I've often heard people say that the real you comes out at 3 a.m. or some other odd time of the night when you're cranky, hungry, or just in a bad mood. Honestly, that doesn't make any sense.

The real "you" is when you're well-fed, well-rested, cared for, and everything in between. You might say that there are rare times when that ever happens, but honestly, it's the effort that counts.

When you don't even try to take care of yourself, there's a subconscious part of you that believes it's unnecessary or not even worth trying for.

It's truly a precedent you set for yourself and the others around of you of how you would like to be treated.

This even applies to the thoughts we think. When we're running on less sleep or starving through a class, we're more prone to have self-destructive, mean thoughts about ourselves. And if you haven't been getting enough sleep for consecutive nights, really try and make it a priority to.

Sometimes, we don't realize how bad it was until gets better.

Funnily enough, this applies to other people as well. When we get disappointed because people don't treat us the way we think they should, we feel a little hurt. Honestly, though, it's important to think about circumstances that have caused them to act that way. It could have been a stressful week at work, a rough patch in a relationship, or even a fallout in a friendship. Given that, it's only natural to act differently. Not talking as much, reaching out to people less, preferring alone-time, and other things are completely normal.

So, don't take it personally. It's nothing against you.

And, this all really does come full circle. Think about it: you can only understand situations and people and the realness behind them when you are as well taken care of as you can be. So don't be afraid to put yourself first, even if it means skipping out on something else (which it often will).

You're worth it.