Sophomore Year and Reclaiming My Time

Originally published on www.kesifelton.com

August 11, 2017

As I'm getting settled on campus to start my second year, I can't help but think about how this year and last are already so different (but in a good way). The viral video of Maxine Waters reclaiming her time, although standard procedure in a congressional setting, has inspired Black women everywhere, including myself. I think "reclaiming my time" is going to be the theme for my sophomore year. 

​This school year, I simply want to make the effort to cultivate spaces, experiences, relationships, and habits that I enjoy. We all can get into a habit of relaxing our role in our day-to-day experiences. By that I mean, we choose to continue living a life we may not have total joy living because living the life we want may take a little too much effort. Being comfortable in a situation we don't want is easy. But that's not how I want to live my life and neither should you. 

With that being said, this year I want to spend more of my time doing more of what will have a more positive and long-lasting effect on my life and growth.  I want to spend more of my time doing what makes me feel good. Right now, for example, I'm sitting in one of my favorite cafés/bookstores in D.C. listening to Jill Scott and working. That makes me feel good. A lot of you know that I'm trying (keyword trying) to go vegan. That is because what I eat is directly tied to how I feel and I would like to feel better and more energized. Regardless of how hard it's going to be to give up Chick-fil-a, I want to feel good. Exercising, spending quality time with my loved ones, all of those things make me feel good, so I want to do more of that. 

I think I'm really getting to the point where living a life that I don't like isn't really an option for me. I've talked about this before, but living my best life is really important to me, and I realized that waiting months or years to actually start embodying that is counter-intuitive. I know what my ideal life looks like, and I'm going to try my hardest to make that a reality right now because I owe it to myself.  

"As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

This year is really looking up and, God willing, it will be productive and filled with another ten months of great memories and growth. Here's to reclaiming my time.

–kf