Sips Tea: Advice You Need To Hear Right Now

 

For starters, I know I have been slacking. But sometimes I have to get my ducks in a row and my life more in order before I could even begin to put my thoughts down into Microsoft Word. I feel like the one constant in my life right now is the stress of figuring out what exactly it is I want to do with the “real life” that we are so often told starts after we get our diplomas and graduate. But the funny thing is that “real life” is happening right now, all around us, even right now as you read this.

I know all too well how often life can seem to pass you by — it wasn’t until I actually had an assignment for one of my occupational therapy classes to track my daily activities, which entailed the documentation ofevery hour, even the ones spent mindlessly watching Buzzfeed Tasty videos. (You know we all do it.) After reflecting on the assignment and life in general as I so often tend to, I found myself thinking of all the things I would have done differently with my time. So for this week’s article I decided to give a few of of the takeaways I got from doing the assignment to anyone who may find themselves reading this in hopes that we’ll all find a way to live our best lives throughout the day.

Don’t worry about the pimple!

Literally everyone gets them. We are all human and yes, sometimes they may come at the most inopportune times, but rejoice in the fact that this too shall pass. In fact, I have one right now so we are all in this together (queue High School Musical song) also, since I keep it real with you guys… Nobody cares! It ain’t that serious boo boo.

Do The Dang Thang

If you’re anything like me you are constantly buying the latest self-help, meditation, key to wellness book in order to fool yourself into thinking you have any more control over your life than you may or may not actually have. Yet they all seem to collect dust on a bookshelf rather than be read. So rather than scrolling for another hour, read even just one chapter a day in that new book you’ve been eyeing on that dusty bookshelf of yours. It may not be reading a book for you…but that thang that thang (OK Lauryn Hill come thru I see you), do it!

Treat yourself

It goes without saying at this point that we all live extremely fast-paced lives and often don’t take the due diligence necessary in caring for ourselves or our interests. Stop it, girl! You deserve that sheet mask, that extra scoop of ice cream, or that “one more episode on Netflix.” As a girl we put way too much pressure on ourselves to look better, feel better and do better in all areas of life. Honey, that is no way to live. It’s OK to not have it all together. And if you don’t you still deserve to reward yourself for merely existing, you queen (or king for my male readers).

Let me repeat myself again — this is your real life. Real life is not something that only begins once school ends but is what you get a chance to participant in and create every day. Whether that means sleeping in past noon, finally creating a work out routine or crossing things off your bucket list you had reserved for that always elusive “when you have time” time in your schedule. Give yourself permission to stop being the hamster on the running wheel and enjoy yourself for once.

The homie Drake said it best, “’Cause everybody dies, but not everybody lives”

Can I get an amen?

Samantha Johnson is a senior majoring in communication. Her column, Sips Tea, runs every other week on Friday.