A long time coming...

Hello friends!

It's been a long time.

I've been doing some side projects here and there, which have made personal writing nearly obsolete for longer than I'd like to admit.

In fact, many of the things that I would consider making me the person I am have gone by the wayside as I focus on school, job, and money.

I'd really like to change that. I have this nearly insatiable tingling urge in my brain to create words, to spill my guts on (virtual) paper.

With my incredibly time and energy consuming class just a few weeks from being over (and ignoring the fact that nursing school is hopefully soon to come), it's given me pause to think about what I feel is going well and what needs to be going better in my life.

I need to write more, for me. I may never have a career that involves writing, but it is an essential part of maintaining my mental health. I also need to cook more. I get lazy, my ADHD kicks in, and all of my best-laid plans go to shit. When I'm cooking, when I'm baking, I'm calm. Happy. Distracted. Why I don't do it more, I'll never understand. I also need to work out more, especially in the dark season.

Why do we neglect so much of our own self-care in favor of driving ourselves into the crowd with stress and worry, just for a few dollars more? What would happen if we, just for a day, put aside all of what we "should" be doing and focus on what we want to be doing?

I encourage you, as we go into this stressful holiday season, to really look out for yourself. Listen to your body, your mind. Focus less on the "have to's" and the "should's" and more on the "want to's" and "need to's." Be your own advocate, your own best friend.

It's a little like putting the oxygen mask on yourself before you try to help anyone else.