My life is defined by routine. This takes away a lot of my sense of control, because there is so much I have to do, which doesn’t leave very much time for things I enjoy. To cope with this, I try to incorporate habits that bring me comfort. These are always changing, and an unintended benefit of this is how it causes certain parts of my routine to define periods of my life, like how in the winter of Freshman year, I used to listen to “Sandcastles” by Beyonce every day on the way from lunch to geometry. As time passes, I get tired of these habits and move on to new ones. This cycle provides a portal back to past periods of my life, and I love how by simply eating a certain food, or listening to a certain song, I am able to reconnect with the person I was. For now, these are the habits that add color to my day, and when I look back on them in the future, they will remind me of what my life looked like during the fall of my Junior year.
Listening to old Taylor Swift songs on the way to school
Eating Frosted Flakes as a snack
Listening to the Moth podcast while I’m in the shower
Bringing Earl Grey tea to school and drinking it during my morning classes
Going to Baskin Robbins or Wendy’s after school with my best friend
Watching Downton Abbey before bed with my mom
Packing pasta with pesto every day for lunch
Getting dinner with my friends on school nights
Making eggs and toast every morning while I watch Gilmore Girls
Painting my nails this one shade of orangey-red
Listening to Harry Potter audiobooks while I get ready in the morning