It's that time of year! Whether you already started classes this semester or start in a few weeks, it is important, especially for RD2BEs, to set intentions for both their success and wellbeing.
We understand the start of the semester, especially during the fall, is a stressful time filled with lots of uncertainty. You could be a freshman experiencing college for the first time, just declared a major, or it's an ordinary semester for you. No matter where you are, setting intentions at the beginning of the semester offers many benefits.
They allow you to steer clear towards goals, take care of yourself, and be successful in whatever unexpectedly comes your way (anyone else have fear of the unknown?). Specific intentions can vary from person to person, but we want to provide a foundation for RD2BEs so they can discover what intentions align with them this semester.
Extracurriculars: Branch Outside Academics!
Maintaining good grades throughout your academic career is important without a doubt. However, if you focus on academics and solely on academics, you are missing out on not only enhancing your resume but enhancing your life and college experience.
If you struggle with putting yourself out there, possibly set an intention to join one club this semester. We highly recommend joining your university's Student Dietetic Association if you haven't already (it holds many other names, but most universities have a nutrition/dietetics focused club). That's an excellent way to connect with likeminded students and become more integrated into the dietetics profession!
But this intention can apply to any extracurricular. It doesn't have to be a club on campus, it could be a volunteer activity, social event, or anything to get you out other than academics.
Self-Care: You Matter Too!
The other side of not being involved as much is stretching yourself too thin with extracurriculars and academics. We love seeing how motivated RD2BEs are when pursuing that RD credential, but with everything there comes a balance.
If you set an intention at the beginning of the semester to set aside days for self care, it will be a lot easier to actually follow through with them. Make sure to schedule self care like you schedule classes. Both are just as important!
A few examples of self care could be walks outside, swimming, making tea, journaling, exercise, baking, the list goes on. We just cannot emphasize enough to set aside time early onto the semester so when things do get busy, you don't have to add even more stress thinking about ways to set aside self care.
Stress: How Will You Mitigate It?
Stress. Overwhelm. Anxiety. We all get it throughout the semester. There are some stressors we cannot avoid or ignore. That is when it is good to set intentions on how to respond to certain stressors. Assigning an action to a negative feelings is a great way to handle stress. We're RD2BEs, we love planning, right? Why not plan for when stress hits most.
A lot of the actions you could do when you are feeling stressed can connect with self care. The most important thing is withdrawing yourself from the stressor. This withdrawal can take the form of going outside, doing something creative, or buying yourself a little treat. Again, it depends on your preferences as to what the action is, but set the intention early so you have a higher chance of doing it when the stress hits.
As you can see, the common theme with setting intentions is preemptively implementing habits so you have a higher chance of doing them when you need it most. Whether your intentions need to be set with extracurriculars, self care, stress, or any other topic, make sure to brainstorm some ideas before the craziness hits.
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