Stress

     Contrary to the title, this post doesn't actually revolve around how stressed I am right now. Actually I am finally at a point where I can breathe again. A point that I have rarely reached in the past four years--actually in all my life. Because I am a people pleaser, I tend to say yes to everything, but we are getting off track. Today, I want to talk about relaxation.
     Do you have something you love to do but can never find time to do it? For me, I have two things that are sure to relieve stress and make me happy: baking and writing. My closest friends can tell you that their favorite times to be around me are when I am most stressed. This fact probably seems weird to you, but they know that they will probably receive some sort of baked good out of my stress. Pies, cookies, cupcakes, cakes, cobblers, bread puddings...you name it, I've probably baked it for my friends in the past few years. I mean stressed spelled backwards is desserts. Because I know they really appreciate all this good food, I tend to make time to bake even when I don't really have a spare moment. It's all in good fun, but it seems to rob me of a more personal form of stress relief: poetry.
     There used to be a point in my life that whenever I couldn't handle my emotions anymore I would turn to a blank page and begin to write. After four years of writing essay after essay, I've felt the creative juices being sucked out of me. While my pen or keyboard used to be a place to let my emotions overflow, now it is something that threatens to overwhelm me. I don't like that. I don't like it one bit. I want to be creative again. Therefore, today I took time to sit with a tasty drink, good music, and a blank page until the juices started flowing. Guess what?!? It worked. Granted it took several horrible poems to get to a good one, but my mental block finally fell. I'm not saying I'm going to win a Nobel Prize for Literature or anything, but it felt so great to finally allow my emotions explode onto the page.
     I have to admit that I was a little mad at myself for letting it go that long without writing something besides homework. Nonetheless, I pose this question to you (if anyone out there actually reads my blog): do you neglect the things that truly make you happy because they just aren't priorities? If so, how can you make time in your schedule for this activity? I guarantee you that if you take a few minutes to completely enjoy your life everything else with begin to fall in place--even in the very moments that seem like life will fall apart if you take a pause. Today, I promise myself to always take time to write, even when the task seems too daunting. What challenge can you make to improve your mental health this week? Remember to always have a quacky day.