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Category: New Year

Simple Ways to Focus on Your Mental Health in 2018

While I was sitting down staring at my 2018 goals in my bullet journal, I noticed so many of my hopes for the year are related to mental health. I thought I would do a blog post about why it’s important to focus on your mental health in the new year, and why I’m glad I started focussing on it in the last couple years. Make sure to read my last post, Simple Ways to Stay Grateful in 2018, because staying grateful and thinking of everything that makes you happy helps with mental health, too!

Start the day doing something you love instead of reading or listening to the news

While it’s great to stay updated on what’s going on in the world, it can also be extremely stressful. Instead, listen to your favorite music or podcast, read a book for ten minutes, do yoga, meditate, go for a run, or anything else that you enjoy. I look at the news after I’ve done something that makes me happy, and it definitely helps me from feeling immediately down!

Go to sleep early(er)

It’s not always possible to start going to sleep super early, but try and go to sleep a little bit earlier than usual so you can get a full nights rest. I’m sure you’ve heard this tip time and time again, but it’s because it’s the easiest way to feel better. As a college student, I definitely struggle with this, but on the days where I do get seven or eight hours of sleep, I feel so much better and can function throughout the whole day.

Follow Twitter or Instagram accounts that make you happy

This seems so simple, but I can’t stress enough how happy it can make you. I personally follow Thoughts of Dog on Twitter because I love dogs and it never fails to make me laugh. There are countless cute animal accounts, and following them and filling your timeline with cute puppies and kittens can go a long way with helping your mental health.

Talk it out

If you aren’t ready to talk to a counselor, reach out to a friend or family member and talk to them whenever you feel stressed. It’s scary making that first step to talk to a professional, but it’s a lot easier to talk to someone you already know really well. What’s really important is that you’re just getting any feelings of stress or anxiety out, or at least sharing with someone that you’re not feeling you.

Go outside more

If you’re outdoorsy or not, going outside and getting some fresh air to clear your head every once in a while is great for everyone. Going on a walk, or if you like to, going on a hike can help so much and get endorphins running

Don’t be afraid to be selfish

At the end of the day, the person that matters the most to your mental health is you. This is something that should be obvious, but oftentimes we spend our lives trying to please others, but it’s perfectly okay to be selfish and have a day entirely for yourself and doing something that makes you happy. I’m super guilty of this because I like to make sure everyone around me is happy, so a lot of the times I put my own feelings to the side. So many people do this, especially if you have anxiety, but it’s important to take a step back and re-center your focus to how you’re feeling and how to feel better.
These are all super simple ways to start focussing on your mental health, which is so important. Since it’s still January and the start of a new year, it’s the perfect time to think about caring for your mental health. It’s never too late, though, and these tips can be applied to any time of the year! At the start of college, I was going through a lot with my family, so I started to focus on my mental health like never before and it helped me push through a really tough time. I still have so far to go, but by being mindful of how I’m feeling – physically and mentally – I’ve started to feel better.

Staying on top of your mental health means something different for every single person, and it’s something that’s always a work in progress, so don’t get discouraged if you’re going through a rough patch. It’s just important to do what’s best for you, and there’s absolutely no shame in reaching out if you need help. In fact, it takes a lot of courage to do so.

Simple Ways to Stay Grateful in 2018

When I was reflecting back on 2017, I wished I had somehow kept track of everything I was grateful of throughout the year, and everything that made me happy. Looking on Pinterest, I saw so many different people who had done this and all the posts they did when looking back at those memories, so I decided to do just that in 2018.

Over the summer, I did a small version of this, and it was great to think about all the positive things that happened, but I didn’t set one up for the fall because I was so busy, and I stopped intentionally thinking about the positive everyday. Since one of my goals for 2018 is to stay more positive, I am making it a point to reflect on things that make me happy, and all that I am grateful for. These past few months have been filled with too much negative both in my personal life and in the world around me, so I’m going to take my attitude into my own hands, and focus on the good. I realize this won’t ‘fix’ my bad days, but hopefully it’ll make them easier to handle.

