How To Self-Care After Your Midterm

I cannot believe we’re in midterm season already. Suddenly the bright-eyed, optimistic version of me is long gone and has been replaced by a sleep-deprived, Celsius-addicted shell of a human being. My friends don’t know where I am or how I’m doing because I’m in my room 24/7, stuck in a loop of suffering through psets, studying for midterms, and taking naps that accidentally turn into 6 a.m. panics. So, I’ve come to the decision that I don’t only need to practice self-care, I deserve it. As someone who just came out of her midterm, here are some ways that I am practicing self-care (in the lone hour of free time I can afford), that you might be able to take inspiration from.

Become a rock.

If reincarnation is real, what would you reincarnate as? My answer is a rock. Lay down somewhere comfortable and just exist for a moment. Have no thoughts in that brain of yours (you’ve used it enough today) and no obligations for the next few minutes. Just imagine you are a rock, existing on the bank of the Charles, perhaps, and embody that energy.

Embrace your inner yapper.

Call your parents/friends/anyone who can listen to you complain, and just yap. Complain about anything and everything. Talk about the most random things. Get your brain off of academics, and do NOT talk about how you did in that midterm.

A sweet treat can literally solve world peace.

Not really, but it can fix the part of me that slightly died while I studied for this exam. Even science agrees with me. Did you know that carbohydrates stimulate serotonin release, which makes you feel happier?

Take a walk.

… to Cabot or Lamont Library and revel in the stress permeating through the air of people who still have a midterm (or midterms) left today. You are superior to them in every way.

Ignore your problems

Maybe the true act of self care is to simply… stop trying! Switch to pass-fail, drop out of that class, heck, drop out of school! The ultimate form of self-care is making rash decisions based on momentary peace and happiness. (For legal reasons, Flyby does not endorse recklessly dropping out and cannot take responsibility for any of these actions if you choose to participate in them.)

Congrats on finishing that midterm (or paper, pset, whatever else you have going on). I’m proud of you for making it through another heinous week in this dreadful season of the semester that will only end once winter break rolls around. Stay hydrated, remember that the FDA advises that healthy adults only drink up to 400 mg of caffeine (two cans of Celsius, for reference), and good luck out there <3.