EMILY: I like to leave a lot of free time in my schedule because social interactions are a big source of healing for me too. So if I feel the impulse to go to the movies or go out to eat with a friend, I have the time in my schedule to do that. I think this is maybe a little bit different than a lot of the people I’ve encountered at MIT who really block out their schedule. But if you look at my schedule, I have huge chunks of free time because I know that– not even going out with friends. Even taking myself out and doing something outside of the MIT bubble is so healing sometimes. And I think a lot of people forget that.
And they forget how much of a resource Boston is itself. I think being in Boston, which is a very walkable city, it has a lot of culture in all its different areas. And it has so much stuff to do that removing yourself from campus and the sources of stress and even just getting out of your room, that really, really helped me when I was struggling with mental health. And that was definitely a strategy that I use.