Make a special page for it in your journal or planner

As I’m sure all of you know, I have a bullet journal, and I made a point to include a page where I can write down these moments that make me happy and grateful. At first, I just had a simple page with ‘2018’ written on it to indicate a year change, but then I thought it would be cool to slowly fill that page with happy things. So, I started on just that page with a couple moments, and it’s my goal to completely fill the page up by the end of the year, and maybe need an extra page or two. I find this way to be very easy to keep track of moments because I usually always have my journal with me, and even if I don’t, I know I’ll be using it soon and can look at that page and hopefully jog my memory of good moments. I’ve also been reflecting back on the positive when I set up my weekly spread so I can have all my bases covered.

Fill a jar with little notes

Before going to college, my best friends and I filled up a jar with words of encouragements, funny memories, and our favorite things about each other, and it’s one of my most precious items to this day. Anytime I’m feeling down I pull out a note and I always feel better. I’ve seen people do this for happy memories, and I think it’s such a cute idea! Little jars always look so cute and decorative, and oftentimes you set them on your desk and see them a lot. I also just like the idea of being able to randomly pull out a note and instantly be able to remember one of the happiest moments of the year, especially since it can be easy to forget them as your schedule gets busy.

Make notes in your phone

Since you probably always have your phone with you, this is a surefire way of being able to jot down something that makes you happy. I sometimes do this if I’m walking and get an idea or have something I want to remember for later, and then transfer it into my bullet journal. This is also a good way to write something down if you don’t have your journal with you. I’m honestly a pretty forgetful person, too, so this helps me remember things a little bit easier.

Take photos of happy memories

If you’re a visual person, this is a great way to literally capture a memory. I associate objects with memories, so taking a photo of what I’m looking at helps me remember things pretty well. I think that’s one of the reasons why I love my YouTube channel and recording vlogs so much, because I can more easily place myself back in those situations and remember how happy I was in that moment. It’s also cool how you can insert photos into iPhone notes, so you can combine these last two tips and really capture the moment. Alternatively, if you have a Polaroid camera, this is a great way to take a photo and have it instantly printed out and you can hang it up on your wall. 
Focussing on the positive for 2018 is probably something we all need to do, especially in today’s world. That’s not to say we should ignore all of the bad stuff and not do anything about it; making a point to think about the good helps us have the courage to fight back against the bad. I like to think that change starts with the individual, and if we’re all trying to make the world a little bit better, hopefully that creates a bigger wave of change in 2018  

How to Achieve Your 2017 Goals!

Happy 2017!

With all New Years come goals and resolutions that we try our hardest to achieve, but might forget about them after about a month. I’m so guilty of this, as I’ve tried to set goals for myself in the past, and easily forgotten about them once I start getting busy with the new year.
Last year I felt like I did a pretty good job about actually achieve my goals and holding myself accountable to them, so I thought I would share some tips with you on how to do the same! I’m no life expert – no one is except maybe Oprah – so of course take these tips and apply them how they would best fit your life. No one is the same so different things work for different people! These are just some things that really seemed to work for me.
Also, if you would like, here is the video I made about this same thing on my channel!
1. Write down your goals.
This may seem obvious, but writing down your goals in a place that you’ll see them often (i.e. a planner, or journal you use a lot) will keep reminding you of them. Constant exposure to them will also inspire you to actually achieve them, since it’s so satisfying to check them off! I don’t know about you, but that is seriously one of the best feelings for me. Whenever I make a to-do list, I live for getting all of the tasks done so I can check them all off. The same feeling definitely applies to bigger goals for the year, especially because you’ll feel even more satisfied once you achieve something greater than getting done a chore list you made for yourself. I usually try and write down my goals in my general goal journal, just on a page of their own that is highlighted and definitely distinct from the other pages. This helps me so much because I’m constantly reminded of them, and there’s no way that I could forget them!
2. Visualize your goals.
Once you have figured out and written down your goals, visualize yourself achieving them. Visualization is something that has been proven to work, because you feel that much more comfortable and confident in doing something or getting it done. I started doing this when I swam and danced, and it helped me immensely. I knew I could do the action because I had imagined myself succeeding it over and over – when the time came to do it in real life, I knew I could get it done! The same really goes for goals, especially larger ones. If you think about yourself having gotten all of these goals done at the end of the year, you’ll be really motivated to make that possibility a reality. If you have a goal that has to do with changing something about yourself, like being more outgoing, visualize yourself talking to more people in situations that usually make you uncomfortable. When the time comes to actually do it, you’ll feel a lot better a out the whole situation, and achieving that goal will be that much easier.

