Sailing towards the sunset

Gentle Readers,

Well, the time has come to wrap up my column. The term is coming to an end, and for some of you it may very well be your last before you too become a greenhorn yourself. I wish you all the best in your future adventures! But before I leave you, I want to give you one final piece of advice that has helped me time and time again.

Regardless of how frequently you conquer the obstacles in your life, you will get down from time to time. Things won’t go as you expected, something bad will happen, or you’ll just feel sad some days. During these times you need to take care of yourself. Taking care of yourself, especially during low moments, can dramatically improve your state of mind and help you recover from what is sinking your spirits.

Your “self-maintenance” can be done through a number of means. For me, it’s dressing myself up. Not that I normally don’t, but when I feel bad I take particular care in selecting the outfit that makes me feel the best that I can. I carefully apply my makeup. If I’m feeling really down, I take the time to put my hair up in an elaborate braid bun, a style which takes me forever and is a real pain in the ass to do.

I also treat myself to a small hot beverage and snack. I learned the hard way that using food to improve your mood is a double-edged sword. As I’m already conscious about my weight and purse strings, eating an expensive high caloric dinner has the potential to make me become angry with myself while it’s on the way down, which defeats the treat’s purpose. So, I’m careful to choose something that is easy on both my body and my dollars.

You’ll need to find a method that works the best for you. It doesn’t really matter what it is. It just has to make you feel awesome. It has to make you feel like you are powerful, that you are making an impact on the world just because you’re in it. And once you think like that, everything will look brighter.

Farewell, Gentle Readers.