Advice From an (Almost) Adult: Indulging in Me Time

It might sound silly, but happiness is an art. One that requires much nurturing, a whole lot of patience and dedication, and plenty of communication. While this is a blog that revolves around the themes of a sustainable life and fashion, happiness is an intricate part of living a successful, sustainable life! Happiness starts with you, and if you aren’t happy there’s no way you’ll be able to achieve any of your other big time goals. Some say charity starts at home. I say happiness does. My first rule for being happy is an essential – take me time.

Especially living the constantly bustling lifestyle of a New Yorker, I understand the pressure of working hard, meeting deadlines, and somehow managing to hold on to an ounce of a social life. But it’s crucial to my health to take me time. I never understood how others could simply dedicate an hour a day to themselves when they could be working, (or in my case filling out college applications), but I’ve come to the conclusion after facing some serious obstacles in the last few months that taking me time isn’t just important, its essential to both my health and my happiness.

Me time can be anything as long as it’s for you and not for anyone else. I love to spin; to be honest I’m a Soul Cycle addict. I attend class about two to three times a week really early in the morning. I love getting out of the house before everyone else is awake and making it home early enough that I feel like I have a whole day in front of me. I also make sure that I never skimp on taking care of my skin. I know friends who sleep with makeup on all the time or who haven’t seen their face wash in weeks, but I only sleep well if I’ve scrubbed and moisturized every night. It’s both healthy for me and time I set aside to pamper myself. However you choose to spend your me time make it count, (for yourself of course!).

Since this is my senior year I couldn’t think of a better way of kicking it off than by introducing a new column. I’ve had this idea stirring for quite sometime, but I never knew if, having neither the degree nor the adult insight, whether my advice would be worthy. But, instead of letting the ‘what ifs’ get to me, I’m going ahead and blogging. This is a place where I want to document, comment, and chat. A little haven where I can note the things I’ve learned in my eighteen years, hear from those who have lived much longer, and hopefully spread some happiness. This, in short, is my guide on how I’ve managed to dig myself out of the dump, dust myself off, and learn to be happy.

Check back next week for rule number two! And please, leave a comment below. What makes YOU happy?