Fifteen-page term papers, ten-minute presentations, three club meetings, and deciding which party to attend this weekend? College can be a stressful time for so many people. The best way to describe it sometimes is as if you are watching an hourglass continue to run out of all of its sand, yet it’s unable to turn over and restart; instead, you watch it deplete and deplete and deplete.

College comes with a lot of different leaps, bounds, and firsts. It’s the first time living on your own, getting a cold on your own, and making decisions with no one else to tell you any different. There’s that one professor who will change your life, maybe one for a good reason and another for a bad one. There is the finding of your people; you know your future kid’s aunts and uncles who you can’t wait to tell stories to your kids about. But sometimes, experiencing and wanting to do everything can come at a cost to our mental and emotional well-being. This is why I have always lived by the mantra that self-care is so important.

When I think of self-care, I think about how I am feeling and how I want to celebrate or acknowledge those feelings. Sometimes, I like to divide up how I go about my self-care. I have care tactics for when I’m happy, did well on a big test, or got some great news that I feel I deserve to celebrate. I have tactics for when I’m sad and want to sulk or I need to get my spirits up. Then, I have tactics for when I’m scared, anxious, or angry that work to calm my nerves and bring me back to a place of level-headedness. So, I thought I would go ahead and share some of my favorite self-care remedies because you never know how convenient they could be!

1. Getting my favorite foods: Pasta, a giant Dr. Pepper, something sweet, etc.
2. Celebrate with my friends!
3. Buy that item that’s been waiting in my online shopping cart
4. TAKE A NAP!!!!!!!
5. Binge my favorite comfort show or recent show obsession
6. Call a friend who I know will take my mind off things
7. Get my nails done
8. Go on a drive with the music at full blast and enjoy!
9. Write in a journal. Take the time to write out my feelings so I can feel a little less heavy.
10. BREATHE!

More often than not, we have too many things happening at once. We can feel like our brain is going a million miles a minute. My best advice is to take a second to pause, breathe, and think because it will all work out and be okay.

I am neither a trained medical nor a self-care professional, but I know what works for me and what I hope will work for you, too. Whenever I feel stressed, anxious, mad, or even excited, I always try to listen to what I need. If I feel overwhelmed, I’m taking a nap. I got an “A” on a paper, well, that Chick-fil-A Dr. Pepper is calling my name! I’m sad? Those 32 episodes left in Love Island won’t binge on their own! All this to say that sometimes, putting you first is okay. It’s okay to listen to your body’s needs and wants. It’s okay to take a minute away from work and try and understand how to make yourself come to a place where you are ready to take all this on again. But the lesson in this is to always listen to you and prioritize SELF-CARE!!

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