Congratulations! You did it, you survived midterms! You were on the grind, lost sleep, and pushed through all that stress. I bet you appreciate the new-found free time you have to spend rotting in bed, doom-scrolling through TikTok and Instagram Reels. That’s fun and all, trust me, I know, but you deserve more than that! Self-care can take many forms, so let me give you some ideas to treat yourself while celebrating being halfway done with the semester.
- Skincare night
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When you think textbook self-care, I’m sure the first image that comes to mind is a woman in her bathrobe with a nice face mask on (I’ve been loving this one). While clichĂ©, I can attest it is an absolutely fantastic feeling. Having time to pamper yourself is a luxury, and it’s important to take complete advantage of it. Not only does it feel relaxing in the moment, but it benefits your skin in the long run. There’s no better way to clear your mind than clearing your pores.
- Buy yourself something nice
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Turning to a very stereotypical way to treat yourself, a little retail therapy always helps after a stressful week. A new trend I’ve been seeing on TikTok is the emergence of “prize charts”, where people buy themselves a reward based on how they did on their exam. While midterm exams are mostly over, I still love the sentiment! There’s no better way to motivate yourself than setting a goal and rewarding yourself when you achieve it. If you excelled on an exam that you spent many sleepless nights studying for, you earned a prize in my book. You can’t go wrong with a Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm (I’m biased towards Brown Sugar) or a White Fox Hoodie. Just remember to shop responsibly! No buyer’s remorse here.
- binge a new TV show
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I totally understand the appeal of rotting in bed, but why spend that rotting time doomscrolling when you could do something totally productive… like binge-watching a TV show? It’s much more of a conversation starter. Plus, it gives you something to obsess over for weeks, watching all the edits and consuming all the cast content that could possibly be produced. A little healthy obsession never hurt anybody! Maybe it’ll come up in trivia one day, then you’ll be thanking me. A new season of Outer Banks just came out, and that sounds like a great place to start. If you haven’t watched the previous seasons, that gives you three to catch up on. Even better!
- Get back into the gym
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All this extra time on your hands… there are simply no excuses. Rec Center access is part of your tuition, so suck every single penny out of that fee bill. If you’re scared to start, group classes are great for beginners. My favorite class is definitely Spin, which offers both 45-minute and 60-minute sections, and trust me when I say that 15 minutes can make a world of difference. On Saturdays, the Rec also offers themed spin classes, if you’re looking for a specific vibe to work out to. I also recommend downloading the UConn Rec app on your phone to have immediate access to what is going on in the Rec Center. From group classes to the gym/aquatic center schedule, to the current capacity, it has all the information you could possibly need. If you’re still not feeling the gym, you can always go on a hot girl walk/run. With some friends or alone, Storrs has some beautiful places to stroll. After all, we call it Cow Town for a reason, so take a trip to Horsebarn Hill to say hello!
Pat yourself on the back one more time, because you’re officially halfway through the semester. Make sure to take advantage of this much-needed rest time before you get back to the grind, you deserve it. Good luck with the rest of the semester Huskies!