A Date With Myself – Not As Strange As It Sounds:

I went on a Saturday morning, took a beautiful drive to Daytona while blasting some of my favorite songs, went to the record store, and got myself one album I wanted, then I ended the date at the mall where I walked around with the Starbucks drink I treated myself to. I had such a great time. To my surprise, it didn’t feel silly at all; it felt so nice just to take myself out and do things I enjoy, simply because I wanted to and I could. I did not have to worry about scheduling with someone, whether or not they wanted to do what I wanted or if they were having a good time. I could just enjoy some quiet time and reflect on my week while having some fun.

Students, especially those at Stetson, spend so much time grinding day-to-day that self-care gets put on the back burner. But eventually, it catches up to you. It’s just not sustainable. It can be really easy to overlook, but routine acts of intentional self love can make a world of difference to your mental health. For me, that means the occasional date with myself where I can take a breather and ground myself with some of my favorite things, but maybe for you it might be a regular workout, or crocheting something warm while listening to an audio book, or baking something sweet. Whatever your “treatyo-self” moment is, I implore you to regularly make time to do that. No investment in your well being could ever be wasted time, so be kind to yourself.