How do you chill?
I do a whole lot of nothin’…
Ahh… The weather is cooling down, the leaves have changed colours, and more assignments are piling onto our desks… I smell midterms!
If you are like me and you are a full-time student with a part-time job, you struggle with putting time aside for yourself. With midterms coming up, your sanity is more important than ever. Yes, studying is essential at this time of year, but taking care of yourself should be a priority year-round.
Many people have different ways of unwinding. I try to do the generic activities that are supposed to relax you, like yoga or being with my dog. I try to spend some time with my tiny Maltese-Yorkie, Oliver, but Oliver sucks at cuddling. Every time I try to snuggle his hairy face, he growls So when that doesn’t work, I try yoga. I am not the most graceful person, so yoga is difficult for me. Not to mention that I can’t go through a whole yoga class without laughing hysterically.
When these options fail me, I make a trip to Whole Foods.
Whole Foods, right by Square One, is where I go to find my zen. I’m a “window shopper”. Something comes over me when I walk through those green sliding doors past the artistic chalk signs about “Cheese Night” and “Stuffing Recipes”. I always go alone so there is no one to judge me while I lose myself in all of the fun things. I find each trip extremely cathartic. Here, I let my inner child out. Some of my favourite things to do in Whole Foods are the following:
- Squeeze the avocados
- Taste test the Cajun shrimp (even though they are not samples)
- Stand by the assortment of fresh veggies and wait for the water mist that comes from above to go off
- Spend eight dollars on a pound of mac and cheese
- Smell the overpriced fair trade soap
- Look at the prices of fancy mayo and laugh
- Smell the difference between ylang-ylang shower gel and lavender shower gel
- Check out which rotisserie chicken looks the crispiest (then never buy one)
- See how much they charge for pressed spinach juice
No matter how strange the activity, give yourself time to chill out! Do something you genuinely enjoy so you are in a good place when it comes time to hit the books.
