With World Kindness Week around the corner, many are thinking of ways to help out and get involved with being kind to others, themself, and their community. With all this talk, I was thinking about ways I would like to be kind this upcoming week. During this time of the year, it feels like people do not take much action in being kind to themselves, but would rather make efforts to help others. It is incredibly important that people take action to be kind to themself. There are many ways to do this. I like to be kind to myself by taking a nap, ordering out from a favorite place in Hoboken, or even going on a walk with some friends. Although I feel that it is important to be kind to those around you and your community, I do believe that it is more important to be kind to yourself first. If someone is going out of their way to be kind, but at the same time being hard on themself, the act of kindness feels less genuine. Although it is important to make an effort to help others and your community, if you are constantly sacrificing yourself to do it, the ends will likely not justify the means. Unless you’re curing cancer, then you should probably continue to sacrifice your own well-being for the sake of others. But in my case, I am not curing cancer, I am nowhere near curing cancer, so I think I would like to use this upcoming week to prioritize being kind to myself. Obviously, if I am capable, I will do my best to stray from my usual habits and be nice to those around me, but I’m going to make sure I take the time for myself.
I love a good nap. When the going gets tough, nothing makes me feel better than taking some time to get some much-needed rest in the middle of the day. I know the daily workload of a Stevens student can get easily overwhelming, so I can not stress enough how important it is to set healthy boundaries and take the time that you need for yourself. There are people who will look down upon you for stepping back to care for yourself, which is crazy. But I will stand strong on the hill of insisting that as long as you communicate your boundaries well, no one should have an issue with them. I get busy frequently, and sometimes I just need a day off, so I will lay in bed until 2 p.m., maybe miss a class here and there, and relax. During the middle of the semester, it’s hard to find time for yourself. There is always an event, midterm, or meeting taking up every second of every day for at least half of the campus population. But I am encouraging you all to skip your meeting and take a nap, be kind to yourself, and do not let anyone tell you that you are a bad person for caring about yourself. I hope my words inspire at least one of you to sleep a little extra next week.
If any of you insist on emphasizing kindness to others this upcoming week, may I recommend saying nice things to a certain senior on campus who writes an opinion column in The Stute? If any of you have read this far and want to be kind to me, my Venmo is @Ethan-Kleschinsky :).
