February Funk

A lot has happened--when doesn't a lot happen?--in the world these past couple of weeks, but I am so exhausted and consumed with my own world, I don't even have the energy to write about any of it right now.  Another day, another post...

I feel like all I'm doing right now is waiting; waiting for academic institutions to let me know where I'm going to graduate school! Since moving back to Ithaca almost four years ago, this is the first time I'm legitimately wondering if I will still be here by the end of the summer.  I'm waiting to hear from the woman at DSS to find out if I qualify for food stamps, but receiving less than one hundred and fifty dollars a week from unemployment disqualified me from receiving temporary assistance with my rent, so I'm trying not to put too much faith in the system, because we all know how flawed the system is, some better and more intimately than others.

Friday was a breath of fresh air, literally.  I walked outside and took in the sunshine and vitamin D and breathed a bit easier with temperatures reaching almost sixty!  But the sunshine and the Spring-like weather couldn't keep me from my funk for very long.  February seems to be the time of year for many people I know, including fellow writing major IC alum Ashley who has written about it on her blog.  Her openness about it has helped me write this.

I don't think I'm going to magically make the funk disappear entirely; the biggest thing that I'm struggling with is sleep and my sleep schedule.  I had stopped drinking coffee for a year and starting drinking it again this past Fall.  I have made a decision to lay off the coffee and drink more tea and see if that helps. But...

 

Here are some things I have been doing to help with my funk:

*Stick to a workout routine

*Add spinning class to workout routine

*Practice yoga every day, even if it's only a few poses to help stretch. 

*Paint my nails regularly 

*Cook more meals at home

*Take time to meditate, get quiet with myself. 

*Find something to be grateful for every day. 

What are you grateful for today? Email me at shapedbymylife@gmail.com or comment below and I will compile a list and write about this again.