3. Start with small goals.
It can be really easy to want to set huge goals right at the beginning of the new year if you are really hoping for a change, but be careful not to get too ahead of yourself. I’m not saying to limit yourself – if you want to set those goals then go for it! But if you know they’ll end up being too big for you to achieve all at once, start smaller in the beginning of the year and work your way up throughout the rest of the year. If you’re wanting to get in better shape, don’t start by making a goal to workout every single day for an hour if you haven’t been doing so. Start by motivating yourself to workout one more day a week, or maybe 15 minutes longer a day. Starting with these smaller goals will help you build on them throughout the year, and you also won’t get disappointed when you can’t get these unrealistic goals done, or are really struggling with them. This isn’t an excuse to not push yourself, though; on the contrary, this will help you actually achieve more because the small goals will snowball on themselves, and by the end of the year, you’ll realize just how much you’ve gotten done!
4. Check in with yourself.
This is something that is super important for goals. I remember in elementary schools my teachers would have the class set individual goals, write them down on paper, and a couple of months later we would have to read the goals again and see how we were doing. At the time we all thought it was extremely pointless, but looking back, I realized that this just motivated us further to get these goals done. Had we not been shown them again, we probably wouldn’t have been so inspired to get them done, or make a change. Checking in with your 2017 goals about halfway through the year in June will help you see how they’re going, if you need to adjust goals, if you need to work harder, or just simply remind you of what they were in the first place. A halfway point check in is great timing, because you still have six months to achieve your goals.
5. Keep yourself accountable.
Keeping yourself accountable is really similar to checking in with yourself, but it also has to do with keeping yourself motivated throughout the year. Don’t let yourself slack off if a goal is hard, instead try your hardest to get it done. That can be easy to say, but your mind is a really powerful thing. Keep thinking of the end result, and the effort you’re putting in won’t seem as difficult. It can be so easy to forget about a goal or give up, but you’ll be so much happier in the end if you stick it out.

Alright, well there are five tips on how to achieve your 2017 goals! I’m so excited to see what this new year has to offer, and let’s hope that it’s a lot better than 2016!

I wish you the best of luck!

Why Cutting My Hair Was The Best Decision Ever

If you’ve been following my blog for a while now, you know that I’ve had long hair for the greater part of my life. I started growing it out around fifth grade because I always had short hair when I was younger. My mom always cut it into a bob to thicken it up because I had thin hair when I was a wee little tot, and that backfired because now I have enough hair to share with about five people. Okay, maybe it’s not that thick, but cutting it into a bob really must’ve done the trick.

Summer 2015
Because I had short hair, I always envied the girls who had long and flowing hair in my classes. I became obsessed with growing it out, and it was uber long until I cut it about a month ago. I loved my hair once it was long, and had no desire to cut it. That was all well and good until I started to really rely on it; my hair became my security blanket, and having it long made it easier for me to hide behind it in a way. I never did up-do’s for events like Prom, rather preferred to have it down and curled. I did not feel comfortable having it up because I truly felt naked without it. When I was in one of my best friend’s wedding a couple of summers ago, everyone suggested I put my hair up for the wedding, precisely because I never did. I actually went along with this, and felt super self conscious at first. As the day went on, I got more and more comfortable with it, and I began to put it up a lot more after that.

