Category: Catherine in Rennes

A Guide to (how not to be) Stressing Out

Published on by Catherine BakerLeave a comment

As I am slowly trudging through 3 weeks of exam prep and exams while simultaneously counting down the days until I am home for Christmas break, I keep asking myself why I decided to do an entire school year here. Was it my love of French culture and food? Was it my desire to go places I haven’t been before? Or was it my incessant need to overachieve at everything I do and, even if I’m not enjoying it, I never give up? It’s not that I’m not enjoying my time in Rennes, I think I just need a break. So, I think it’s a combination of all three. That last question, though, is one I’ve been exploring a lot of while I’ve been in France because I don’t quit. I’ve always finished a book, always done the extra credit, always proved to my peers that I’m not a quitter. That’s not who I was raised to be.

So, because I’ve been having some struggles and stress, that’s no excuse as to why I should do anything differently, act differently, work differently. I’m too prideful, too determined to consider taking any kind of real break. Even when I’m away for a weekend, I work. I can’t help it.

In order to not run myself into the ground during this period of my life at study abroad, I have compiled a list of brain breaks that still feel productive:

  1. Go for a run.
  2. Go to a café and read for a minimum of one hour.
  3. Pretend you’re a billionaire and plan your life in your study abroad country*
  4. Have dinner at the dining hall with friends at least once a week.
  5. Join a pilates class.
  6. Talk to your friends and family

There’s a simplicity to distraction that seems to give me temporary relief. And once that’s over, I go back to being a regular stressed out university student who’s an overachieving, hyper-independent perseverer**.

* Me, personally, I live in a chateau in the French countryside with my friends

** This isn’t a word, but I don’t know an antonym for “quitter” that works well.

It’s Just a Regular Thursday…

Published on by Catherine BakerLeave a comment

As the seasons have continued to change and the rise in stress has started to become more apparent, I can’t help but think about the fact that I’m not home for Thanksgiving. This year will mark the first time someone in my immediate family is missing a holiday.

As I have continued to think about what I will do in lieu of out family traditions, I can honestly say that I don’t know. I might as well sleep in, go for my usual cappuccino and croissant, read, study for exams, and pass the day like it’s any other.

When my sister was doing her study abroad, we spent our Thanksgiving with her in Paris eating delicious food at the oldest restaurant in the city, sipping cocktails, and seeing the city lit up by holiday lights and the sparkle of the Eiffel Tower.

Even though there was some parisian exploration, without my family, it doesn’t feel the same.

Hopefully this year I can either make my own tradition or I can live with the knowledge that my family will be together for the holiday in my head.

If you are spending Thanksgiving alone, I do have a few ideas to remedy the loneliness:

  1. Read, all day!
  2. Go to the movie theatre.
  3. Take yourself out to a nice dinner and enjoy your own company.
  4. Watch Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 1.
  5. FaceTime with family all day.

I don’t really know what this year’s holiday season has in store for me besides an ungodly amount of oral examination, however that’s okay, because I’m excited to learn about how I cope with feeling lonelier than usual. It’ll be a personal exploration of my mind.