Life is confusing. Our happiest days seem to zoom by like a train on an underground track. Our hardest days feel as if they may never end. And it seems as if every day in regular life demands more energy than one can give. Most days we fall asleep with a list of things on our minds left to add on to tomorrow's already seemingly endless list.

We fall into a pattern that consumes our individuality and replaces it with a monotonous robot just trying to make it through another day. We continuously reprimand ourselves for our mistakes and rarely, if ever, take time to recognize our successes. We often compromise our personal time to make time for other people or pressing responsibilities. When we don't, we feel the wrath of guilt for taking time for ourselves.

One may question how we can possibly be our best selves for others when we cannot be bothered to consider what we need ourselves. The answer is we can't. Being both physically and mentally healthy begins with self-care- a dire practice most of us tend to overlook.

I don't mean the quick and sloppy tooth brushing sesh you rush through while taking a quick shower in the morning- a practice you may or may not forget to repeat that night before bed. That is not self-care. In reality, that is the lack of self-care. Rolling out of bed after not taking your makeup off the night before and deciding the mascara isn't too clumpy and is therefore worth keeping on your face for another day sometimes becomes part of our busy daily routine.

Replacing this practice with 5 more minutes before bedtime to wash off your makeup and perhaps going to work makeup free the following morning is a small price to pay for peace of mind. (It'll help avoid itching eyes and a breakout too!)

A new popular slogan lately has been the saying "treat yourself" which apparently includes spending more money than you've budgeted on useless things and eating unhealthy food. If what you need to be happy on a particular day is a shopping spree and eating countless calories worth of powdered doughnut holes then so be it. However, caring for yourself can be much simpler. (And cheaper!)

It can be as simple as waking up ten minutes earlier than usual and taking the time to fully wake up and prepare yourself for the day ahead of you. At the same time, it can be pressing the snooze button on your alarm (guilt-free!) simply because yesterday was a hard day and you need ten more minutes to sleep today.

Self-care isn't the same thing on Sunday as it is on Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday. As our days vary in stress and commotion, so should our exercise of self-care. One day, you may take a short walk after class before diving into homework while another day you may require much more or much less; it's all about balance.

It takes little time to stop and be mindful in the midst of a busy day, but it is terribly necessary and sadly something most of us tend to push aside even on our least demanding days. So, even though it may seem selfish, take some time to make yourself happy, too- it's only fair!