My Final Post

Welcome back to my blog!

    It’s hard to believe that the course is over and this is the last post I will be making. I feel like I was brainstorming topics for my genius hour project just last week, so it is crazy that it is now complete!

    My experience with the genius hour project was truly beneficial for my wellbeing. I dedicated these last few weeks to making positive changes in my lifestyle as a way to determine how to improve my mental health and wellbeing. Reflecting back on the experience, I can say I was successful in this. Through going on this wellbeing journey, I learned how important it is to take time out of each day to focus on yourself. I realized that doing things for yourself is not at all selfish, and it is necessary for maintaining a positive, healthy lifestyle. This journey has allowed me to discover various things, including that going on a walk with a friend is better than going alone, yoga is one of my favourite forms of exercise, meditation is easy, quick, and beneficial, and painting is a great way to relax and express creativity. I have found joy in doing all of these activities, which I think has helped me stick with this journey. 

    Although this experience was great, there were some challenges that came up. When I decided what changes I wanted to make to my lifestyle, I thought I chose ones that were attainable. As I progressed through the weeks of this journey, I found painting and walking to be quite the challenge for me. I have always loved painting, but I found it to be too time consuming to do during the week. This realization made me feel a little disappointed in myself, as I was under the impression that I could achieve all of the goals I set out for myself. I decided that painting is something I will try to do on weekends, as it is just a little too much to do during the week. I hope to do one painting each weekend, but if I don’t achieve this I will not be disappointed in myself. Walking is something that was also challenging during this project, as I honestly don’t really enjoy walking. I decided that in order to go on walks, I would invite a friend with me. This made it much more enjoyable as it turned into more of a social activity. Although walking with friends is great, I am aware that my friends will not always be available to go on walks with me. I need to try my best to push myself to go on walks alone. Even though I did not necessarily overcome these challenges, I still tried my best to incorporate walking and painting into my life.

    From here, I hope to turn these lifestyle changes into habits. My mental health and wellbeing has improved from incorporating these small changes into my life over the course of the past few weeks, so I know it will be extremely beneficial for me if they become habits. Through this experience, I have discovered the importance of focusing on yourself. I hope that my journey will show people that you should never feel guilty about putting yourself first, because by taking care of yourself, you will become a better person for others.