Sasha Aronzon-Martofel, CLA ’16, is leading a mental health movement that began shortly after graduating from Temple.

When Sasha Aronzon-Martofel, CLA ’16, hit 1 million followers on her popular Instagram account, Self-Care Is For Everyone, the milestone moment came with mixed emotions. 

It happened during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.  
 
“People were needing and craving the kind of messages our account offered,” Aronzon-Martofel said. “Unfortunately, people were struggling and that’s why they were finding our page on Instagram. But fortunately for us, we were able to reach those individuals during that time.”  

The messaging became so popular, she expanded into an online store, selling apparel that feature phrases like “what if it all works out?” and “the way you speak to yourself matters.” 
 
One its best-selling designs is a rainbow crewneck sweatshirt that carries the message “You are enough.” The phrase went viral in mid-2019 after actor Debby Ryan wore it publicly. It’s remained one of their top sellers ever since. 

“‘You are enough’ is definitely a message a lot of people connect with ... and does make a difference when you wear it out. People want to talk about it,” Aronzon-Martofel said in 2020. 

Aronzon-Martofel arrived at Temple University in 2012 to study speech-language pathology, almost 10 years before launching her self-care Instagram account. She said the lessons she learned both inside and outside the classroom were among the most significant that shaped the business she’d eventually build. 

While a student, she immersed herself in sorority life and even helped plan Greek Week in 2015 and 2016 for thousands of students.  
 
“Greek life showed me that I could be a leader. It showed me that I could believe in myself,” she said. “There were moments where I failed, and I had goals and expectations, but I didn’t meet those goals and expectations. And then there were moments where I learned about myself and felt empowered and knew I could really do this.” 

Aronzon-Martofel also worked on campus as an Owl Team leader, engaging with and welcoming incoming students and helping them prepare to start their journey at Temple University. She credits the Office of New Student and Family Programs and its then-associate vice president and dean of students, Stephanie Ives, with showing her the importance of building genuine relationships with students. It’s a model she later built her own brand around. 

“School pride was so important to me, and I loved my time as an Owl Team leader. I learned so much about myself through that job,” she said.  

After graduating from Temple in 2016, Aronzon-Martofel pursued a master’s degree in counseling through another university. However, she started experiencing isolation and loneliness. Then in September of 2018, six months into dating the man who would become her husband, the couple started the Instagram account Self-Care Is For Everyone. Together, they shared artwork and wellness reminders, that, in her words, “we so deeply needed.” 

The account quickly grew. Some days she’d wake up and check her phone to find 10,000 new followers.  

However, the sudden popularity also generated some self-doubt. 

“I’m not an expert in these topics,” she admits to thinking. “I’m just a user online sharing my experience, and people are finding me.”  

Among those who would find her: a book publisher. 

In 2023, an editor from Callisto Source Books stumbled upon her Instagram and reached out about expanding the online brand into a physical book. Aronzon-Martofel and her husband, AJ Martofel, who co-authored the project, were thrilled.  

She was also pregnant with their first child, which made the moment feel even more full of promise.  

But that joy was met with heartbreak.  

At 36 weeks, they lost that first daughter.  

The loss stopped the book project entirely for about a year.  

When she and her husband eventually returned to writing it, she said the book that emerged was much different from their initial idea. 

“Self-care looks a whole lot different when you’re grieving than when you’re doing your best at work,” she said. “Sometimes self-care can look like just getting through the day.” 
 
That realization became the emotional spine of the finished book, titled How Do I Self-Care?  

The guided journal was designed to be found by anyone typing that exact question into a search bar during a hard moment.  
 
“This journal was written alongside our audience,” she said. “They helped me write this.” 

She also added details to it she said were intentional. The book’s corners are rounded so nothing feels sharp to the touch. Pages feature vivid color choices, which was inspired by her adult ADHD diagnosis. And some section titles are pulled directly from viral phrases that her followers told her, over and over, actually helped.  

How Do I Self-Care? hits bookstores Nov. 11, which is a date chosen partly for its memorability and partly because it falls just ahead of Nov. 13, World Kindness Day, which is also the anniversary of when Self-Care Is For Everyone first launched its website. It will be available everywhere books are sold for $18.99, which you can also preorder.  

She and her husband will also continue to run their Instagram account. Its current bio reads “here to remind you that you are enough,” with a note that 10% of net profits go to suicide prevention. 
 
“The million followers is cool, but it really doesn’t matter these days,” she said.  

What matters more to her, she said, is connecting with her audience, face-to-face. For instance, strangers stopping her on the street because they recognized a message printed on her sweatshirt or attending tabling events where she meets those who stop by to learn more about Self-Care Is For Everyone. 

“The best part of this work is getting to meet people,” she said. “It means everything to know our work is making an impact.” 

On top of running the account as her full-time job, Aronzon-Martofel is also now a mother to a 16-month-old son.  

She said while her self-care advice may subtly shift during this next chapter in her life, her advice to current students remains the same: get involved, meet people and don’t wait until after graduation to build community. 

“The skills that you will gain when you're interacting with other students on campus will serve you so, so far in any job or field that you go into. It’s been the foundation to so much of my growth,” she said. “I still miss those days.”