With the start of another school year, the stress is back from trying to get used to finishing homework, especially since I now have two honors classes and one AP class. To cope with the stress and relax, I do things I like, including playing video games, playing the piano, playing chess, listening to music, and reading.

I’ve been playing video games for a while now. They allow me to be immersed in a different world and often require skill and thought, which makes it enjoyable. It’s also good for escapism and for taking breaks due to its greater immersion compared to my other hobbies.

I’ve also been willingly playing the piano for about 6 years. Playing the piano allows me to relax, even more so than some of my other hobbies, even if the songs at fast-paced and a little loud. I still go to piano lessons and play certain songs there, but I also play other pieces in my own time, with many of them being piano covers of EDM and pop songs.

I also love playing chess, as it’s fun to strategize with it, whether I’m playing on the internet with a random stranger on Chess.com or Lichess.com, playing in casual chess tournaments, or simply playing with a friend.

I also love listening to music. Similarly to playing on the piano, it helps me feel more relaxed (assuming I like the music). My favorite genre is EDM, although I also sometimes listen to classical, pop, and other forms of electronic music. I often use Spotify to create playlists of different songs, and I’ve created over 100 playlists since I started in 2019. EDM composers that I’ve liked include TheFatRat (Christian Friedrich Johannes Büttner), Tobu (Toms Burkovskis), and Alan Walker.

Furthermore, I’ve loved reading books. It also allows me to relax more while simultaneously being immersed in the story. Mainly, I read realistic fiction novels, but I sometimes read science fiction or fantasy novels as well, like A Wrinkle in Time. Other books I’ve liked for a while and reread to relax include the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and the Big Nate series.

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”

-Marcus Tullius Cicero

One last thing to note here is that in school, being around friends also helps, even if I’m not doing much. It’s also nice to be greeted and conversed with sometimes.