Spring 2014

The last couple of times that I’ve gone in to get my haircut, I played around with the idea of cutting all of my hair off, but I never did because I always chickened out. It wasn’t until I got six or seven inches cut off a month ago that I realized I relied on my hair way too much. I felt that it was kind of the last transition I went through in my 2015 journey to loving myself. (Will I ever stop mentioning The Year I Learned How to Love Myself? Probably not…) In order to be comfortable with myself, I wanted to challenge myself, and so I finally made the decision to cut off my hair. I know, it sounds ridiculous, but when you’ve had long hair for most of your life, it’s a big decision! All of my friends said, “Oh it’s just hair, Kendra…” and that was well and good, but to me, my hair had been my security blanket for the last ten years or so.
Summer 2015
I went to a new hair stylist to get my hair cut, and I’m really glad I did, because she didn’t know that I usually chicken out of cutting my hair. She just said okay, and chopped away. I think I worked myself up so much before, that I had no energy left to feel worried or stress about my decision. (I’m a very indecisive person, if you hadn’t already gathered.) After she cut it, I was so happy! My hair is so much lighter now, and it really fits where I’m at in my life, if that makes sense. I changed a lot last year, and learned just as much. I’m so much more comfortable with myself, and a lot more outgoing, so having short hair just felt right. It’s so much fun to play around with (is it strange that I feel sassier?), and I feel like it makes me look a lot older. It’s also a great decision logistically, since I workout every morning, and simply don’t have the time to deal with fixing long hair. Not that I make too much of an effort with my short hair, but it’s a lot faster to wash and look presentable.
The day I got my haircut! December 2015
My hair is still auburn, but it’s a lot shorter. I seriously couldn’t be happier with it, even though I can’t braid it anymore. That’s probably the only thing that I miss, but I can braid my hair into half-do’s at least! It’s so cool to have a different length of hair to play around with, instead of my ultra-long hair that I was getting pretty bored with. I think my short hair is around to stay for a while, and it’s a really good thing for me right now! I don’t rely on my hair to hide behind anymore, and having it short makes me feel a lot more confident.
January 2016
All of my family commented on how much older I look now, and that my this length really suits me. I just couldn’t say enough good things about this decision, and I have no #ragrets. I’m sorry, I had to. This was the perfect way to end 2015, and the transformation of learning to love myself! It forced me to take a different look at myself, and take a risk of absolutely hating my new hair length.
Do you like taking risks with your hair?

Thank you so much for reading and have a wonderful day! 🙂

2016 Goals

2015 was a year of growth for me. I was able to learn how to love myself (see my post on that here and my video here), gain a much more positive outlook on life, and it was a year of growth for myself in general. I want 2016 to continue with that pace, and to be an incredible year. I’m going to try my hardest with everything I do, and I have big plans for my blog and channel. I thought it would be a good idea to put my goals up on my blog, just to be able to check back on for myself, and to share them with you! So, here they are.
For my blog and YouTube channel:
1. Stay consistent. I am going to post one video a week on my channel, and try to post at least twice a week on my blog.
2. Schedule my time out so I am able to keep this consistency.
3. Make sure ahead of time that I have posts and videos ready – that way I know I will always have something to post when life gets crazy.
For my life in general:
1. Schedule my time out, so I stay on top of school.
2. Remain positive about myself, and my life.
3. Continue to love myself, and be comfortable in my own skin.
4. Forgive myself, and give myself a break when I make mistakes or have a hard day.
5. Spread positivity to those around me.
I like to call my aspirations for the year “goals” instead of “resolutions,” even though they basically mean the same thing. It makes me feel like I’m striving towards something throughout the whole year, and makes me work harder. Call them what you will, I think it’s important to set intentions for the beginning of the year so you feel like you’re working towards something, and don’t feel lost!

Check out the video I did on my goals as well! 🙂

What are your goals?

Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day! 🙂

The Year I Learned How to Love Myself

2015 was a very important year for me, and I’ve been working on a special project for a while now. Today, the last day of 2015, is the day I decided to post this video and blog post, and I can’t believe it’s finally here. I have really poured my heart and soul into this project, and I’m so proud of how it came out. I made a video, and wrote a longer explanation post, so check both out, and let me know what you think! I hope you like it!
            Loving yourself does not come easy. It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do, but have never felt like I had the ability to. Because of this, one of my goals for 2015 was to learn how to love myself. I knew it would be hard, but I at least wanted to try.
            I have never felt comfortable in my own skin, and I always compare myself to others about everything: thoughts like “that girl has tanner skin than me”, “look at her tiny waist”, or “my arms will never look like hers,” constantly fill my head. I’ve always been insecure about my body, and myself in general. My body image has also never been good, and I especially struggled with it while growing up.
When I was 12 years old, I was bullied by a boy in my class. He called me fat each and everyday, which was one of my biggest insecurities. I wasn’t fat by any means – I was a dancer who had muscles in order to enable my body to do the sport that I loved. I mean sure, I wasn’t the tallest or thinnest girl in my class, but I come from a short family, so long and model thin legs were never going to be in my future. That was okay, but as a young girl going to school, being told that I was fat by a boy in my class hit home, and I started to truly believe it. He didn’t know that I spent hours each day at my dance studio to improve my dancing, all he saw was that I was different from the other girls. I also read too much according to him, and he thought it was strange that I was so much quieter than everyone else. I was never the loud one in my friend group, and they all had no idea just how much I hated myself and my body.
            I started wearing sweatshirts to school every single day in order to cover up my insecurities. The sweatshirts to me were like a shield against everyone else; they cocooned my body so no one could really see it, and they made it easier for me to not stick out in class. If I could just hide myself from that boy and everyone else, I thought, eventually the voice inside my head constantly putting me down would stop. It didn’t, and if anything it made it worse. With the extra baggage over myself, the boy realized his words had an impact, which to bullies, realizing they are actually hurting someone is like striking gold. His remarks only got meaner, and he put me down every chance he got.
            I never told anyone, even my family who was extremely close and supportive of me, that I was getting bullied, or that I hated myself. I wouldn’t even look in the mirror because I was afraid of what I would see, and I avoided the camera at all costs. My mom and I would pick the cutest outfits out for school, but I would always put a sweatshirt over them and tell her I’d just take it off when the day warmed up. That time never came, of course, and I kept the sweatshirts on the whole day, no matter how warm I was. They were my security blanket, and they hid me from everyone else. I don’t think anyone realized just how insecure I was about my body, or how inadequate I felt. It didn’t help that I had the meanest teacher in our grade, whom was sexist against girls and constantly put us down while praising the boys in the class. This only empowered my bully because he felt so untouchable.
            My struggle with my insecurities continued on for the whole year, but between the summer of sixth and seventh grade, I took off my sweatshirt in front of my friends because it was so warm. They were so shocked at seeing me without my second skin, and it was in that moment that I realized just how crazy it was that I had been wearing them every single day for a year and a half.
I went into middle school and discovered makeup, which I loved to play around with. I probably wore way too much to school, but it was something that I loved and made me feel more confident. I started wearing those cute clothes my mom and I picked out, without covering up with a sweatshirt everyday. I switched from dance to cheer (a decision I now regret), and ended up finding a best friend. I had also met two girls in orchestra, who would later become two of my closest friends in the entire world. My confidence kept getting better and better, and by the time I was a freshman in high school, it had vastly improved from when I was 12.
            Freshman year arrived quickly, and with it came many ups and downs. I quit cheer, a decision I am very happy with, and decided to join the swim team full time (I had swam on and off my whole life). It was something I was good at and something that I absolutely loved. I found wonderful friends who were fun and exactly what I needed at the time. They were accepting and supportive, and I’ll always be grateful to them for letting me into their close-knit group. For the most part, the year was great, and I started liking myself more.
The end of the year was where the down started. My best friend at the time, the girl I met cheerleading, started acting like a completely different person from the one I got so close to. Our friendship ended, not horribly, but not on a good note either, and I spent the summer being pretty lost. I’m grateful to her for being there with me in middle school, and we truly did have great memories from that time. I was able to go through those two years with someone who accepted me, and no matter who the person she is today, the girl I was best friends with was wonderful.
That summer was hard for me because I had just lost my best friend, and I felt so lonely. I started hanging out with two other girls, however, and found the best friendships I’ve ever had. Joycie and Rachel were there for me in a way they probably don’t realize; I could literally be the weirdest person in the world and there was never any hesitation on their part that we were sisters in all but blood. They were my best friends then, now, and will be always, and I can’t thank them enough. Because of their total acceptance of all my weird quirks (trust me, there’s a lot), I was able to start accepting myself as well. I thought if these two girls don’t care about my faults, why should I? With them, my supportive family, my friends from swim, and swim itself, I was in the best place I had ever been.
The rest of high school was both good and bad – as all experiences with high school are – and my confidence varied from time to time. I took hard classes with incredible teachers, and my love for English, Spanish, and learning about different places across the globe solidified. I got my first serious boyfriend at the end of junior year, but it wasn’t the best relationship. He made me feel lesser in every way; less beautiful, less smart, and less of a person in general. I don’t think he called me beautiful once, but I also learned that our relationship was not what healthy ones were like. It was short-lived, luckily, and I actually learned a lot about myself through the mistakes that we both made. Ending the relationship made me stronger and more confident because I learned how to stick up for myself.

