When you think of "self care," what is the first thing that pops into your head? For most, it's relaxing in a bath with some candles and good tunes. While this is a form of self care, there are multiple different ways you can achieve self care. Even little things we may not acknowledge can be considered self care.

Common ways for self care are cloud watching, star gazing, treating yourself to something nice, and turning off all technology for a while. If you have a strong faith in whatever religion you practice, praying is also a common form of self care. There are even smaller forms of self care, like getting 15 minutes of sun or doing 10 minutes of mindfulness. If you aren't sure of what mindfulness means, you can check out this page for more info.

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I asked my Odyssey group on ways that they achieve self care. My EIC mentioned that her form of self care is scheduling all of her responsibilities for the week and allowing herself one day (or at least one morning or night each week) to do absolutely nothing so she can recharge herself. Another thing she mentioned was positive affirmations. If you aren't aware, positive affirmations is the practice of positive thinking and self-empowerment. They're simple to do: pick some positive affirmations from this list or create your own and say them to yourself every day. You'd be surprised at the difference it can make for some people!

I also asked a few friends in college how they take care of themselves. One friend said that she goes running to take some stress of and tries to get enough sleep. Another friend said that she creates vision boards to help her creativity and motivation. One friend said she loves to practice yoga and deep breathing. My long time friend uses video games to self care and also will go to Waffle House often as a form of self care. My childhood friend said she loves to paint while listening to her favorite music to calm herself and take care of herself.

I also asked a friend how she achieves self care and gave me a detailed list. On days she can't find motivation to do much of anything, she'll go through her phone and delete old photos so she can at least feel like she's being productive. She also likes to watch documentaries because she can learn new information while also relaxing. She sometimes likes to go through old clothes and get rid of them and listens to new music she doesn't know the words to yet. The thing she does that I love the most is she will go on walks outdoors and pick out 5 things around her for each of her 5 senses. Lastly, she will look at herself in the mirror and pick 5 things she likes about herself, which she has said has greatly improved her self confidence.

Personally, my favorite form of self care is to create a small fortress of pillows in my bed, make some hot tea and watch The Office. Other than that, I like to achieve self care through reading or writing (probably expected considering I'm an English major). In the past, I've even gone and deleted negative people off of my social media accounts and trust me when I say that it was the best experience. Any stress I had prior is virtually gone and I'm ready to get back up and tackle the day. I also asked my boyfriend how he achieves self care. He likes to go on late night drives with the windows down and good music playing to destress and feel better after a hard day. My boyfriend's older sister said she loves to take a hot shower or bath and use her essential oils to achieve self care.

As you can see from all of the people I asked, there are so many ways you can do self care. Some may seem more obvious, but regardless of that, there are infinite ways. Hopefully some ideas here may help you, my kind reader, in your future endevors. What are some ways you've currently been doing for self care?