The Importance of Self-Care

In a time where there are so many tragic events happening in our world, it is important to remember to practice self-care. As student affairs professionals, self-care is imperative to the work we do, and for the ways in which we serve our students. There is no way we can help others, if we have not taken care of ourselves first. From time to time, we all need a reminder to remember to take time for ourselves and to be selfish with our time. As Audre Lorde said, “I have come to believe that caring for myself is not self-indulgent. Caring for myself is an act of survival.”

After learning about Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, I was in a state of exhaustion and numbness. It was hard to understand how this could still be happening. I went through a variety of emotions with an overarching theme that the weight of being black is heavy. As a black woman, it was tremendously hard to see so many of my people hurt and scared for their own lives. I had to make a conscious effort to remove myself from social media and take care of my wellbeing. During rough times such as these, self-care can be easily forgotten. This is your reminder to take some time out for yourself and do something that you love such as watching Netflix or Hulu, going on a run, writing poetry, or making your favorite meal. It is vastly important to remember the importance of self-care and to not forget to do self-care whenever you can.

In addition to making time for self-care, it is imperative to have conversations and dialogues about what we can do as SA Pros. In the month of August, the African American Knowledge Community will be hosting a live webcast to discuss programming ideas around police brutality and the Black Lives Matters movement. You can also get engaged in conversations on this topic through the NASPA online learning community. Be good to yourself and remember when the hard times come, how imperative it is to take time out for YOU.

Marina Martin is the Region IV-West representative for the African American Concerns Knowledge Community. She is also a second year graduate student at Colorado State University in the Student Affairs in Higher Education Program.  For more information about the African American Concerns Knowledge Community please contact Marina - [email protected].