I've learned that at the end of the day, you have to love yourself more than anyone else does. Your body will be either you for the rest of your life and you haven't to treat it kindly.

Things can get difficult as we grow up, and we can often be led to neglect our bodies or to treat them badly. You may be wondering what exactly I mean by badly.

The smallest things we do that can harm our bodies can lead to major consequences. Not drinking enough water is a big one, especially for me. I usually go about my day, forgetting I even need to drink water to survive, and this has led me to become dehydrated a few times. Being dehydrated is horrible for your body and can lead to many serious life-altering complications. You do not want to end up in the hospital needing an IV because you forgot to drink water. Drink water; this is an example of self-care.

Not eating enough can be very damaging. Have you ever been so busy and stressed studying for an exam, running home to make flashcards, then running back to the library to study with your classmates? Have you ever been so caught up with studying that you passed up time to eat or forgot to eat because you didn't feel hungry from the stress? If you have, you are probably a college student. I can tell you that this has happened to me and the end result wasn't good. I was too hungry to study and didn't retain information well. When I finally found time to eat, my stomach started to hurt because I had spent so much time without food. Eat well and regularly; this is an example of self-care.

Not getting enough sleep can cause you to feel like you're not even present the next day. Pulling all-nighters has never been something I've done or wanted to do, but I do stay up late way too often. I never realized how much getting a full 8 hours of sleep would benefit my health and well-being the next day. I've gone days with sleeping little and not being as productive as I would have liked to be because I didn't have the energy to do anything at all. Sleep the required hours; this is an example of self-care.

Drinking water, eating regularly, and sleeping are all seemingly simple and obvious things people should do, so why do we neglect them so often? No grade is more important than your health. If you neglect your basic needs, your grades are sure to suffer. Taking care of your health means that you love your body and want it to carry you through the rest of your life. Remember, you only have one body, so treat it with kindness.