The age-old question: does self-care count as an extracurricular activity?
I’m here to explore the various facets of self-care and tell you why you should invest in a chocolate cake instead of applying to yet another student group. In just a few short minutes (shorter than the average minute, I promise) you too can learn how to add self-care to your lengthy list of student activities.
First off, you can rack up some real cardio by spending your Sunday moving from your desk to your bed. Or keep sculpting those muscles while carrying a jug of chocolate milk from the kitchen to your room. Take that, crossfit.
Self-care also gives you an automatic ‘get out of jail free card’ when it comes to social events:
Oh, hey, sorry, I had to cancel our dinner plans. I was eating an entire jar of Nutella while watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine for the third time today.
Practicing self-care can also be a great resume padder: “Can you tell us about some of your involvement in student groups on Brown’s campus?”
“I’d actually prefer to tell you about how I kept myself from pondering my own mortality the other day by binging Season 1 of Game of Thrones and rolling around on the carpet.”
“Wow, that’s quite an innovative combination of activities. Can you expand on that?”
See what I mean?
Self-care is also interdisciplinary. You can apply the skills you acquired doing your self-care in everyday situations, like when you wrap yourself in a blanket burrito-style you’re subconsciously enhancing your culinary skills. Or, if someone comes along and mistakes you for a burrito and eats you, then you won’t have to study for your 9am midterm anymore. Everybody wins here.
Plus, self-care in the form of online shopping strengthens your budgeting skills: If I buy this sweater, I’ll just have to brew my own kombucha from now on. And by doing all that shopping, you’re also supporting the economy. Gotta contribute to that capitalist system, ya feel?
But most importantly, beyond all of the practical benefits of adding self-care to your ever-growing list of extracurriculars, treating yourself right can even help you garner the focus you need to fully commit to your actual student activities.
And that is why I’ll be adding a new line to my resume this fall.
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