Written by Alyssa Wilson ~ Editor-in-Chief
Graphic made on Canva by Alyssa Wilson.
The lives that students live, not only at Lynchburg, but across the world are often demanding and tiring and that is no exception to my own life.
However, as I have gone through college and now find myself as a spring semester senior, the act of rest has become increasingly more important to me.
For me, the word rest has taken on a whole new meaning. As a freshman I would have considered “rest” to be laying in my bed watching TV on my laptop and having a meal or a snack.
Now, do not get me wrong, every now and then this is still what rest looks like for me. However, my rest has become more active and involves more engagement with the people and things around me.
I have enjoyed integrating a yoga practice into my routine several days a week, which has strongly influenced my ability to regulate my nervous system; a tool that is much needed during exams or when I am facing other academic and work related deadlines.
Rest looks different every day. Some days I only have the energy to go on a slow 15 minute walk around campus and soak in whatever state campus may be in whether it is snowy and cold, or bright and warm.
As I adopt and integrate restful practices into my routine, I notice a great difference in my quality of work when my restfulness has been amiss.
Resting boosts my creativity and inspires me with new, exciting ideas.
A skill that I am still honing is my ability to set and honor my boundaries, which have been even more important to me as I have made productive rest a priority in my life.
I honor these boundaries by scheduling specific times to rest and specific times to get work done, and I always do my best to not let one bleed into the next.
Sometimes I force myself not to reply to an email right away, but instead tell myself that I have time to respond later, and I need to honor what I am doing in the moment. There are many ways to honor our boundaries when it comes to rest and working, whether it be academic or otherwise.
One thing that I am absolutely not skipping out on this semester is engaging in social time with friends. I have been lucky to create some great friendships during my time at Lynchburg, and sharing stories and laughing with my chosen family always makes me feel fresh and recharged again.
Balancing rest and work has been essential in my personal success in all areas of my life over the past few years, however I know it is a skill that I will continue to develop and change throughout my entire life, well after undergrad.
