The relief of relaxing after a long day of stress is what many look forward to. The way that people relax and relieve stress come in all shapes and forms. Many put off prioritizing their mental health. Self improvement month may be the thing that they need to stop putting these things on hold and go for it. 

“Self improvement is being the best possible version of yourself,” BHS Instructional Coach, Zachary Kost said. 

Mental health is important for your physical and mental well being. It can be anything that makes things better for you, or doing things that you don’t usually do. This could be doing something as simple as brushing your teeth twice a day, or trying to make sure you drink enough water. 

“Mental health is important because your brain has you doing so much everyday and if you’re not taking care of your brain, you’re not taking care of yourself,” BHS sophomore Riley Kummer said. 

When asked what they do to improve their mental health, people’s answers vary. Everyone’s routines and lives are different, so what works for you may not work for someone else.

“Personally for me, if I’m having a rough day I journal, or I’ll do something that I really enjoy like watching a movie just to take a break,” Kummer said. 

The first step, getting into a habit, is almost always a struggle. There’s things that keep you busy and get in the way of the self care that you want to focus on. Breaking habits is also tough. In September, it is all about focusing on bad habits that you can break, and trying to form new and healthier habits. 

“My first step for self improvement mentally right now is to be more aware of the things around me, and taking care of myself physically and mentally,” Kummer said. 

Not everyone talks about self improvement often, but many believe that it should be encouraged to others. 

“Being a better person yourself only benefits the people around you. When you’re a better person and other people are benefited, our community’s stronger,” Kost said. 

During the year, it is easy to not fully focus on yourself, but during the month of September, it is brought to light. Self improvement is  useful by a lot of people, just to be reminded to focus on themselves. 

“I usually just focus on one thing that’s happening in the future and tell myself not to give up because then you’ll be missing out on awesome opportunities,” Kost said. “Then also the people around me. I can’t give up on myself  because of the other people.”