Prepping for My Semester
“January looks forward to the New Year and back to the old year. He sees past and future.”
Happy January my lovely readers! I hope you had a beautiful holiday season and found little moments of joy and peace during the last days of our eventful year. Like so many others, I felt like I began this month with bated breath, crossed fingers, and reserved hopes for the new year. For me, 2021 brings with it my last semester of college, entry into the workforce, and truly adulting for the first time. It has also given me the inspiration to pull some plans together for how I would like to approach my spring semester (conducted completely over Zoom). Even though I am taking one extremely fun Yoga class, I’m also balancing three reading and writing heavy courses that will be demanding a lot of my energy and time. So, readers, if you’re experiencing something similar in your lives, here’s your sign to direct whatever energy you have left towards making things a little easier! Check out how I’m preparing for my last semester of college bellow :)
Class Schedules / Etc.
For the past four years, I have done my absolute best to organize my academic schedule in a way that allows me to be my best self (but not always my most productive self). Since my past two semesters have been spent in front of a computer screen, I’ve found it hard to create a schedule that works for me and stick to it as my circumstances, along with everything else in the world, continue to change. So, this year, I took extra care to allow ample space for midday study sessions, extracurricular meetings, and spontaneous nap times in my weekday schedule. Rather than having my four 1.5 hour long classes back to back, I opted for a schedule with early morning and late afternoon classes with long breaks in-between.
Additionally, because my first classes begin at 10 am every weekday, I have begun to get up at the same time every day (including weekends). My first alarm clock goes off at 7:30 am. Because I find it especially hard to get up, I tend to allow myself 30 minutes of scrolling through social media and checking emails before officially beginning my day at 8:00 am. With the exception of one late night Journalism class on Thursday nights, the rest of my weekdays end at 6:00 pm. I have begun to especially look forward to waking up even earlier over the weekends just as the sun is peeking up behind the huge evergreen trees in front of the house. If you would like to read more about my morning routine, check out this one here, or be sure to check back in a week for an updated one!
Tying Up Loose Ends
Lately, I’ve been doing my best to embrace the new year rather than reminiscing on the disaster that was 2020. Anything that I left unfinished in the last couple of days of December, I’ve made an effort to finish and move beyond with greater discernment. The first week of this year was spent making phone calls, reigniting the relationships I allowed to grow stale, and reevaluating the post-graduation plans that just a year ago, felt so simple and “doable.” I can’t even begin to describe the many ways in which I’ve had to start from scratch. Relocating to Seattle from Los Angeles didn’t feel permanent until I saw an empty apartment and a medium-sized storage unit filled to the brim with my furniture and clothes. They’re just sitting there, collecting dust and waiting for my next major move.
Over the past couple of months, a lot of my free time has gone towards blending Los Angles Maya with Seattle Maya. One of the main ways I have done this is by deciding who and what I would like to take into my next stage of life after graduating. If the Pandemic has taught me anything, it’s that life can change quickly and without warning. As I step into 2021, I hope to continue developing the relationships I have been blessed with during my time in Los Angeles while taking the time to plan for my future. Rather than jotting down a list of New Year’s resolutions as I’ve done every year in the past, I’ve decided to take things one day at a time (while giving myself some room to dream). Learning to roll with the punches and allow yourself some flexibility in your plans can make a difference in the way you see yourself and your potential! Allow yourself to change with the times.
Weekly Meal Planning
This one has been tricky because even at the beginning of last year when all felt normal and right in my world (with the exception of a stubborn month-long cough) I didn’t spend much time thinking about eating for energy as well as enjoyment. My Saturday mornings were spent shopping for fresh fruits, baked goods, and sweet treats with very little thought as to how they would serve my best interest beyond the momentary satisfaction of the tastebuds. Living with my parents once again has reminded me of just how important thinking about what you put into your body is for your wellbeing! While I admittedly splurge on fast foods and quick snacking every now and then, I feel the best about myself when I’m eating healthy and have some sort of plan in place to make sure I keep doing it and for the right reasons.
So, my weekly meal planning goes a little like this: I eat five times during a normal weekday (breakfast, lunch, and dinner with three snacks). I’m also doing my absolute best to go into this year with a much healthier diet and without reliance on takeout. When I was living alone, I used to pick something quick up on my way to and from school to each during the day. I had a lot of yummy meals but didn’t pay enough attention to what I was actually putting in my body. While I have a very high metabolism (thank you genes) and didn’t think much about how a healthy diet could lead to a healthy lifestyle. Look for a post on my favorite meals if you’re looking for inspiration for your weekly meal planning! And if you’re like me a year ago and don’t meal plan, consider giving it a try.
Self Care / Social Days
This is a big one. As school begins to ramp up, I’ve noticed that less time is spent taking care of my appearance and my health. Over winter break, I ended almost every day in the tub with a cup of tea, an episode of Gossip Girl, and way too many bubbles. Since I’ve been back in school, I’ve relied on speedy showers and skincare to carry me through my work-filled days. Beginning this weekend, I’ll be dedicating my Saturdays to everything self-care with a focus on keeping up my natural hair, cleansing my skin, and doing a quick emotional check-in. The latter consists of journaling (find mine here) and watching my favorite feel-good movies. Having quiet time for myself allows me to pay attention to the emotions I tend not to give much though to.
Another really major component of self-care is dedicated time to my relationships in and out of the home. One of the fun ways I’ve been doing this is by scheduling Facetime dates with my friends to keep up with each other and themed movie nights every Friday night with the family. It allows me to look forward to spending time with the amazing people in my life as well as have a little sense of normalcy every now and then. Even doing a quick check in every now and then with friends and family reminds me of the fact that everyone has been met with similar circumstances.
And that’s all! I hope these tips and tricks are helpful and that you’ll find some inspiration for how you would like to manage your time. As always, thank you for reading and I check back next week for more lifestyle, fashion, and travel posts. Fingers crossed for a better year!
With love,
Maya.