It's Sunday! - Self care when studying at university

Happy Sunday! Get ready for a rant!

I have had a hard week at university. I think I have had the same headache as well for this whole week. It is difficult when I'm at the university to care for myself and think about my well-being when every day I have a different deadline. However, I am in my second year now. So I have learnt some tips from struggling through my first year. Halls was not a good place for me. I thought it would be a good idea to go into student accommodation in the first year because I was in a new place and it felt comfortable to be around people in the same boat. Being put into halls is usually a great experience for people in their first year, it just didn't personally work for me. When I was in halls, I found taking care of myself even harder. I wasn't eating properly and I struggled to sleep properly a lot of the time because living on campus was always so loud. 

However, since I have been in the second year and I have been living with my best friend and boyfriend, I have figured out how to live more comfortably. 

The first thing I learnt was eating correctly. This is so so important. Your brain needs food to be able to work properly. Repeat after me, packaged sandwiches brought from Waitrose is not dinner.  You need a hot, homemade meal, it doesn't have to be a pro-chief meal but a bowl of pasta with a side of vegetables is so much better for you than a pizza delivered from Dominos. When I first started making a dinner for myself, vegetables was something I found so hard to add to my diet. I am definitely more of a fruit lover myself but eating your greens is so important. I always try to add a side of veggies to my dinner. For example, if I am doing a pasta bake (a common meal in my household), I will add pepper or peas to the mix and then put a side of frozen veggies alongside. 

Basically, just make sure you give yourself a set time to take care of what your body needs food-wise because your brain is so important to your academic journey.

Secondly, live with people you love. This is a little more tricky than just eating right because some people don't get a choice of who they live with. But if you can, choose people you KNOW are going to be nice to live with. Before I lived in my student house and I was in halls, I felt trapped in my tiny room as it was the only space that could be labelled 'mine'. Now I live with people I love, it's so much easier. The house is cleaner because there is not the problem of 'causing an argument when asking if someone can simply wash up. We are able to make a coherent rota for cleaning and cooking because we are friends and we KNOW we will stick to it. But above everything, it's cheaper. Food shopping and cooking together means you save so so much money. I can not stress what a difference it has made to my university experience knowing that when I get home, there is a supply of food in the fridge and my housemates will all be cooking the same thing. Sitting around a table with your friends, eating dinner at the end of a long day has made uni so much easier.

Thirdly, having an unproductive day is okay. Yes, you are paying £9000 a year and that is a lot of money and yes, you want a good grade. But working yourself hard every day is going to end in nothing but more stress. If you wake up one more and you still feel tired, go back to bed. If you attend every class and do every piece of work, it is okay to stay home and DO NOTHING. This is definitely not advisable for every day but you should not feel guilty for preventing a week long headache and just taking a break. 

Next, make times for friends. Friends are so so important. New flash: Secondary school DOES NOT MATTER. The people who are in your life matter so much more. I met three of my best friends in secondary school and they are beautiful strong ladies,  I love them to pieces. I see them regularly and when I go home I make time to see them. But the people you meet at university and especially on your course will understand what you are going through so much better than anybody else.

Finally, produce things you are proud of. If you are not happy with your course, change it. If you aren't happy with what your writing, stop doing it, speak to someone. You have the right to be 100% enjoying every single thing you produce. You should adore working on your all projects, you should get excited to go to class and learn. This is your journey and it matters how you feel along the way. You don't want to look back in 10 years, unimpressed with yourself and thinking that you put yourself in debt for no reason. My favourite quote ever (and get ready for some cringe) is 'you are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress simultaneously' (Sophia Bush). I think this is so true regarding your university experience. You should love your work but you should be able to always see how you could improve.

Please try and be happy with your university journey.