Like everything, self-care is a process, and finding your "thing" is not necessarily going to just magically happen overnight. This concept is such an important idea for people to grasp, but unfortunately, I'm sad to say that the practice of self-care is highly underrated and actually done by individuals. In all reality, self care could arguably be one of the most beneficial things that you could ever do for yourself. Not only does self-care benefit yourself, but there are underlying external benefits that it can have in relation to your positive effect on others. You see, the happier and more fulfilled you are, the more you can make a positive impact on somebody else, and then the more they can do for the next person, and it then becomes a positive cycle for everyone.

Self-care shouldn't be seen as a chore or something that isn't beneficial to society, because in all reality without it a person really wouldn't be able to get too far in life, and will always end up unhappy at the end of the day. Self-care isn't just about physically taking care of your body and health, it also and even more so is about the mental side of things, and it acts as an aid in really molding one's identity.

When you practice self-care that means that you are daily setting aside time for yourself and for your wellness. During this self-guided time you then have the opportunity to relax and really explore what you need and what you want to do, your interests, your passions, your loves and desires, and that all work to form who you are going to be as well as who you then will identify yourself as and who you associate with.

A lot of people including myself find themselves unhappy at times and unable to understand why, and nine times out of ten the reason is because of the simple fact that you have just been jumping into things and doing things that you think you should be doing or what society thinks is right, but at the end of the day you are not really doing what you love or want to do, and that makes for a miserable life.

Nobody knows how long they are going to be on this earth, and that means that we all have to take each new day as a blessing and make the most of every moment. Do not allow yourself to be caught up with the crowd, or to live your life for somebody else, because at the end of the day you are your own individual person, and you are going to have to live with yourself for the next however long. Think for a second, do you really want to waste your time on this earth doing things that make you unhappy? Do you really want to spend the rest of your life pleasing others?

I want you all to know that it is OKAY to take "me time", and to be on your own shit, because honestly sometimes we all just need to decompress and regroup. Allow yourself to take this time for yourself, and if you are not doing this already, start today by taking time to do whatever you need to do for your own well being. This can be any and everything from cutting people out of your life to simply just watching a funny show on Netflix and taking a nap, or even to waking up early to write or watch a sunrise. It is OKAY to do you and to be independent because everybody has their own needs and everybody is different, and I promise you that when you take time to really sit and be with yourself and to have conversations with yourself not only will you feel better mentally, but physically you will feel better, and you will draw more people to you in a positive way.

You get to decide your attitude towards life and who you are, allow yourself to go through this process and know that there is no time crunch, you can take as little or as much time as you need and this will be something that will be a continuing process for the rest of your life, but you can do it. I am taking it upon myself to start to practice self-care every day starting with today when I got back from my SOS (orientation leader) training and took a nap. I challenge you all to go on this journey with me, and I can promise you that when you do you will be changed for the better and so happy that you did.