Today I want to share with you something that is a foreign concept to most graduate students, academics, work-a-holic professionals, etc. And that is this...

Sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself is just not do anything...

I know...this seems blasphemous coming from a graduate student. I should be in lab, or reading papers, or working on school work...

PUH-LEASE!!!!

With all these deadlines and to-do lists...they just get exhausting after a while. And, call me crazy, but I'd really rather not burn myself out.

I realized lately how long it's been since I took a day where it's just been about me. I remember once in college I did this. There'd been a lot of drama going down and I just needed to get away.

So I went for a hike at Kamiak Butte in the Palouse in Washington.

I was by myself.

I kinda questioned if I should've gone hiking by myself.

But I did.

I plugged into some beautiful, relaxing music...and just let myself and my thoughts be. 

No deadlines. No stress. No thoughts of commitments, and very few thoughts of other people. I just let myself be in the moment. Enjoying the beauty. 


So today, I took a me day.

No phone.

No social media.

Very limited technology (I spent some time writing...).

And it has been glorious...

I started off letting myself sleep in. I actually stupidly forget to turn off my alarm, but that's okay. I shut it off and went right back to sleep. Then I woke up and started by cooking myself pancakes - chocolate Shakeology pancakes, obviously. Haha

Then I lounged around for a while while folding laundry...before finally going on one of my activities that I had planned on doing.

Just for me...

Maybe you don't know this about me, but I LOVE to take pictures. Like artsy, landscape pictures. Not selfies - thought I'd clarify. Those tropical pictures in the banner of the blog? I took those while I was on vacation in Mexico with my family. Yes, the same vacation that ended up being my fitness journey starting point.

Anyways, there is a lovely arboretum on campus here. And we got about two feet of snow last weekend, which has still hung around. I knew I had wanted to go take pictures today, but I wasn't sure where I wanted to go. When my friend mentioned how beautiful and serene this place I was...I knew this was where I wanted to spend my planned morning photography session.

And oh my god, was it beautiful, and serene, and exactly what I wanted...

I don't know what else to say so I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves...


I hope that you work hard. 

I hope that you dedicate yourself to your dreams and ambitions...

but I also hope that you take time to smell the roses. 

I hope you take moments, and maybe even a day like I have just for you. To do things for genuine enjoyment because without genuine enjoyment in our lives we become mindless, joyless drones.

So take a "Me" day...take a "me" moment if at the time you're reading this you can't afford a day. And just shut down, enjoy the peace and the little things that make you happy.

Because often we forget one very important fact...



Until next time,