Self-care during my City Year

Self-care is always emphasized working at City Year, and I have now grown to understand the importance of taking care of myself. Giving a year of service to a cause greater than self seemed like an easy enough undertaking in the beginning, but I did not realize how hard it would be at times. It is so worth it though; I grow into a better person each day that I get to interact with my team and my students. While each day is a joy, parts of the day are not always easy, and this started to take a toll on me. So, I found a way to refresh myself and gain more perspective into what I needed to do to make myself happy and healthy.

As I was doing my daily social media scroll, I came across an article discussing the importance of self-care. Along with the article, there was a 20-day guide including specific tasks to be completed to promote mental wellness. The tasks ranged from buying myself flowers, to doing something I had been putting off. So not only did I get myself some pretty lilies, but I also finally started to research graduate schools and made a decision!

I have to thank my amazing Impact Coach, Chris Williams, for always supporting me and giving me a different outlook on my future. I also have myself to thank for making the conscious decision to make my happiness a priority. My 20-day mental wellness challenge helped me more than I thought it would and having my entire team supporting me made my completion so much more meaningful!

Working at City Year, we give so much of ourselves to a cause we truly believe in. This is why it is so important to set aside time and space to focus on our own happiness and emotional wellbeing. Whether that means choosing a graduate school or going for a walk, take care of yourself today!