People who know me know that I like to stay active and involved. Between my studies at college, my extracurricular activities, or other commitments that I have, I'm constantly on the move. Being a college student has definitely taught me that I can't be a million places at once. This past semester in particular showed me how important self-care really is to living a happy and somewhat stress free life. However, self-care doesn't come easy for everyone, including myself. So here are some tips that will help you be the happiest you that you can be while still doing all the things you love!

1. Make "me time" a part of your schedule

I know this may sound a bit silly, but if you're constantly on the go, "me time" is kind of hard to come across naturally. If you schedule some time every week to just relax and unwind, your mind and body will be recharged and ready to take on the world! Usually what I do is, after I've made my schedule for the semester, I look at when I can have some down time and then block it off. No meetings, no studying, just chilling out in my room, hanging with friends, exercising, or whatever helps you relax. Try to find a block of at least two hours. If your "me time" is only an hour or less, you may spend it worrying about going to your next meeting or other obligations that you don't need to worry about at this particular moment in time. Just relax and treat yo self!

2. Accept the fact that you can't do everything

If you're anything like me, then you always want to advantage of the opportunities that you are given, which is great! However, sometimes you need to take a step back and ask yourself "Is this something that 1. I'm passionate about and 2. I can do without stressing myself out too much?" Some of my friends have encouraged me to join clubs they were involved in, but I didn't really have a particular interest in them. I wanted to support my friends, but after thinking on it, joining the additional clubs would have made my life more stressful, and I couldn't do that to myself. As much as I want to do everything that I enjoy on my campus, there simply aren't enough hours in the day. By accepting that, I have found the clubs and organizations that I'm really passionate about and I'm really happy to be a part of them. By doing things you're passionate about, you're keeping a lot of extra burden off your shoulders and truly having a good time with the things you're involved with. This, to me, is another method of self-care.

3. Surround yourself with people who care about you

Again, this probably sounds a little silly. We all have people who care about us, right? The answer is yes, but you need people who are going to go out of their way to make sure that you are happy, healthy and doing things that fill you with joy! You need people in your life who say "Hey I think you deserve a break. Let's get some food" after you worked through lunch to go to a meeting and finish up work. You need people who really care about you. The kind of people who know when something's off with you and actively try to help you out. Fortunately for me, I have a lot of those people in my life. Having these people in your life make self-caring so much easier!

4. Find your "happy place"

Is there a place that you go to where you instantly feel at ease? A place where you feel really happy? A place that makes you feel elated just by thinking about it? Well then that's your happy place! Why is this important you might ask? I think that it's natural to associate certain places with certain emotions. For example I associate going to the park with being happy because my boyfriend and I went on our first date at the park. My mom and I also go for walks in the park and spend time together there. Places like these are great for clearing your head when you're stressed and taking a well deserved break from everything! Whether it's physically going there or imagining it in your head, your happy place can be a great place to go when you're feeling overwhelmed and need an escape.

5. Remember eating is important!

I. Love. Food. Food is probably one of my favorite things in the whole world. However, in the hustle and bustle of life, it can be easy to forget doing the thing that gives you energy to keep up with everything that you do. There have definitely been times where I have been off of a regular eating schedule because of classes and such. Be sure that you pack yourself meals and snacks that will keep you full of energy and not running on empty, especially on those busy days!

6. Get plenty of sleep

Sleeping is crucial to self-care. If you're anything like me, you will run yourself ragged trying to get everything done. The last thing you should do, which I learned the hard way, is try to stay up late doing work after a long, busy day. Listen to what your body is telling you and make sure you get in enough sleep where you can get up the next morning feeling rested. Know how much sleep you need and try to get that amount every night. Try to avoid taking naps on a regular basis as well. As much as I love a good nap, they can really mess with your sleep schedule so try to limit them as best you can. Treat your body the way it deserves to be treated!

7. Remember how awesome you are!

Positive affirmations are a great motivator! When you are doing all this cool stuff and being involved in your community, sometimes its hard to give yourself a pat on the back. You always think about the things you could be doing as opposed to the things you are doing. But like I said earlier, all the things you're doing are things you truly care about and put your heart and soul into. That's pretty spectacular if you ask me! If you have problems with giving yourself some credit for the things you do, here's a little trick that helped me: put up sticky notes around your bathroom mirror, bedroom door, or other locations that you know you'll see before you leave. Write little encouragements on them like "you rock" or "you're gonna kill it today." These little notes boosted my confidence before I started my day and it was great! Maybe they can work for you to! Reminding yourself how amazing of a human being you are is, to me, the epitome of self-care.

Well there you have it! I hoped these tips helped you on your journey to self-care! And remember, you're spectacular in every way and you're going to do awesome things with your life! Never forget that!