The summer before college was spent making memories with my best friends, and we had a blast. I was nervous going into college because I was afraid I would be homesick every day, not be able to do well in my classes, or that I wouldn’t find a solid group of friends. None of these things happened, and though freshman year wasn’t everything that I expected it or wanted it to be, it was everything that I needed, and I wouldn’t change a thing about it. I made awesome friends, and ended up absolutely loving it there (and I still do today!).
 I came out of winter break and into the new year, 2015, worried that I wouldn’t be able to keep up this track of being happy with myself. So, that’s why one of my goals was to learn how to truly love myself. I have always loved the idea of self-love, and thought I would achieve that when I looked or felt a certain way. I thought that when or if I got a gorgeous guy’s attention by looking the way I had always wanted, it would all just click for me, and bam I would love myself. Well, ladies and gents that is not how it works. Like any relationship, loving yourself takes time and effort, and you have to love yourself before you can love others.
You would think it’d be easy to get to know yourself because, hello, it’s not like you haven’t met yourself, but it is hard work. Loving every single part is hard, hard work. You have to love the quirks and “faults” as well as your best qualities. Let me just say, though, your quirks and shortcomings can be some of the most beautiful parts of you. They are what set you apart from everyone, so make sure to give those parts some extra lovin’.
Body image is also a huge part of self-love. I have always had horrible body image; I’ll be the first to admit it. I saw my body as a failure because I wasn’t the tallest and thinnest girl out there. Again, comparison comes into play here big time. I compared my body to probably everyone I met, which was not a healthy thing to do at all. No, I don’t have model long legs, or world-class abs like Olympic stars; however, instead of thinking of these things as failures, I choose to love my body as it is. Sure, I work out everyday to stay in shape, and simply because I enjoy working out, but I no longer think “I’ll love my body when…” because that isn’t how anyone should think. I work out and eat right because I love my body. It does amazing things for me, and allows me to pursue the crazy dreams and goals I have. It lets me see the people I love, and go on adventures with. I can see all of the incredible sights this world has to offer because of my body, whether or not I have the “perfect” one, if there is such a thing. Our bodies do some pretty crazy things, and allow us to live this life we’re given. To not love it is a half-life; doing awesome things, but not appreciating the vessel we can do them in. I know I’m not the prettiest girl in the world, but there’s no one else out there like me, and there’s no one else out there like you. You are the only person who can be you, so never compare yourself to others. They are living out a completely different story to yours, so of course they’re going to be different.
My journey to self-love was a long and hard one, as they so often are. It’s hard to love yourself when there are people telling you that you won’t amount to anything, that you aren’t anything special, or that you’re ugly. We’re all special in our own ways, and you get to decide how far you go in life, not other people. Yes, there are going to be hard things for you to go through, but you react in the way that you want to, ultimately. You can let those people knock you down, or you can try your hardest to prove them wrong. I hope one day I can simply tell that boy from grade school that I made my dreams come true, despite how hard he tried to crush them, and that I love my body now. Please, please, please, don’t ever let anyone stop you from doing what you love. Regardless of whether or not your dreams are the “right” ones, or if they’re “too big” for you to reach, at least try. Honestly, what is the hurt in trying? You will truly never know if you can make it, if you don’t ever try. And don’t just give half the effort – fully and truly go for your dreams with all you’ve got. We get to decide what we do with this life, so you might as well do as much as you can.
So, the reason for this long, long rant is for you to realize that loving yourself is one of the best things that could happen to you. It takes a lot of time and effort, but the best relationships do. Start with small things, and work up to the bigger and harder things. And please also realize your body is beautiful – flaws included. They are what make you unique and interesting, and what set you apart from others. Never compare your body to others, or feel like it isn’t good enough. I mean really, just ask yourself, what is it not good enough for?
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Thank you SO much for reading and watching, and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Back to School Try-On Haul!

