By Grace Wang
STAFF WRITER
As the third term comes to a close, it’s important to continue self-loving. During this tumultuous time of the year, everyone’s enduring through the most difficult portions of their classes. Right in the thick of all this classwork, remember: love yourself.
Personal Fitness teacher Meredith Emery is a particularly avid advocate for self-care. During her classes, she often encourages everyone to practice self-care. “Andrew Huberman is my go-to guy…[I] absolutely love his philosophy.”
“Take care of yourself and take care of others,” says Emery. “Daily investment in the 6 pillars is the way: morning sunlight, daily movement, quality nutrition, stress control, healthy relationships, deep sleep. Re-up every 24 hrs so you can contribute and support others consistently too.”
So, what is self-care? The World Health Organization defines self-care as “the ability of individuals, families, and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and cope with illness and disability.” Essentially, self-care is taking care of yourself physically and mentally. Hygiene, nutrition, and seeking medical care when needed is crucial. Most importantly though, we mustn’t neglect our mental health. It’s important to love yourself. Be happy. Do things you love.
At AHS people channel their self-love through activities that bring them gargantuan joy. Some people like to focus on physical activities.
Senior Tamar Kojokaru says, “Sometimes I color.” According to the Mayo Clinic Health System, “coloring is a healthy way to relieve stress. It calms the brain and helps your body relax. This can improve sleep and fatigue while decreasing body aches, heart rate, respiration, and feelings of depression and anxiety.” Wow, how relaxing!
Another Senior, Shambhavi Jayakumar, states, “I read.” Reading reduces stress. Studies have shown reading helps reduce stress, likely because it requires concentration and focus. What an academic weapon!
“I listen to music while baking,” adds Junior Micaela O’Connor.
“I like to hangout with people. I like getting outside of the house, and I bake,” summarizes Senior Enrico Panzica.
Meanwhile, others emphasize focusing on themselves and keeping themselves busy with an interest.
Senior Mallaury CarbelZekpa chirps, “I bought so much skincare for myself. I have a 7-step skincare routine.” Delving into the expansive world of skincare is another great adventure one can take in pursuit of joy. With all the brands on the market from all over the world, it’s hard to run out of things to look at. It’s something lighthearted that could give someone an escape from the stressors of school and daily life. Along the same thought process, shopping online is something many teenagers derive joy from. Although it’s not what you think of for a typical hobby, shopping is something many teenagers derive joy from. And that’s great! It might not be making the healthiest impact to your bank account, but it’s something fun.
Senior Emily Packer “[likes] to keep a very organized space because when [she] feels that [her] life is in order, [she’s] happy.”
“If students are struggling to find ways to reduce stress, they can definitely talk to their guidance counselor or health teacher,” says AHS Guidance Counselor Kimberly Bergey. “Maybe go out with a friend outside to get that fresh air and get that vitamin D from the sun. Exercise is always a natural endorphin.”
Amongst these varieties of activities, there is one thing that seems to be the key to happiness. The process of investing time and energy into something you love is important for everyone’s mental, physical, and spiritual health.
Ultimately, Bergey concludes, “it’s really easy to get very caught up…with our schoolwork, our friends, our family, and our extracurricular activities. Sometimes, it piles up so much that we forget we need to stop, breathe, take a break, and take care of ourselves.” Most importantly, “the more we take care of ourselves, the better we’ll be able to perform in all our other responsibilities.” She herself goes to Zumba and watches Modern Family in her free time.
