yourself and what you do to take care of yourself is completely up to you. It may be just for an hour, or it could be taking the entire day off. Either way, take that time, or don’t think about anyone else but yourself. I find that I like to have a lot of my self care days on days where I know that I can take the whole day off and not have to worry about bothering anybody. I also find that I like to take my self care days on days where it is rainy. This is because you have an excuse to stay in and also just because I like rainy days and the comfort that they bring me. I also find that it helps to not set any expectations on those days. Don’t worry about being up at a certain time or worry about getting certain things done, just do what will make you the most comfortable.
I like to start my self care days slowly. If I really feel like I want to get up early and start my day early then I will, but most of the time I will sleep in. I also find that it helps to eliminate distracting things. I will typically turn my phone off and not use it at all during the day or I will just not use it until later in the day. I much rather like to start the day with a good book or other quiet activity. I then will put on an outfit that I am comfortable in, and sometimes that just means staying it my pjs. On my self care days, I also like eating my favorite food to help me recharge. I even make sure to go to bed early these days because sleep is a very important part of taking care of yourself.
On that note, make sure to take care of yourself and don’t ever feel bad about putting yourself first. Let yourself feel whatever it is that you need to feel. I believe that we can all become better humans if we make sure to carve out a little time for ourselves here and there.
Maggie Dempewolf is a student at Fillmore Central High School. She is one of 17 area students participating in the Journal Writing Project, now in its 24th year.
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