As I collapse onto the small patch of grass outside the library, I look up to the beautiful blue sky and let out a big sigh. Oh, so quickly has the midterm season come; the midterm season is more than just a period of testing but also is a time where I don’t see my friends as much, I constantly study, and the pressure rests on my shoulders like a constant weight. My long sigh helps relieve some of the weight I feel, but I still feel the pressure lingering inside my mind. While testing only lasts a week or two, being full immersed in school can make the time feel like it will never end. In such a stressful environment, a small influx of pressure can make everything seem overwhelming. After two years here at Hopkins, I’ve learned how integral small breaks can be to relieving the pressure inside my mind. This small mindful break where I am just looking at the sky helps me refocus my thoughts.
Lately, I’ve been focusing on being more mindful in my life. Life is so incredibly fast-paced; every moment seems to be filled with one thing or another. I constantly feel as if there’s something I have to be doing so that I can get everything I need to do done. While the life of a college student can be overwhelming, I don’t want to reflect back on my years in school and say that I didn’t appreciate my time here enough. Life is such a breathtakingly beautiful gift, and I don’t want to feel as if it just passed me by. It should mean more than a series of to-do lists where I just simply check the periods of my life off like a task.  Mindfulness, the act of being aware or conscious, means that I notice the smaller details in life. There are so many amazing aspects in life, such as the feeling of the cool breeze floating through my hair or how slowly leaves fall from their lofty spots in the trees, that I easily overlook. Refocusing my mind helps me maintain the aspects of life that I hold most dear. Mindfulness comes in many forms and can really be whatever you need it to be. You can meditate, focus on small details of your life you might not notice, or simply just sit and think.
The beauty of mindfulness is that it is entirely whatever you make it to be.