With the smothering season of midterm exams, essays, and presentations upon us, endless nights in Van Pelt and Fisher Fine Arts seem only inevitable. And, in the chaos of those lonely and soul-sucking late nights, it is so simple to get caught up in the madness of it all. We so often forget to remember our mental health, so desperately focused on getting through the next few weeks before spring break that we forget to take care of ourselves as functional human beings. So, now that you’ve already taken the three minutes to read this article, give yourself another five minutes to relax and do one of my favorite meditative Van Pelt-basement practices:
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1.    Listen to your favorite eight grade song all the way through – Whether that means something sentimental that you and your best friend used to have your mom play on your way to the mall before you had your license or one that you remember getting your first kiss to at your neighbor’s bar mitzvah, make sure to give yourself that momentary musical break.
2.    Picture your mom’s best meal and the last time you ate it together – Sometimes, just the thought of my mother’s baked ziti is enough to bring me a little home-bred solace in the darkness of the library’s stacks.
3.    Get a bagel – This world provides few more definitive comforts than that of a certain doughy, hole-filled gift from God – as long as you don’t use lox. Who decided it was okay to put fish on a bagel?
4.    Ask a friend to come hug you – This is objectively the saddest to read, perhaps, but that moment of direct human contact is enough to make the worst of those econ readings or sociology essay seem a little more conquerable. Thank your hallmate who you don’t know so well, but happened to see in the library at the carol next to you, for putting up with your unexpected and maybe unwanted hug.Â
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