To Stress Less During HealthKwest

I'm naturally a pretty anal and anxious person. Heck, I'm in law school - I'm definitely your "Type A" kind of gal. The one who never really procrastinates. Who has purchased all of her textbooks for the new semester without even deciding which classes she's committing to. Sometimes, I believe that I may be that "gunner" girl who raises her hand during class too much to discuss the intricacies of these fascinating laws.

This is part of why I made the big move in the middle of my 2L year (my second year of law school, for those who don't know law-school-lingo). I used to be the heckling hippo that attended The George Washington University Law School, a top-twenty law school located in Washington, D.C. Well, I figured out that I missed the slower-paced, sunshiny Florida lifestyle. I missed sweet tea and front porches and driving with the windows down blaring country music.

So it's funny that HealthKwest started now, when I'm actually at my most relaxed as a law student. "3L don't care" has been my motto all semester. I'm in a class with a bunch of little 1Ls who all actually do all of the reading for their classes and hesitate before answering professor's questions. I don't quite feel that way. I go to brunch on Sundays and hang out with my friends at Genghis during the week and take each day one at a time. In fact, tonight, I almost forgot to write this blog because I actually procrastinated - for once in my life - on a volunteer research project and NEED to get it finished tonight.

But it's true, I still get stressed out. It's 9:43 pm (I normally go to bed at 10)…I'm not done with my memo…I might have eaten Genghis but I haven't quite completed this blog yet, either. I have a class project due Monday and a girls' brunch tomorrow. Plus, on top of all of that, I'm mom to a little puppy who just went pee-pee in my house because I haven't been giving him enough attention, what with all of the memo writing I've been doing.

So what are some things that I do when my stress levels are high to grind them back down?

1) I make time for myself. Whether it's a pedicure all alone or a brunch date or a Genghis lunch date with friends, time NOT doing work is sometimes exactly what you need to kickstart you into doing that work.

















2) I make time for my puppy. He's already five months old and 46 pounds. When I first got him, he was fifteen pounds! He's tripled in size, and I feel like I've already missed some time with him. I really don't want to miss more. When I'm feeling nervous about deadlines, I know I need to make the time to go outside with him and throw him a frisbee for 20 minutes. Giving him 20 minutes of high activity helps him to be sleepy for the rest of the day so that I can get other things done.

3) I clean my environment. I hate when my house is dirty - it feels like I'm living in a  dump. But, of course, everything gets dirty when I feel like I don't have time for anything. One night, instead of going to bed at 10, I shut myself in my room at 9:30 to fold all of my laundry and hang all of my clothes. When my apartment shines, so do I.

4) I work out. Sometimes when I stress, I start to doubt myself. Reminding myself of my beautiful body and everything that it's capable of really keeps me in high spirits. When I believe in myself, it becomes SO much easier to start working on my daunting to-do list.

It's natural for everyone to stress out once in a while. But what I've been realizing throughout this HealthKwest is that it's more important to live through the stress than to let the stress live through you. I'm a way better version of me when I'm cool, calm, suave, and complacent.