#winterbreak

Lately, in an attempt to be more environmentally friendly with my candles, I've been taking out the remaining wax once the wick is spent and putting the remaining wax into cupcake tins to use them as wax melts. I've also been saving the glass candle containers for some future unknown diy tbd. I figure this approach is more environmentally friendly and cost-effective in the long run, getting the most out of the candle, plus candles can be bloody expensive. I just wish I had thought to do this before getting rid of my Fragrant Jewels after fishing out the mystery ring...But I digress.

My process is to burn the existing candle until the wick refuses to light anymore, break up the remaining wax, place it into a cupcake tin, and melt it down in my cauldron wax melter (forbidden cupcake batter) a makeshift wax melt (forbiddencupcakes). I then clean out the jar that once held said candle and then place it in a lidded container for a later unknown diy project. If you have any ideas or suggestions for cute gothic decor ideas I can do with the jars, please let me know. Thanks for reading!

Winter break in college always felt like someone hit the mute button on campus. The buildings stayed the same, but the atmosphere shifted. The noise settled. The pace slowed. The energy softened.

One year, I stayed on campus longer than usual, and I discovered something important in that quiet. When the crowds disappear, you start hearing yourself more clearly. There is something about an empty student center, a silent library, or a quiet dorm hallway that makes you honest with yourself.

I reflected on the pressure I felt to fit in. The expectations others had for me. The fears I carried about making the wrong choices. And for the first time, I asked myself what I actually wanted.

Winter break taught me that clarity does not come when life is loud. It comes in the pauses. In the stillness. In the moments when no one is asking you to be anything other than yourself.

As a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., I learned the importance of action, but I also learned the value of rest. Breaks are not wasted time. They are preparation.

Sometimes the quiet is where the next version of you begins to form.

Reflection Question: What truth about yourself becomes clearer when life finally slows down