Reflection: Unhealthy Habits

Throughout this course, I learned that a healthy behavior modification is critical and plays a significant role in successful aging. However, I also learned how extremely unhealthy and stressed I am in my daily routine and how detrimental that can be for my health and overall aging, if a change is not made soon. This course quickly made me realize that I needed to make a small beneficial change in my routine that will be effective and help me cope with my unhealthy habits and aging. For instance, I learned the multiple benefits of drinking water can do, such as increasing energy, improving skin complexion, and flushing out toxins. Additionally, I learned the multiple benefits of externalizing your creativity through art. Art production helps

Before the behavior modification, I would produce some art, but not consistently. However, discovering the great benefits art productivity can do to one’s mental health motivated me to integrate this change into my daily routine. My goal was to reduce the amount of stress in my daily life. At first, I just wanted to draw impulsively without preparing a routine because I wanted to produce artwork rapidly to reduce my stress, but it was not as easy as I believed. In the beginning, it was challenging for me to produce any artwork that I felt satisfied with. The first days, I just sketched whatever I could think of, but I kept producing art as if it were to be graded which was more stressful rather than doing it for the enjoyment. Therefore, the creative process was challenging for me since I kept over thinking. As a result, I decided to produce art only in my free time or when I felt motivated or intrigued to paint or draw. I had this positive mentality throughout the week for my behavior modification and it really helped me feel satisfied with externalizing my creativity. Surprisingly, I even began using various mediums to express my creativity. However, there were some days that I chose to just create artwork and forget about my school work causing me to procrastinate which was not helpful academically. Nevertheless, my mood throughout the week was amazing and I felt very creative and less