The weeks between Thanksgiving break and winter break are perhaps some of the most stressful in the school year. Suddenly you have a billion things due at once, finals to study for, and the fatigue of being in school for almost 20 weeks is starting to catch up with you.

This time of year also brings numerous reminders to “take care of ourselves,” but what does that even mean?

If you open apps like Instagram or TikTok and search the phrase “self-care,” you’ll be bombarded with videos that include lavish spa-like rituals with so many steps it takes a few hours to get through them all.

I’m not denying the fact that those things are fun and relaxing; however, implementing such a time-consuming and laborious activity into your daily schedule is exactly that: a chore.

Back in 2019, Jennifer Colin wrote for the Los Angeles Times, “I Googled “self-care” and felt overwhelmed when more than 80,000 results came up on the Amazon site alone. How does one choose between… all the other similarly themed books that pop up…I missed that taking care of one’s own mental health had become a $10-billion industry.”

The underlying message that these brands are pushing is “if you want to take care of yourself, you need to spend some money.”

I believe that to be counterintuitive to the true meaning of “self-care.” Self-care looks different for every individual; therefore, there is no universal or magical way of relieving stress that works for every single person.

“Self-care isn’t about letting someone else tell you what you need,” Hope Rangaswami wrote in the Washington Square News. “It’s about valuing yourself enough to listen to your unique needs and tending to those needs in a way that works for you.”

You’ll probably end up going through a lot of trial and error in figuring out what works for you. Maybe in the end it will be some lavish spa ritual or, perhaps it just means keeping a simple planner. 

Regardless, you should prioritize self care as much as you do your work. This may be difficult to do. A 2016 study in the Journal of Consumer Research reported, “The authors argue that a busy and overworked lifestyle, rather than a leisurely lifestyle, has become an aspirational status symbol.”

This mentality should not dictate the way we lead our lives. Students need to understand that taking care of themselves and their mental well-being is infinitely more important than any sort of fictional status they may want from their peers.