Self-Care

By Allison Boarman

“Take care of yourself.”

It’s a sentence that has recently grown in popularity on social media and in every day conversation. People say it all the time, yet have a commercialized idea of what it really means. Posts on social media always give tips on how to really care for yourself, yet people do them and realize that they still feel terrible afterwards. People everywhere are bombarded with people saying self care is important, but I’ve realized that I didn’t even know what that meant until I got to college.

Everyone talks about how much harder college classes are than high school classes. Through the semester, I’ve realized that it isn’t even the classes—its everything going back home. When I was home, I had a built-in support system because I lived with my family. I now live on my own, almost 2 hours away from my family. No one talks about how much harder it is to deal with a terrible week when you’re removed from the support system that you’ve had for 18 years. In college, you have to begin looking for the best ways to begin taking care of yourself. When situations arise in college where you need to take care of yourself but don’t know where to start, I would recommend a few things.

1. Take your vitamins. No, seriously. Take your vitamins. Everyone gets sick at least once within the first semester, and it’s much easier to deal with if you’ve already built up a pretty strong immune system.
   
2. Cry when you need to. No one seems to give this tip, because crying is usually looked down upon and seen as a sign of weakness. IT’S OKAY TO CRY. In fact, crying is healthy and it can help you feel better faster.
   
3. Surround yourself with incredible people. College is different than high school in more than just academics. The people you become friends with in college can be a huge determining factor in your success. Surround yourself with people who are supportive and motivated. Having this support system is one of the biggest things you can do to create a more positive college experience for yourself. Even a call to your family back home can be good for you—it doesn’t have to be an in-person visit.
   
4. Get enough sleep. If you don’t get enough sleep, it can have a huge affect on your health. Another important thing that goes hand-in-hand with getting enough sleep is getting homework done early. If you can get your homework done on time, you won’t have to pull as many all-nighters.
   
5. Exercise. Taking a quick walk around campus (or around your dorm if it’s dark outside) is one of the best things I can do when I’m stressed out. I usually listen to music when I’m walking around, which is another thing that really helps me with my stress.
   

Over the course of my first semester in college, I’ve learned a lot about how to take care of myself. Usually, when you Google ways to take care of yourself, articles about face masks and bubble baths come up. While those things can relieve some stress, they usually only help for a short time. The 5 things listed above can easily become stress relievers that work all the time—not just 30 minutes.

Allison Boarman is a McConnell Scholar in the Class of 2023. She is studying English and political science at the University of Louisville.