I’m all about helping other women in STEM prioritize self-care in order to minimize burnout; if we don’t look out for ourselves, who will? One way I’m doing that is with my video series Self-Care in STEM (follow me @sharanadarcel to watch it on IGTV). To kick it off, I shared how self-care has helped me through my STEM journey: Part One is about undergrad and my first job after college, and Part Two (coming soon!) is about grad school and my current job.
Featured Image by Pixabay from Pexels
Undergrad
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I attended the University of New Haven and declared a major in forensic science my freshman year. Being a science major meant we had to take extra credits because of labs, but I took that to the extreme and ended up taking 8 classes my first semester. I figure since I had 7-8 classes a day in high school, I would be able to manage the same number of classes in college. NOPE! My grades were pretty average that semester because not only was I brand new to living away from home and trying to get used to the school, but I had too many classes at once. I stopped comparing what I did in high school to what I thought I should be doing in college, and cut back on the number of classes I took each semester going forward.
Painting my nails has always been a form of self-care for me, and I kept that up through undergrad. Nail polish is a pretty inexpensive treat, and I loved putting on a TV show and doing my nails with my roommates. That was time that I didn’t have to worry about homework or exams, and could give my self a break without having to leave my dorm.
Speaking of leaving my dorm, sometimes that’s what I needed to clear my mind. Changing my environment for a bit by taking trips to the local mall was so helpful for me in undergrad. We could hop on the city bus and get to the mall within 30 minutes, and even if I didn’t buy anything there, just getting off campus for a bit and changing my surroundings helped me get out of my head.
My sophomore year at UNH, I had the great idea to work two jobs while studying forensics. I didn’t like asking my parents for money, so I wanted to earn my own. That year is when I decided to double major in chemistry, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to manage two majors and two jobs. Quitting both my jobs was a HUGE form of self-care because it meant I could focus on just being a student and have more time to study these difficult topics without the added stress of having to go to work. (IMPORTANT: I understand that I was privileged by having parents who could afford for me not to work through school and not everyone has that option. If you have to work, hopefully you can find a job that is flexible and understanding of the fact that you’re a college student, and they can work around your school schedule.)
First Job
My first job out of college was as a quality control chemist at a manufacturing plant about an hour away from my house. About a year and half in, I noticed that I was feeling super stressed. I was miserable and felt like I was stuck in a rut at only 22 years old – THAT’S NOT GOOD. When I took some time to figure out what was wrong, I realized I wasn’t doing anything to take care of myself- all I did was go to work and come home. I still had my previous self-care techniques of doing my nails and playing in makeup, but it wasn’t enough to help me break that feeling.
When I told one of my coworkers about how I was feeling, she recommended that I try doing yoga. There was a studio nearby that offered afternoon classes and even though I don’t like going to workout classes with other people, I knew I had to try something different. Starting yoga helped me relieve stress more than I ever thought it would! It was a form of exercise that challenged me but that I still really enjoyed doing. The class also helped break up the monotony of my routine, and gave me something fun to look forward to after work (instead of just dreading my hour-long commute home).
My lab had a culture of staying late: we all stayed late basically every day, and it was weird to leave on time because there was always something else that could be done. When I first started, I felt like as the new person AND as a Black woman, I had to really show up and put in extra work. Staying late every single day will really burn you out, and that’s exactly what happened to me. When I started taking that yoga class, I HAD to leave work on time or I would miss the class, and I noticed that I loved the feeling of leaving work when I was supposed to (imagine that). I made it a mission to leave work on time more often, even when I didn’t have plans after work, and made staying late the exception and not the rule.
Something else that really helped my mental state while working there was changing my schedule. Originally I worked from 10am-6:30pm, which was great because I didn’t like waking up early but horrible because I lived almost an hour away. When the person who worked the 6am shift quit, I decided to move to her shift. I knew it would be hard to get used to waking up so early, but I valued the fact that I would have an easier commute to work. Changing my shift to 6am-2:30pm took away my stressful morning commute, and I ended up building a habit of really taking care of myself each day before work. I could wake up at 4am, workout, shower, eat breakfast, leave for work, and still make it on time for 6am. My mornings were dedicated to ME, and I was able to handle work problems with less stress and a clearer head each day. I also had the rest of the day after work to do whatever I wanted, and that was an amazing feeling (even if I got sleepy by 8pm).
Watch Part One on IGTV
Part 2 of this series will be up soon- follow me @sharanadarcel to be the first to learn when it’s live!
