Back in high school, I was the girl who quite literally could never do anything on her own. I'm not saying I wasn't self-sufficient, I was. But I could just never work up the courage to go out in public on my own. I lived in fear of what people would think if I was sitting in California Pizza Kitchen, alone, stuffing my face on a Friday night, or if I treated myself to a movie at the theatre during the week.

The idea of being spotted out in public while I was on my own actually gave me anxiety. As a teenager, I had a terrible habit of constantly being paranoid about what people would think or say about me. What if someone from school saw me and thought I was weird for walking around the mall on my own? What if I'm spotted reading a book at Barnes & Noble in the corner by myself? What would they think?

I'm not sure if it was due to maturity, or if I simply just got over my irrational fear, but college life really changed the game for me. I shifted from being somebody who constantly needed a companion to function in public, to someone who thrives on her own. I love being able to hop in my car and go shopping whenever I need to. Nobody's gonna hype me up the way I hype myself up in the dressing room.

Once you hit college, I learned that people actually do not have any care in the world anymore about the lives of others. Everyone is struggling out here. We have to worry about school, money, jobs, internships - you name it. Nobody has time to worry about whether Amy from Philosophy is sitting in the library alone, reading her comic book. You do you, Amy.

I think we all need to learn how to treat and pamper ourselves - especially at this stage in our lives.

We are all stressing about our finals, what presents to get our friends and family for Christmas, how broke we're going to be after the holidays, etc. But primarily, during this period, we should all really take some time out for ourselves.

Instead of worrying about how you need a B on that final to be able to ace your class for the semester, take 30 minutes out of your day to have a bubble bath, read a chapter of an inspirational book, or go to a park and get some fresh air. Whatever will make you feel better. It's essential to take care of yourself during times of high stress - and if that means going to Massage Envy to treat yourself to a nice deep-tissue massage, then do it!

Life isn't easy, and it won't get any easier, but taking care of your mental health will absolutely help you out in the long-run. Stop worrying about what others are thinking about you (they most likely aren't even thinking anything negative anyway) and live your life the way you want to.