A component I have recently incorporated into my life is one that is perhaps the most important: "self-care". I am referring to something much deeper than the number of times you shower per week or how well you brush your teeth.

I am referring to things that you may forget about or seem so small that make all the difference in your life. When you commit to a self-care plan in your life, you are truly caring for the body, mind, and soul that carry you through life and make you the amazing human being you are. In the past I was not aware this was a thing.

I would do everything I was "supposed" to be doing: work, school, spending time with friends, staying busy and yet, I still didn't feel happy because none of those things involved truly taking care of me. I have friends that have self-care plans and theirs look a little different than mine, yours may too and that's okay!

It needs to be perfectly tailored to you and your needs. But, I thought I would share some general ones that you could use to either add to an existing self-care list you already have or give you a few ideas of mine that help me to get one started.

1. Breathe

I know what you're thinking, "Yeah I'm breathing right now and it's working great thank you so much for the tip". I mean REALLY breathe, stop, take time out of your day and just breathe. Imagine you are holding a beautiful bundle of roses.

Now close your eyes and breathe that in from your nose as deep as you can. When you open your eyes imagine there is a birthday cake in front of you, you're turning about 80 at this point so you need all that oxygen you just breathed in to slowly breathe out to blow out those candles. I say slowly because that's a sh*t ton of candles and that's a marathon, not a race. Do this 10 times. Now. Go.

We are constantly going 100 miles an hour and are continuously staring at a screen. Try to unplug. You can do this right before bed. Instead of scrolling through tweets, snaps, or Instagram stories, you could pick up a book (you can check any out from my previous post to find some very dope ones).

You could meditate. I'm not a spiritual wizard and cannot meditate by sitting in silence, so I use the headspace app that has a lovely British man guiding me through ten minutes of uninterrupted relaxation. If neither of those fit your fancy, sometimes I like to just stare out the window for a couple minutes observing the people walking by, what the sky looks like, or trying to find a pattern in the cars driving by (yes I know I'm weird and probably need to leave the house more).

3. Treat Yourself

This can be anything. Treating yourself allows you to celebrate yourself and reward your mind, body, and soul for all the cool stuff it does. For example, one of my beautiful friends goes to thrift stores and buys different pots to plant her succulents in. I have recently invested in a water color set and have watched way too many youtube videos on how to paint the perfect tulip.

For you, this could be buying new music, a new outfit, and if you are low on cash and not in a place to spend money, there are free ways to treat yourself too. Maybe a lazy afternoon on the couch or a long nap in between classes.

4. Check In

Have an internal conversation with yourself and ask, what do i need today? What am I feeling? How can I take care of myself today? It's important to listen to your body and communicate with it in order to care for it the way it needs to be taken care of. If you don't know what you need in that moment, be patient. I have included a sweet pic below, a menu if you will of all needs humans have to better identify the needs you want to be met, allowing you a game plan to go out and in fact get them met!