This is a sponsored post as part of the Let your Natural Beauty Shine Through with Zeno & Her Campus program.
These last few weeks of the semester have proven to be extremely stressful, but I sometimes forget that I’m not the only one dealing with excessive amounts of works, looming deadlines, and lost sleep. I almost always look to my friends to relieve some of my stress- I expect them to listen to my somewhat dramatic expressions of my exhaustion and frustration as they offer me their sympathy, letting me bask in my self-pity. It was this past weekend when I realized how selfish my expectations were.
Throughout the entire school year, my roommate has been working endlessly for the National Student Advertising Competition. In the last few weeks, we’ve cut out our weekly Wednesday dinners as a result of her commitment to the project. Presenting on Saturday after only two hours of sleep the night before due to endless rehearsals, my roommate returned home late Saturday night. Unfortunately, I was at work until the early morning and was unable to offer her my condolences as they didn’t win the competition. On Sunday, she had work in the morning and I, again, had work in the evening. It wasn’t until tonight, Monday night, that I knew we would have a chance to actually talk about what was going on in each other’s lives. It felt like we hadn’t seen each other in ages (even though we live together) and as much as I wanted to whine about my cruel professors, I knew my roommate needed to vent and for me to listen.
I decided to surprise her with a homemade meal when she came home from her night class. I made a fabulous feast of carbs: spaghetti, meatballs, and garlic bread. Glamorous? No, but it was definitely delicious. We ended up eating and talking for hours and caught each other up on everything and I made sure she knew that I would always be an outlet to relieve her stress.
I had forgotten the importance of making sure those around me are ok and that they are managing the pressure and stress of school and life. Just because I am in need of a chat sesh doesn’t mean I can forget the needs of my closest friends. My life may be busy and stressful, but it’s not the busiest or most stressful. After cleaning up dinner with my roommate and exchanging stories of the past few weeks, I felt great. There’s beauty in small acts of kindness, even simple spaghetti dinners!