What is mindfulness? And why does it matter?

The College Essay Journal defines mindfulness as “being fully present in your mind, body, and feelings.” To be mindful is to be aware in the moment without adding judgment or interpretations to reality.

This doesn’t mean denying your struggles, frustrations, or negative emotions. Rather, it encourages you to own those emotions while they are happening. This Mindful Manual™ also emphasizes focusing on good things in your life and positives that might come from working through tough situations. 

The College Essay Journal approaches mindfulness by asking a series of daily questions that encourage you to focus on the present moment. There is a strong correlation between the prompts in the book and the questions you’ll be asked on college applications. Ultimately, the journal slows down the essay writing process to allow for true reflection and deep thinking. The hope is that students will also feel less stressed and more confident throughout their application journey. At the end of the 30 days, you’ll have an entire book worth of content to use when writing your essays and completing a full college application. 

The journal is also filled with “Mindfulness Moments.” These are sections that ask you to pause and take a moment to reflect. The questions typically feel quite simple but have big impacts on both attitude and introspection. Mindfulness Moments could range from “what made you laugh today?” to “how can you bring joy to someone in your life?” They’re really centered around this idea of positivity and seeing value in the small things in life. 

Our hope is that students don’t just gain an essay, but also identify their support system, learn skills to cope with success and failure, and gain insight into the things that make them happy. Even people who have gone through this process already or have been out of school for years have found value in the questions being asked. They really do create a whole new mindset that’s built around the mindful approach. 

If you’d like to try out mindfulness for yourself, below are a few of our favorite mindful techniques that help us to relax, stay positive, and focus on being in the moment.

Listen to a white noise app or classical music

The Calm App is great for guided meditation and mindfulness techniques. However, I also use a free “white noise” app to fall asleep. “Airplane” and “Air Conditioner” are my two favorite sounds, but I’ve been told this is a hot take and most please like “Rain” or “Ocean” noises best.

Light a candle and take some deep breaths

Safety first! Don’t start a fire.

That said, you shouldn’t underestimate the power of ambiance and deep breathing. I almost always have candles lit in whatever room I’m working in. You can get pretty affordable candles in bulk online or in the discount section of most major stores.

If fires or cost are of concern, I also have a number of electric (i.e. fake) candles that are remote controlled and just require batteries. You lose out on the smell of ocean waves or lemon breeze, but it still creates a really soothing and calming atmosphere.

There are so many free yoga, meditation, and stretching classes online. You can do live classes on the MINDBODY app or pre-recorded YouTube videos (check out Blogilates by Cassie Ho!). Yoga with Adriene is also a favorite to do with friends. 

Do something that makes you laugh :)

Whether it’s watching a video, listening to a podcast, talking to a friend, or dancing in your room… Laughter is always the best medicine and seems to take the pressure off just a bit.