Dork Diaries - A New Beginning Part 4

Zoey

Age 21

I've really been needing a break from everything lately,  so today I got into my car and I just drove. I didn't have any particular destination in mind, but I ended up driving outside of the city and going for a hike.
The views were breathtaking. I was surrounded by nothing but nature, and the only things that I could hear were the chirping of birds and the sound of my own footsteps. Reminding myself that there are places in this world that are that beautiful and peaceful really helped me clear my mind, feel better and release some of that stress that I've been feeling recently.

Lately, I've been really overwhelmed with everything. From studying for college finals, to dealing with family and friends and my part-time job, all of the stress just added up until I physically couldn't hold it in anymore, and nature has always been something that I have turned to whenever I was struggling, because it's always there, willing to calm my mind and bring some peace into my life, which can tend to get very chaotic at times. Being around nature brings me back down to earth whenever I get so stressed that I forget to stand back and relax for a few minutes.

To be honest, I've learned many things over the past 21 years of my life - and maybe I still don't know everything, and I will never know everything, but I think that one of the most important things that I learned is definitely that you need to remember to take care of yourself.
Every now and then, you need to go and do something that you enjoy for yourself and not for anybody else. No matter how important your loved ones are to you, sometimes you need to spend some time alone, because you are the single most important person in your life. You are the only thing / being in this life that you are guaranteed to always have no matter what. So take care of yourself.