We all have that one friend that just has it together. Her life, her look, her friends, and I often wonder what it takes for me to get from where I am now (let’s call this “not together”) to “together.” Often times when I feel like I’ve reached this holy grail moment where everything just seems to have reached nirvana, something comes up where I lose that feeling. So I have found a life-proof method to have everything together constantly!
Oh, are you still reading? Do you want me to give you this life-altering magical method?
Okay, secret time…there is no secret method. Even the influencers who master the “clean girl” aesthetic have those days where they don’t seem to have the energy. As I enter into a new decade of my life, the terrifying twenties, I have to wonder what I am doing wrong or what I could do instead to give me this comfort over my life.
So I have come up with the magical, secret, life-altering plan that I am going to share with all of you so that we can be more content with our lives.
Step 1: Make Your Bed
I will be the first to tell you that I do not like making my bed, but there is some weird comfort in knowing that the second I step into my bedroom tonight, there will be a made bed waiting for me. I only started making my bed when my roommates did it, and now I am addicted. The most successful people in the world have written books where they credit making their bed every day as a key to their success. With 70% of the country making their bed every day, psychologists have credited the art of making a bed has led to happier outlooks and results throughout your day. So, the key here: make your bed.
Step 2: Take Time Alone
I am 100% sure that the scariest thing to admit nowadays is that you like spending time alone. In college, being alone is often associated with an unhealthy mental state. Um wrong! I find so often in my busy schedule that I want to spend time alone. Every night I look forward to going through TikTok by myself because it is a form of self-love that I do not get when I am busy being my social self 100% of the time.
YOU CAN BE ALONE.
And best of all, you can like being alone! Everyone is moving through really draining periods in their life in college, looking for jobs, being a good friend, maintaining loving relationships, and staying committed to their love of coffee; we all need time alone to recharge. Your friendship and life will improve if you can learn a balance between social time and recharging time.
Step 3: Find Hobbies
I think it is important to find self-fulfilling hobbies. These activities do not include going out because you feel you “have to,” they do not include studying extra to get that A that you crave, and they do not include sacrificing your alone time to appease someone else. Self-fulfilling activities include painting because you love it, writing because you need to vent, making friendship bracelets, watching movies, designing clothes, interior design, etc. These are things you may not be that good at, but they bring you happiness, so you do them anyway. For example, this summer, I took up painting for pleasure. If you ask me, I am an awful painter. I am no artist that makes art worthy of hanging on walls, most paintings I do are kept in a box, but I love to paint. I love to exercise my creative brain, which, honestly, doesn’t get a lot of work in my day-to-day life. We all need things that we can love to do, without comparing ourselves to others, that bring us pleasure. This helps me with self-love and confidence that I know I am more than my grades, than my Instagram likes, than everything else in my life I use to tell myself I need to do more. I encourage everyone, even the most productive people, to explore and find hobbies! Even if you’re not good at it!!
Step 4: No One is the “It” Girl
Being “it” is not in. In fact, I think it makes people more stressed to find this unattainable balance of life than just to live it to the best of their ability. These steps are things I have learned throughout my last couple of years in high school and college, and they are not an end all be all for your success. They are just tools to help you open your eyes to a broader sense of success than we generally define in our society. So go be that “it” girl, but more importantly, be human and BE YOURSELF!