3 tips to manifest your creativity and find balance with Luis Ruiz

Is there a voice inside of you urging you to start creating, but you’re too busy drowning in stress tears and looming deadlines? Believe it or not, there is a way to find balance so that you can save some of that motivation for your own projects. Don’t throw in the towel just yet! There’s light at the end of the tunnel.

I’ve come up with 3 life changing tips for living a healthy and productive student life:

**1. Treasure Time (You won’t be young forever, you know?)
**As tempting as binge watching on Netflix while munching on sweets and procrastinating may sound, I can assure you the pride when holding a completed piece of work feels a lot better in the long run. However, this can only be achieved by spending your time wisely. It’s just a matter of doing the math (not as bad as it sounds) and realizing that shifting your habits will lead to a better you. This is no Dalai Lama nonsense, as a dark-eyed insomnia fanatic, I promise that little changes will go a long way.

Start by writing your weekly schedule down. Look at how much time you spend in each of your activities and decide which to prioritize. Instead of taking a three hour nap, lower it to a healthy 30 minute power-nap. After you wake up, grab a notebook to brainstorm and sketch. As for tedious homework, stop procrastinating and just get it over with. Your body and mind will be better for it.

**2. Surround yourself with your creative tribe
**Spending time with people who don’t respect your interests might be stopping you from meeting your potential. If you’re fortunate enough to be studying what you like, where you’d like, this shouldn’t be an issue for you. However, much of the world’s youth is also on the clock struggling to provide for themselves, so having a space to share and enjoy mutual interests with others is a privilege to dream of.

Adulting is hard, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be fun.

We live in a globalized world. Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook, provide platforms for you to find artists who inspire you. With a healthy dose of responsibility and common sense in tow, you can build friendships online that are just as strong as those with classmates and co-workers. When you’re surrounded with positive energy and support to express who you are at your fullest, you’ll be pushed to keep creating and sharing with others. Remember, flowers don’t blossom without help from all sides.

**3. Put on your grown up pants
**Just as your parents warned, growing up means more responsibility. That realization shouldn’t be something to be afraid of, but rather an opportunity to rise to the occasion and combat insecurities. Adulting is hard, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be fun.

Decision making defines you as a person, everyone can appreciate a bold decision maker.

Don’t slide through these years, make the most of them! Grabbing new responsibilities by the horns will be rewarded with memorable experiences and achievements you can be proud of.

As a person still on the rocky road of self discovery called “Life as a Millennial in 2017”, I hope sharing some of my recently gained knowledge will help you discover that you’re not alone on this journey. You just need to buckle up and own your ride.

Regards from Mexico,
Luis

Luis is a Project 1324 Ambassador, check out his artwork here.