One of the most important ways that I cultivate happiness is by taking time out of my day to enjoy the outdoors. It is a great way to clear my head and realign my focus after a day of Zoom classes.
Hammocking is incredibly relaxing and a great activity to do with friends. You can watch lectures in a hammock, read in a hammock, listen to music in a hammock, nap in a hammock, the list goes on!
Playing spikeball on campus is a really awesome way to find a community at UCLA as well. The seasoned players are inclusive and welcome spikers of all experience!
If you’re planning on getting some fresh air, I highly recommend the app, Strava. It is an exercise app that incorporates social media features and tracks your progress. Strava is a wonderful tool for motivation and goal-setting.
Another way I cultivate happiness is by staying in touch with my family and friends. My relationships with my family and friends keep me grounded always, and I love being able to lean on them.
I am really close with my two younger sisters, and I’m fortunate to be close enough to home where I can see them often. It’s ironic because throughout high school, I always envisioned myself going far away for college. I was so intent upon leaving California. But I have found that being closer to my family has been really amazing since they are a great support system. My youngest sister is in elementary school, and being close by makes it easier to see her grow up still.
Lately, I’ve found cooking and baking to be very therapeutic and a great way to cultivate happiness. Before moving away from home, I was not very skilled at cooking nor baking, but I was definitely pushed to learn as I adjusted to living independently. There is something very comforting about the list of ingredients and layout of the cooking steps. And the joy once your product is finished is immaculate!
Last but not least, reading is a great way to cultivate happiness. You can get lost in the pages and invested in the characters. I love using the app Goodreads to set reading goals and interact with my friends’ bookshelves. There are some social media features, as you can “like” your friends’ book ratings and reviews as well as post your own.
Just doing one of these activities per day is a great step towards cultivating happiness as a UCLA student!
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