A Recipe for Staying Whimsical by Richard O. '28

With the “-ber” months right around the corner, it’s very easy to get caught up in things like schoolwork, college applications, exams, projects, and other stressful activities that make it hard for you to make time for yourself. But in order to make sure you don’t burn yourself out, it’s sometimes helpful to set aside an hour or two where you step away from everything and take time to enjoy some of the small things you love, because the most important part of life is experiencing and not staring at a computer screen or assignments for hours on end with no breaks. So today I decided to whip up a recipe for staying whimsical that you can bake on your own anytime you’re hungry for a break.

Ingredients:

• 1 quart of an optimistic mindset
• 5 tablespoons of your favorite songs
• 1 bowl (or two) of your favorite snacks or a pint of ice cream
• 3 cups of positive affirmations
• 3 tbsp of your proudest memories or moments
• A close app feature on on all social media services and online assignments
• 1/2 cup of a friend or family member you can talk to
• 1 version of you that will figure things out
• 2 mixing bowls
• A spatula/whisk
• A chopping board
• An oven (though a room, library, or sidewalk with ample sunlight is preferred as a substitute)
• Plastic wrap
• A baking pan

Instructions:

Step 1. Dissociate from expectations:

• To get started, take the version of you that will figure things out and separate all expectations for yourself on the chopping board.
• Move the excess expectations aside
• Place the remaining version of you in a mixing bowl and pour in the quart of an optimistic mindset. 

Step 2. Relax:

• Allow the bowl containing you and the optimistic mindset to rest for 15 mins. 
• In your second mixing bowl, add the following dry ingredients: 
  • 5 tablespoons of your favorite songs
  • 1 bowl or two of your favorite snacks or a cup of ice cream
  • 3 cups of positive affirmations
• Mix until satisfied.
• Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl containing you and the optimistic mindset
• Mix until all the ingredients are blended together
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rest and rise for at least 1 hour

Step 3. Prep the Oven/Substitutes 

• If using an oven, check to make sure your oven is turned off (unless your favorite snack actually requires you to bake something and they’re still baking)
• If you didn’t acquire the preferred substitutes to the oven, you now need to acquire them
• Preheat the substitutes to a temperature associated with a decent amount of sunlight in the location of your choice
• If frequent sunlight is unavailable, a room with windows will suffice

Step 4. More Mixing and Baking

• Take your mixing bowl of primary ingredients and remove the plastic wrap
• Sprinkle in the 3 tbsp of your proudest memories or moments and fold into the mixture
• Pour the mixture into a baking pan
• Lightly coat the mixture with the close app feature on on all social media services and school assignments
• Place the baking pan in the preheated substitute and set another 1 hour timer.
• While waiting, you can optionally put the 1/2 cup of a friend or family member you can talk to on a pan on medium heat and let simmer for at least 20 mins to add to the garnish
• After 1hr, check to see if the items are ready to be removed
• If not check back every 20 minutes until the texture is soft, fluffy, and ready to come out of its oven of choice

Step 5. Garnish and Enjoy

• Finally, remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes
• On the chopping board take the leftover expectations from before and cut them into finely sliced goals and toss out any parts of the expectations that would spoil the final product or don’t seem to look appetizing. 
• If you used the friend or family member you can talk to in this recipe, add the sliced goals in the same pan and mix them together.
• Coat the cooled off version of yourself with the garnish and enjoy!