Change and Moving Forward

By Sophia Considine

Life is wild. It's both hectic and boring, with new updates hitting you while still keeping up with its everyday routines. The past couple of weeks, I've noticed my body holding a lot of stress, even though my mind is handling it well. If you are or have been in a similar situation, hopefully this dissection is helpful.

IMAGE VIA SOPHIA CONSIDINE. TAKEN AT MCNALLY JACKSON BOOKSTORE IN SOHO.

What is change?

According to Merrium-Webster, there are a lot of definitions for the word "change". For our purposes, let's focus on the first one: "to make different in some particular way or aspect," a.k.a. to alter. The past couple of weeks for me have been changing jobs—and thus changing schedules—changing loan payments, changing my morning routine, and changing my way of finding friends.

I went from one full-time job to one part-time job to two part-time jobs within a month and a half—different shifts and different types of work. I've been working on refinancing my student loans, which is stressful in its own way because I want to lower my monthly payments as soon as possible. Every morning, I would immediately go for my phone to check the time and consequently scroll through Instagram, LinkedIn, and my emails. Then, I'd have an iced latte with maple syrup before starting my day. However, I feel like this is contributing to the stress in my body, so I want to stay off my phone in the morning until after I've had my tea (not coffee. I'm going to hold back on it for a while). In terms of friends, I've met two people since I moved, but we've only hung out once. By recommendation from my coworker, I downloaded Bumble BFF, so I'm hoping I can meet some friends that way—wish me luck!

What have been some big changes in your life recently? How have they affected you? Positively or negatively? Do you feel it in your body, your mind, or both?

It's so difficult.

Trust me, I don't mean to sound preachy here. This is me trying to have a positive mindset and look on the bright side.

But I know how hard it is to move forward, to push through. I've cried, and been frustrated, and have struggled with feeling like I have a place in the world. It's so big, after all.

Tiny things that have helped me when I'm overwhelmed, depressed, sad, angry, or anxious:

• Crying as much as I need to. Let it all out. The emotion won't go away if you don't let it out.

• Throwing a pen at the ground. As many times as needed. It doesn't hurt anything except the pen, but it's satisfying and helps let out frustration.

• Stretching. Just pausing for a moment and stretching any way you know how.

• Bed exercises. Lay in bed—it's hard to get up. Lift your legs and keep going as long as you can. Do you have a book? Grab that and lift it in the air, either up and down or just hold it up.

I believe in you <3

How I'm moving forward.

Besides what I mentioned previously, I have some small things I already began implementing to help myself move through the stress that change causes me. One, recognizing achievements or positives that come with the new routine. For example, I am becoming more familiar with train lines now that I use multiple for my jobs. Two, prioritizing my reading time. This was always a goal, but I've been really good about it! I've finished three books so far this year, and it makes me so happy because I love immersing myself into new worlds. Three, journaling as much as I can. Whenever I have time, I use Co-Star to get my horoscope/day-at-a-glance, which is a helpful way to start my thought process. Sometimes, it's a little silly, but sometimes it's something I really want to hear, like:

You've worked so hard to arrive exactly where you are now. Enjoy it.

Have you noticed anything small in everyday life that keeps you grounded? If not, what could get you started? Try adding or continuing something small to hold you in the present—enjoy the place you're at even if it's hard.

What I'm consuming lately:

• Shows/Movies:

  • Epic: The Musical (Animatic on YouTube)

  • CODA (Movie)

  • Percy Jackson (TV)

  • Heated Rivalry (TV) — Yes, I'm still obsessed. I have all the books on hold at the library

• Books:

  • Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins — review is up on IG!

  • Behind Five Willows by June Hur

• Music:

  • Come Over (Again) by Crawlers

  • mangetout by Wet Leg

  • WHERE IS MY HUSBAND! by RAYE

  • Bad Things by Caillin Russo

  • Busy Woman by Sabrina Carpenter

  • Pls Cheat On Me by Precious Pepala

  • You Were Beautiful by Day6

  • MIST by Ateez

IG: @writereditor.sophia

LinkedIn: (8) Sophia Considine | LinkedIn

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