A Little Exhaustion Is Worth It
“Self-love is a daily practice; be kind and patient with yourself.” ~ Elliot Page
It is currently Day 5 of the trip as I am writing this blog post. I am already beginning to feel a tad bit exhausted, both physically and mentally. I know that I will have some more time to rest soon, which is helping. I also try my best to not push myself too hard and to take moments here and there to take a break when possible. My physical exhaustion comes from the surplus of walking that we all must endure here. The city is gorgeous and exciting, don’t get me wrong, but it’s certainly a sudden and drastic adjustment that I have had to make.
My mental exhaustion is from the wide range of emotions I have felt during my short time here thus far. These emotions come from both the things that I’ve experienced outside of the theaters as well as what I have felt within them. As a place, San Francisco has been very wonderful to experience. The culture is so diverse here (which means a bunch of really good food) and the sights are gorgeous. The films I’ve seen have also been amazing. So far, the films that made me cry the most is a tie between Young Hearts and My Old Ass. They both had incredibly important messages and they both moved me in different (and intense) ways.
Something that I don’t think enough people talk about in society is this: You can still experience burnout doing what you love. Taking care of yourself and your well-being is something that everyone must keep in mind. This concept is especially true for people who are committed to doing work that they believe is important. Ensuring that you are in good shape to be doing what you’re doing is what will keep you going (and prevent you from potentially losing your passion for your work) in the long run.
There are several things that I do for self-care which I consistently make time for. One of those things is singing. I love singing so much and it’s one of my favorite ways to express myself. I’ll usually be blasting tunes while in the shower or I’ll be quietly singing as I go about my day. Another thing is taking naps. If I have the ability to do so, I thoroughly enjoy taking a nice nap. A third thing would be taking time to do something that requires very little brain power. An activity like this would include scrolling through social media (which isn’t ideal, but I try my best to limit my consumption).
I know I’ve done some complaining in this specific blog post, so I’d like to reiterate that I am very glad that I decided to go on this trip. I do have my difficult moments where I miss my home and my bed and my cat, but I know this immersion is an invaluable experience. I’ve had and will have a lot of firsts on this trip (first plane ride, first time being on the west coast, first time I’ve been away from home for two weeks, etc.) which is, for the most part, exciting. I have also had the opportunity to make some wonderful new friendships while on this trip. Everyone who came along is so lovely and I’m glad I’ve gotten to know them better.
There is certainly still plenty of experiencing that will be done during my time in San Francisco. Time is somehow flying by and moving at a snail’s pace all at the same time. There’s so much to do and to see (and so little money to spend) that it can get to be a little overwhelming. I have no idea if I’ll ever return to the west coast, let along San Francisco, so I want to make sure that I don’t leave with any glaring regrets. I definitely need to remember to take more photos because I love taking photos and I want to be able to show others and myself what I did.
So, yeah. I’m kind of exhausted, but not necessarily in a bad way. Just in a “new things are happening, and I am doing my best to take it one step at a time” way. I think I’ve exhausted myself a little bit more with this blog post and all that I’ve written. Time for some self-care.
