Sometimes life throws things your way that you weren’t expecting.

Well, this week I managed to get a concussion. I have never had one before, but I was basically put on bed rest.

I am not allowed to do any physical activity other than walking and I am supposed to rest when I can to allow my brain time to heal.

I am someone who is always on the go. There is always something more to do or see or someone to hang out with. Time doesn’t stop.

Taking a full-on break in college is hard. If I take too much time not doing anything, I think of the other things that I need to get done or ahead on.

Planning and prioritizing are big for me. Now is a time when I need to put my health first and take some time for rest and relaxation.

A lot of times when I have downtime, I like to watch a show or scroll online, as those are both easy things to do from my bed. Sadly, with a concussion you should try to stay away from technology as it can strain your eyes, making your brain work harder.

TV shows were kind of out of the picture. I had to refocus and find relaxing things that did not involve too much technology.

The first thing I turned to was reading. I enjoy reading and since I had to take a break from some of my normal activities, I had time. It was great while it lasted. I was only able to focus on the words for so long until I had to give my brain a break.

Coloring was another great option. Letting your creative juices flow, while having a relaxing activity and something new for your wall is a great combination. It was really nice because the only thing you need to focus on with coloring is staying inside the lines.

Over time I started to get a little bored. Silence is nice sometimes as it allows you to think, but there isn’t much more to think about after a while.

I have never been an audiobook or podcast person. For books, I like seeing the words and being able to do the different voices and images in my head and I’ve just never really listened to podcasts.

While coloring, I didn’t want to just listen to music so I found some random podcasts and I was hooked. I started with criminal podcasts to funny ones to more personal experience podcasts.

It wasn’t until now that I discovered there was so much that you could learn or think about daily while on the go.

An added plus was that while the only physical activity I could do was go on walks, it was nice having something I could take with me and think about other than music.

Podcasts and coloring in low light was my favorite thing to do while I had my concussion. It allows you to be creative and do something while resting and yet still have something to listen to and follow along with.

I also never realized how much technology there is within our lives and how much of our entertainment comes from devices.

While having a concussion sucks, it was nice being able to take a step back and find new ways to fully relax and recuperate.

Geske can be reached at [email protected].