By Darby Good | Page One Editor
As a student, it’s easy for everything to fall into chaos among meetings, school work and student organizations. One thing that has greatly helped me keep it all together is taking the time to care for various plants around my apartment as well as a beta fish.
An article by NBC talks about the calming, stress relief that indoor plants can bring to a work space and a home. Plants can also increase our quality of air. NASA released a study that says houseplants can remove up to 87 percent of air toxins within 24 hours.
“Studies have also proven that indoor plants improve concentration and productivity (by up to 15 percent!), reduce stress levels and boost your mood — making them perfect for not just your home but your work space, too,” the article explains.
Succulents are obviously a great first step, but for those wanting to step up their plant game, plants that require more care can end up lasting a lot longer than others. For me, my plants have been a great calming factor in my life, but also watering my plants calms me too because it feels good to take care of something. Even if it is a little plant life. This also transitions into fish care. I like knowing that when the sun comes up, I feed my fish, and when the sun goes down, I feed my fish again. This keeps everything in order, but not in the sense that it adds another exact time that I have to consider in my already busy schedule. I’m proud to have been able to keep both my fish and plants alive.
Fish are also great because they’re little buddies that don’t require a lot of care. All you need to do is feed them and clean the tank once in a while. That’s all your fish needs to keep on swimming. I got my fish after moving into my dorm freshman year. This made for a sidekick while figuring out college and transitioning into college life. Now that I don’t live in a dorm, my fish and I have come a long way. It’s great to look at him and know that I was able to have a fishy friend while going through all the changes that college brings.
The same could be said about plants, too. When I moved from a dorm to an apartment, it was hard at first to feel like it was my home and not just a living space. Plants were a game changer. Not only because of the warmth they brought to a space. My plants created a homey feel to the apartment that allowed me and my roommates to just relax and chill. It also made me proud to be responsible for the life of the plants because they have made my apartment a home, so I take care of them so that they can keep on growing. Similar to the fish, as time goes on, I’ll get to my plants grow and as they get larger, they’ll become more abundant with memories, too.
