What do you love about yourself? What did you last do for yourself? Are you surrounding yourself with good people? Are you happy? These are just some of the many questions we should be asking ourselves. Being your true self, especially in college is such an important thing. College is a time for discovering who you are and what you want to be. High school was a time of growth, but college is a time for furthering the discovery of you. Being stressed about homework or relationships is okay, but we often don’t realize that eventually that’s all we think about. We don’t take the opportunities to think about our individual goals, wants, or interests. We get carried away with our everyday routines, doing and thinking the same every day. We have to take some time out of our day to sit down, relax, and think about these things. College is a great excuse to finally focus on you.
How do you start focusing on only yourself? In between classes, treat yourself. Self-care is one of the most important things you can do for yourself. If you’re not comfortable now, you won’t be later. Face masks, Netflix, naps, comfy clothes; anything you need to do to be comfortable and relax for a little while. You could also exercise by running, doing some yoga, maybe even just walking. Burning some energy can help us relax and keep our mind off of what we may be worrying about. For me, I really struggled to find the time while in high school to focus on only myself. Now in college, with prioritizing my time, I’m able to find plenty of time to focus on what makes me happy, whether it’s getting coffee, taking naps, or just listening to music, these ways of self-care help us grow as an individual, especially on independence.
Why is independence so important for a college student? Not only do we grow from being with others, but we also grow as an individual when you are able to be alone and able to figure out who we are. Being with other people often influences our decisions and interests, but if we take the time to be alone, we find that we actually love and need so many different things that make us different from everyone else. Plus, we all need time alone. Whether we are introverted or extroverted, we all can find that sometimes being alone is what we need. Learning independence and focusing on your education can be such a good combination, and further grow into learning good study habits and staying up to date with assignments. Finding yourself is essential to growing as an individual and not having to depend on others as we needed when we were younger.
When should we start? Depending on how you are as a person, you can start being more independent when you feel you are ready. Many of us are very dependent and need someone with them at all times. As we grow older, we find that many situations we may be alone. We may how our parents support, but as an adult, we need to grow as an individual. Starting your search for independence is difficult, but with time you’ll be able to grow on your own.
Are you happy with your body and mind? Many of us aren’t. It can be difficult to accept who we really are. With social media and being at a school with so many different types of people, we can often start to compare ourselves. Without even realizing it, we all think about what others think of us. Learning to love yourself in every way is so important to finding who you really are. Being consumed with social media and obsessing over other’s looks won’t help with who you want to be. Finding your true self isn’t easy, but with time, focusing on what makes you truly happy and your best self is really what is the most important. Don’t let toxic relationships control how you feel about yourself. Do what you want to do. Compliment yourself! Show off your new outfits! Wear what you want. Eat as much as you want. Work out as much as you want. Finding what makes you, YOU, is the most important key to success.
After all of this, do you want to change your perspective on yourself? Are you happy? We are all the same people, just searching to discover who we really are. If you really want to make a change, work for it. It’s definitely worth it. Find who you really are.