By Kaitlyn Hughes
editor-in-chief | hughesk10@duq.edu

Growing up in the Hughes family household, Tuesdays were for tacos, Fridays were for pizza and Sundays were for bagels after church.

My family had this weekly routine down to a science. We always had something to look forward to throughout our busy weeks of work and school. More importantly, we had allotted time to hang out with each other and take care of ourselves.

As my brothers and I got older, and we had sporting events and social obligations on the weekends, these customs slowly began to fade away.

Throughout my first years of college, my days were consistently blurred together. It was always class, newspaper, work, repeat. The only things I had to look forward to each week was editing stories for The Duke and working 12 hours at my serving job. It was not always thrilling to say the least.

Don’t get me wrong, I love these things. But it’s nice to have a small respite from career-related activities, especially in the thick of undergraduate studies. Quickly, I got sick of this stress-driven routine. I found myself without hobbies and weekly bits of joy. I didn’t know who I was outside of journalism and school anymore.

But this year, I made it one of my New Year’s resolutions to incorporate a weekly routine similar to the one from my childhood. And slowly but surely, I did just that.

Now, Thursdays are for catching up on the latest episode of “Survivor,” Saturdays are for bike rides, yoga and coffee and Sundays are for Ultimate Frisbee.

When I am in the midst of a stressful Thursday at school, I just remind myself about the few more hours I have until I can be cozy in my bed watching who got voted off of “Survivor.”

Every week at yoga I get to build on my skills and spend time with my friends who dare to join me at 9:00 a.m. in a 90-degree room. I always leave the studio with a smile on my face, an itch to show my roommate my newly acquired skills and a longing to come back the next week.

And although I am terrible at frisbee, it is fun to challenge myself and be a part of something at Duquesne that’s not within the confines of the media department.

As I have become more conscious of my own weekly routines, I have noticed the importance of them in others’ lives, too.

My neighbor told me the other day that every Tuesday he makes a chicken curry dish. An influencer I follow on Instagram, hannahschiav, always hosts her friends for what she deems as “Soup Sunday.” The group of regulars that I used to serve coffee to at Panera would get donuts every Saturday.

These small details can pull someone out of the monotony of life. A fun element in a routine quickly transforms life from eat, sleep, work, repeat to eat my favorite food, do my favorite activity, work, get rest so I can do it all over again next week, repeat.

Not only do these routines give us a break from our strenuous realities, they give us space to appreciate how far we have come over the past six days.

As assignments pile up and work schedules begin to seem endless, it might seem daunting to add another item onto the to-do list. But all you have to do is figure out the small things you love, and dedicate a little time to them each week.

You deserve to pour into your own cup for once, especially, in this hectic world.