School Daze: How to Stay Sane at the Start of the Semester

The Spring Semester has commenced, slowly but surely. With the snow day giving us a chance to catch our breath just one day after starting class, nevertheless the grind must begin.

Sure the semester means endless hours in the library but eating well, relaxing, and working out are still essential.

I meal prepped this week and boy was I thankful for it. I may not meal prep in the traditional sense but my way is to make greater amounts of sides and change the main dishes. For example I made a bowl for one of my dishes which consisted of ground turkey made in an Indian curry simmer sauce. I put that on top of white rice and quinoa and topped it with sautéed kale and sweet potatoes. The other meal I made was chicken drumsticks that I marinated in a mojito marinade and had that with the kale sweet potato mix and rice. This was extremely easy to do mainly because I prepared two different dishes that require different parts of my appliances. I always try to do this so things do not get too cluttered. Also a key to lazy cooking (because that's what I am a lazy cook) is SAUCES, they make your life so easy and make you feel like a chef once you doctor them up a bit.

Relaxing...Ooo girl don't I love to relax. It wasn't as necessary this week given the snow day but, take time to read a magazine, watch a show, and drink some tea.

Oh and don't forget to work out! I know it's easy to make excuses about not going to the gym believe me I'm the queen of work out excuses; but working out actually helps stress management. I find a way to reward myself by going to the gym , for instance I always make a smoothie when I come home as an incentive. Or I buy certain snacks that I love and keep them on reserve until after the gym.

As the semester gets into full swing I just want to remind everyone and myself to of course focus on school, but find the non academic things that will keep our focus.

As a side note celebration, I do want to share with you all that I have received an internship at the Virginia House of Delegates General Assembly for the duration of this spring semester!