College is a Place to Fall in Love… With Yourself

It’s the holidays again, and you know what that means: Relatives creepily asking you about your dating life. As soon as Grandma comes in you know she’s going to ask, “So, are you seeing anyone lately? You know I met your grandfather in our first year of school together.” There are so many expectations to find “the one” in college, especially from our families.

Along with that, there are also expectations to have a social life, be involved in campus organizations, and keep grades. I don’t care how big your agenda/planner is, there is no way to fit ALL of that into one semester. It’s downright impossible. Even your friends are pressuring you to find a date for this or that, and if you don’t people usually think you’re miserable. Of course, it’s still important to go out and meet people. This is college; we’re meant to have some kind of fun, right?

What about self-care though? Hardly anyone advocates for self-care at the time in our lives when we seem to need it the most. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) says that  at least 80% of college students report frequently or often experiencing daily stress. We are at a time in our lives right now when we need to focus on what is most important: OURSELVES! This doesn’t mean we’re selfish. It means this is the time to figure out who WE are, not who we want to be with. This is the time of our lives to fall in love with literature, to fall in love with music, and to fall in love with ourselves. Maybe your true love right now just needs to be you.