things that help me to relax (:

Now that we are approaching the end of the year, all of the final projects are due and my stress level keeps on increasing. I feel as though I am bereft of time to myself, and I am always moving and doing something. Sometimes I wish I had a remote to pause my life since school gets so hectic. It honestly takes a Herculean student to survive four years of high school at Pascack Valley. So, I have a few methods that help me to stay relaxed, and have a clear mind.

1. Always drink herbal teas.

I am in love with tea, and it is probably the most soothing drink that you can choose to consume. My mom is the reason as to why I am addicted to drinking tea, even though my younger sister is quite blasé with the powers of herbal tea. I have developed my own concoction and whip it up whenever I feel overwhelmed. First, I brew some traditional Lipton tea, and make sure that it reaches a deep hazelnut brown. Then, I take about four spoonfuls of sugar and make sure it dissolves in my mug of tea. One half of a juicy, ripe lemon is then squeezed into my delicious mixture, making it ready for the final ingredient: honey. I always go to my cabinet to grab that golden teddy bear bottle in order to squeeze out about three tablespoons of honey. Finally, my beverage is complete. My cats seem to find the sweet aroma of my tea to be quite noisome, and often run out of the kitchen whenever I make it. But, for me, it serves as pure therapy.

2. Go on facebook.

Yes, I know it sounds weird, but if you take thirty minutes out of your day to browse facebook, you will rid yourself of all school-related stress. Looking up links to post on your friends' walls, posting pictures, and utilizing facebook chat has the ability to distract a person for hours. Even though this works as stress-relief, I always need to make sure that I set an ending time for how long I surf Facebook. This is because a side effect that I have found from spending too much is that I have lost a lot of energy since Facebook can sometimes be a soporific pastime.

3. Watch favorite shows on hulu.com

Whenever I have had a long day at school, I find it very rewarding to lay in my bed and watch some episodes of my favorite sitcoms on the website hulu.com. I usually fall asleep while tuning in, but it is relaxing and makes me laugh right before I say goodbye to my day. Even though some of the shows I choose to watch are full of bunkum, they always put me in such a good mood. The sitcoms on my laptop screen transfix my eyes, and soon the lights and sounds lull me into a deep sleep.