I believe in just a few minutes. I was five years old when my little sister was born. I had been begging for a younger sibling for years and when the day finally came I immediately understood that my life had changed for the better. But I was most definitely a stubborn little kid, strong-willed, liked to get my way, and like anyone, valued time to myself. Any older sibling knows that younger sisters and brothers will trail behind them like a shadow, wanting attention and a playmate, and my sister Ariana was absolutely no different. As a seven-year-old kid, I sometimes found her constant trailing annoying, but at the time I guess I failed to see it was out of love and curiosity, after all, she was only two. Every time I would get frustrated, my mom would say to me, just give her a few minutes and she’ll leave you alone. I rolled my eyes and probably continued to ignore her. I have to say this kind of makes me seem like a bad sister, I promise you I’m really not, I love her more than anyone. For years my mom said that phrase to me, “just a few minutes, Mariel,” and low and behold, every single time she was right. As we’ve gotten older, my sister and I have gotten a lot closer, she’s truly my best friend and I’d do anything for her. I’ve realized in the last few years and probably this last year especially, how important those words my mom used to say to me are. And I don’t mean in the sense of spending five minutes with my sister, but rather the importance of spending five minutes with myself. I know it’s kind of ironic how the phrase has the same meaning, yet has become the complete opposite of how I always knew it, I hope that makes sense. I started doing a lot of yoga recently, some in the beginning days of quarantine and now I’ve made it a goal to set aside time for four or five sessions a week. I would say that overall I’m a pretty anxious person, I tend to get in my head and let my thoughts run rampant when I need to be calm. As a kid, I played a lot of sports, but never truly found anything that could put me in a good headspace. The more yoga practice I do, the more I realize how powerful it is for me. I will go in and sit on my mat, I might be annoyed, grumpy, tired, or just in a bad mood, but twenty or thirty minutes later, after a whole ton of downward dogs and warrior poses, I, ninety-nine percent of the time, come out the other side feeling whole again. This is why I believe in just a few minutes. That’s truly all it takes to make a difference. Especially now, it’s so incredibly important to set aside a few minutes to focus on yourself, see how you’re doing, but also how someone else is doing. A few minutes of listening could change their day too. It’s about the time, not the length.