March 31, 2018, by Anjni

Taking Time Out For Yourself This Easter

So Easter is upon us, and with it comes a much deserved four week break. At least in the UK; over here we’re not as fortunate (Easter break isn’t really a thing out here), but that’s okay, even if I don’t get a whole month off, I’ll settle for the long weekend; Lord knows I need it! Now whilst the Easter break should be used to its full potential to prepare for those – horrid – summer examinations which are drawing ever closer, it should also be used to rest, recover and give you a bit of a breather after a hectic term of work and deadlines. Granted, you shouldn’t spend the whole of your Easter break taking it easy (this will only leave you under prepared and super-stressed in the coming term, not a position you want to be in), but taking a few days out for yourself to wind down and take it chill isn’t a crime. In fact, you’ll find you probably NEED it after pushing yourself so hard last term.

And let me tell you, it’s totally, totally okay. This is something that really dawned on me this past weekend after a hectic last few weeks. Whilst it’s true that my midterms were done and dusted before the second week of March, I still had deadlines, essays and presentations to prep for, and since they were all due around the same sort of time (Why do professors do this? Are they trying to make us crazy??!!), I was going out of my mind trying to juggle them and get them all completed in time. And I did, I managed it all, but not without a cost. My deadlines over the past two weeks came with consecutive late nights which meant very little sleep and a highly irregular eating pattern, and whilst I felt fine at the time, once it was all over, I found I certainly was not fine. Once I got through everything, not only was I very sleep-deprived (although I guess this is pretty normal for the average uni student), but I felt all-round rubbish, and not without cause! Somewhere along the line, the lack of sleep, right the way from before midterms, caught up with me and I ended up getting – am still! – ill. It’s nothing more than a common cold: a raspy voice and stuffy nose (certainly nowhere near as bad as fresher’s flu) but for someone who’s seldom ill, it was a real surprise getting hit – and getting hit hard (I’m still trying to recover!) – and was something I was really not expecting.

Not having the luxury of Easter break this year really made me realise just how hard I’d been pushing myself lately, to the point of burning out in fact. And normally I’d take a few days during Easter to recuperate, but here I only have this long weekend in which to take a breather. Which is annoying, but I get it, exams and deadlines wait for no one. But despite this, taking care of yourself, both physically and mentally and being well rested with regular meals, couldn’t be more important during this time in the lead up to exams. It’s really necessary that you take the time and invest it, not only in your studies, but in yourself too. You may feel like you’re taking away from your study-hours but I assure you; taking care of yourself is not a waste of time. So go on, indulge in a bit of telly, a good book or some fresh hot cross buns – it is Easter after all!

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