I have been home for almost two months at this point in time. And, honestly, it has been wonderful. Due to the job I work during the summer (camp counselor), I do not live at home during the summer and, naturally, I live at school during the school year. So this is the first time since I moved to college in September 2016 that I have spent longer than two weeks at home. I knew that it would be rejuvenating, but it has been a (unknown) much-needed break after two and a half grueling years of constant work away from home.
Over the past two months I have worked on upping my self-care game (practice what you preach, y'all) and found that simple, tiny things that make me happy sometimes work better than spending an hour taking a bath and doing a face mask. Although, face masks and baths can definitely be a simple pleasure.
Anyways, I decided to document some of the things that I have begun to appreciate during my time at home as "tiny pleasures" that you might be able to implement yourself:
1. Spending time outside during the winter
In case you weren't aware, I live in Minnesota. And Minnesota is cold during the winter. So, naturally, it would seem nicer to stay inside and avoid frostbite and frozen eyelashes. But, I am helping coach the Rochester Nordic Ski Team to finish up my coaching minor and this has pretty much forced me to get outside. I am also walking a dog on the side to make a little extra cash money, and dogs tend to appreciate being walked outside. But little did I know, spending this time outside never fails to boost my mood--even little walks have the ability to change my day for the better!
2. Writing down 3 things every day that I appreciated
I call these my "3 good things" when I jot them down at the end of the day in my little notebook. I also write down three achievable things I can do the next day to make myself feel as though I am being productive.
3. Watching YouTube videos on random topics
I have gone down countless YouTube spirals these past two months. And most of the things I watch are pretty useless: Dance Moms secrets, influencers reacting to people's assumptions about them, bullet journal videos, and college acceptance videos. You name it, I've probably (at least) thought about clicking on it. And getting my mind off of various "adult" things that tend to weigh on my mind for a few minutes (okay, hours) is always a good thing.
4. Having a cup of Yogi tea
Santa gave me a box of Yogi Tangerine tea for Christmas and I quickly became obsessed. Those of you who know me well know I drink lots of coffee, but I do appreciate a good cup of tea. And Yogi tea never fails to do the trick (#nospon lol).
5. Writing letters to random people
I recently became a big fan of Reddit due to my lack of real structure in my free time (and time in general) and found a subreddit that focuses on exchanging postcards and cards with, pretty much, complete strangers. Naturally, stamps are not cheap, but the joy I get from sending and receiving cards makes up for it.
6. Journaling
Yes, I love to write. But keeping a journal has never been a strong suit of mine. I tended to give myself a goal of writing in it every day, but that's just not realistic, honestly. So this time around I am just writing when I feel like it and when I have time and it has been nothing but good stuff thus far!
