We were lucky to have social entrepreneur and UMass Alumna, Ashley Olafsen give us a presentation on “Taking Care of Yourself + Creating Better Balance.” Ashley gave examples of how she transformed her life, especially in pandemic times where adapting was a skill everyone regardless of position, had to acquire.

There was an interactive portion where she had us make lists of our obligations and analyze them into what we enjoy doing vs. don’t enjoy doing. In doing this, we were able to see on paper everything we are responsible for and how packed our lives really are. Most of us were really shocked to see how much we are occupied with and talked ways of making all of those duties more enjoyable.

In a fast-paced society where we constantly have to catch up, we often get lost in our own well-being practices which can lead to a feeling of burn-out. Using Ashley’s advice, our members were able to each take something away to apply into our busy lives as full-time students with other responsibilities on top of it all. It is important to stop sometimes and think about what we are doing and how beneficial it is to us. To some, that might look like staying active, to others it may be to learn a new skill or start a new healthy habit. Self-care is not a one-size fits all, but it is certainly inclusive and customizable to everyone

Thank you Ashley for the amazing advice and new practices that our new members will surely remember and apply to their day-to-day lives. Remember to take a moment to debrief and take care of yourselves!