I don't have any real excuse for not writing the past few days - you'd think the fact that it's finals week would render me incapable of keeping up with a personal blog, but that really isn't true. While I had five finals this week, I had more than my fair share of leisure time. To sum up yesterday, for instance, I sat and watched The Office for essentially the entirety of the day. My roommate and I were in bed for about seven hours straight; blinds shut, nestled under our covers. I made it through one season (and possibly half of another... I lost track, to be honest) of The Office and I can honestly say that my dream last night incorporated The Office characters in it... yeah.
Today, I had one last final and afterwards continued my Office craze until about 2 or 3, when I simply couldn't lie in bed any longer, so I bundled up and took the subway to Walnut Street, where I did some Christmas shopping. It snowed during my shopping excursion (which was ultimately mildly successful) which was a welcome surprise - I've never seen Philadelphia during the winter. The snow's a little more than a dusting and already students have gone down my street and written various profanities on random cars. That's what I call Christmas spirit.
Anyhow, my advice to keep your college life stress-free is inspired by what is currently playing on ABC Family - Finding Nemo. I know mostly everyone's home for break now, and probably won't be back on campus for a while, but while you're home, get yourself a fish! Of course, nothing elaborate is required, but owning fish have proved to be great stress-relievers for a lot of people. Believe it or not, caring for a simple, cute little water-dwelling creature is proven to reduce blood pressure as well as stress. Simply sitting in front of an aquarium or watching a fish swim is enough to make your life seem quieter, less cluttered. Not to mention, caring for another living thing, even if it's only a fish, will certainly give you a sense of accomplishment. Goldfish are, like, one dollar at pet stores, so go get one and share your college escapades with it!
Keep calm,
Sarah
