Self-care. We see it everywhere on social media. We see posts telling us to go light a candle and take a bath, to read a book or to go out and get our nails done. Most of us listen to this advice because it is easy. It’s easy after a long day to steep your favorite tea and read your favorite book while snuggled under a blanket. It’s easy to light some candles and draw a bath for yourself. It’s easy to allow yourself to sleep for an extra hour or two in the morning. What’s not easy is learning how to love yourself unconditionally.

Self-care is dragging yourself out of bed when you wake up with no energy in the mornings. Self-care is having the courage to make that appointment with a therapist to talk about stressors that are happening in your life right now. Self-care is learning how to tell the people you love “no” when you need to make time for yourself. Self-care is creating a daily routine that makes you feel good inside and out.

Self-care is a journey throughout life that is filled with many dark days and many wonderful days. It is a journey that allows us to really learn who we are in this world and what we can become.