City Scapes: Morgan Mackey

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This past weekend I turned 22.

I was lucky enough to celebrate with friends, family, and co-workers. Drinks were had and memories were made. I am a year older and hopefully a little bit wiser.

This semester has been a busy one with it being my senior year of college, an election year, working for a college newspaper, and ultimately trying to plan what I want to do when I graduate.

For the first time in what feels like forever, I was finally able to let loose and celebrate. I was celebrating my birthday, but also relishing in a moment of pure bliss while letting myself actually live in the moment.

I love school and work and there is hardly a time where I am not thinking about either of those two things. Even when I am not at school or in the Sentry office that’s all I can think about. Yet, for my birthday, I wanted to completely disconnect from those two things, if only for a moment. And that’s exactly what I did.

Self-care is something that I often forget to do at this point in the semester. Earlier this year, I was trying to prioritize myself, but as school became busy I began to put myself last again.

I don’t usually make a big deal of my birthday, but this year I wanted to go out and enjoy my time with my friends. It can be easy to underestimate the power of spending quality time with people who care. Yet, as college students it’s important to take some time to disconnect from school and enjoy being around people your own age and who share similar interests.

On Saturday we were able to dance and sing at an underground piano bar that plays top 40 hits from the last 30 years. There a sense of nostalgia when songs we listened to as teenagers came on, which all a person really needs for their birthday weekend.

Now I’m rejuvenated enough to finish this semester strong. This would not have been possible if I had not taken my birthday to properly celebrate. As fall break approaches, remember to take time to do something that isn’t school-related, and treat yourself.