There are days when all seems right in the world. These are days when everything fits right into place like a jigsaw puzzle, hugging the edges like you’re afraid to let go. But many times, life does you a number and quits. Some days life gives up on trying, and makes it so you feel as if you can’t even leave your room. These blues can strike you anywhere, so beware! Don’t be caught unsuspecting. Accept the help that I can offer you from my limited interaction with college blues and homesickness.
Here are a few things you can start with doing to feel a little bit better than you already do. No, I make no promises, but I do say this with absolute certainty, that these tips and tricks will put you in a refreshing mindset and push the thoughts of extreme rage and violence right out of the door.
Meet up with your friends:
Your friends will always know what to do to make you feel better. Their friendly intuition is all you need to make you see life from another perspective. Sometimes you may feel as if you don’t have friends, or that your friends are not there for you. At such times, go out and make a connection. Make a friend. Strike up a conversation with someone you are acquaintances with and get to know them better. Often, a new perspective helps you come out of a slump. And besides, getting to know a completely new human being can be a lot of fun.
Cook a recipe:
Cooking can be viewed in two ways. Either it can be an exercise undertaken in vain. The end of which is unsatisfying and so very unfinished, or it can be cathartic. It can show you the true meaning of letting go of all control and following an instruction to the last word. The catharsis lies in the washing, the kneading, the chopping, the spreading. The end product can turn out to be a masterpiece that you can learn to love yourself for.
Prep (and actually go through) a self care routine:
Do you know what self care feels like? It’s that feeling you get at the end of a long day, when you get back to your room and you have nothing to do. So do those things you have been putting off. Relax. Breathe.
Plug in your phone and blast your favourite tunes. Dip your feet in a warm water and salt soak. Put on a face mask. And no, your fragile masculinity will not be affected if you choose to care for your own self before anything else. So take those long showers, exfoliate, moisturize, and remember to set alarms to drink a few glasses of water in the meanwhile.
Keep a journal:
Keeping a journal may seem like something straight out of an episode of Lizzie McGuire, but it can do wonders for your mental health. It is an incentive to watch your mental state and put down in words how you actually feel. Reading your journal over again will later show you the kind of mental and emotional growth you have gone through, and if you haven’t gone through a lot of personal growth, you have at least survived it all, and that’s what counts the most.
Ask for help when you need it:
The most helpful tip I have ever received in my life is that you must know when to ask for help. It can be anything, from something small like asking someone to accompany you to the places you need to go to, or for someone’s emotional support. Its really important to be comfortable enough in your own skin to be able to realize and acknowledge that the water is going over your head, and you need someone to help you.
Believe in yourself. You’ve been on the planet for a number of years, and nothing and nobody has the power to change the way that you shine. Your individuality is valid. Your existence is valid. You are wonderful and beautiful and you can change the world.
If you need any more tips and tricks to help you out of your blues, make your way to S29, Single Wing, Girl’s Hostel. And for those of you who can’t, contact the agony aunt you love to love, me!
With heartfelt love and care,
Ahat Sharma
Fifth Year
