Winter quarter for me so far has been not what I expected to say the least. Originally, I wanted to take 12 units so that I would have time to fully focus on ICS 31, but that ended up not being the case, as I ended up getting somewhat lax with my study habits. The first midterm was definitely a reminder that the quarter system does not allow you to fully relax until its over. That being said, taking care of yourself is as important as studying because if you’re relaxed and calm while studying, I can say with moderate certainty that you will have a harder time recalling the information.
For me, self-care starts with my roommate since I usually like to go to the Anteater Recreational Center (ARC) with a friend so its more entertaining. The most recent trend that my roommate and I have been getting into is badminton. It’s also beneficial to the two of us that the ARC has drop-in badminton everyday at whatever time the ARC’s website says. Badminton, for the readers who don’t know, is a racket sport where the objective is to make the birdie (or shuttlecock) hit the opponent’s side of the court. Now, there are nuances to hitting the birdie in that each side may only hit the birdie once and how much power you put into returning the birdie to the other side of the court. For example, if your opponent is returning a shot from the left side of court, you can hit the birdie to the right side of the court so that they have to try and cover the whole court in order to return the birdie yet again. Another tactic is when your opponent hits the ball high and close to the net, here you could just jump up and spike the birdie onto your opponent’s side at a steep angle. Although I haven’t played badminton in years, its still fun to play with a friend and on top of that builds cardio due to all the running. As a little side note, badminton is actually the world’s fastest recorded object in sports as a professional player from Malaysia set a new world record by smashing (another type of shot) the birdie to around 493 km/h or 306 mph.
Beyond just running around a court chasing a birdie, I tend to take really long showers while in the dorm. It may seem strange but when I’m in a hot shower for a long period of time, I tend to naturally feel at ease and that helps me reset myself for whatever task I had before hopping into the shower. The downside to that would be that UCI and my floor-mates have to accommodate my long shower times. I tend to joke with my friends that I’m the reason why California is consistently in a drought. That being said, being in a shower allows me some time to unwind and just do and think about nothing. For me, having that time of just emptiness helps me refocus after I get back to work and that’s how I’ve been caring for myself while in the constant rush that comes with the quarter system.
Zot On!
Josh