Since it is the last day of August, going back to school is looming nearer and nearer. I personally don’t start until September 30th, so I have a month yet, but I am going to be busy with moving in September! My family is going to be moving mid-September, so we have been super busy with packing. You don’t think you have a lot of stuff until you need to contain it all to little boxes! Because we will be really busy with packing, I got all of my back to school shopping done already. I’m so glad to have it all finished early this year, because without fail, I always have a reoccurring nightmare right before school that I have nothing for back to school! I couldn’t tell you why I always have this dream, because I’m always prepared, but I always do and as a college kid, it still makes me nervous.

I got some really great things this year from Nordstrom, Pacsun, and Brandy Melville! I went to an actual Brandy store while I was in California, so I was super excited about that! I think my favorite place this year for back to school was Pacsun, though! It’s probably my favorite store in general, so no surprise there, but they always have great deals for back to school! I also just love the clothes at Pacsun, so it was a win-win all around. I’m so excited to wear them all this fall!
I’m really looking forward to going back to school this year, since I’ve felt so inspired this summer. My schedule is going to be a lot of fun next quarter, and I think I’m finally starting to figure out what I’m going to major in, and a general plan for my life! I just hope I don’t go through the “Sophomore Slump” this year, and stay on track with my classes.

You can check out all of the pieces down below in the video I posted on my channel! 🙂 My cat, Perry, makes a surprise entrance, so keep your eyes out for that!

Thank you so much for reading (and watching!) and have a wonderful day! 🙂

January 2015 Favorites

I cannot believe January is over, and February is already here! 2015 is already flying by, but January was actually a really good month for me, so I’m excited to see what the new month will bring!
Below is my January Favorites video, so I hope you guys enjoy! 🙂
What were your January favorites?

Have a great day! 🙂

New Year, New….Hair?

Change is something that I definitely struggle with. It makes me super nervous because I don’t know what to expect and I don’t know if I’ll end up liking the change or not; however, I have been wanting to change up my hair for a while now, and I didn’t want to dramatically cut it all off. I also was really worried about coloring it because I colored my hair when I was younger and eventually started to hate it. 
This past August, you guys may remember, I got red in the ends of my hair when I wanted a subtle balyage, but that just ended up washing out after a couple of weeks. Since I wanted the change to be more noticeable than last time, I decided to go for something that would show up more! I also want this year to be a great one, so I decided to start it off with a pretty big change (to me anyway)! I thought, what the heck, I’m only young once, right? And, if I ended up not liking the color, I could just get it colored back to my natural color. So without further ado, here is my new hair!
 Ok, so it isn’t as fire engine red as it looks in this picture. The lighting made it look crazy red, but it’s actually more of a dark auburn with lighter copper highlights!
 This is what it looks like when it’s not directly under the light.
 You can kind of see the copper highlights here!
I really love how it turned out! It’s honestly not too drastic of a change, and I think it looks nice against my paler skin, and it brings out my green eyes way more!
These photos were taken when I was home, and I’m back at college now, so I’ll probably have a post soon of how it looks now that I’ve washed it a couple of times. I’m so glad I decided to color it, though! It’s the perfect time for a change, and having the different tones in my hair kind of forces me to actually style my hair everyday in order to actually see them, instead of just leaving my hair to dry at night.
Have you guys made any changes so far this year?

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day! 🙂

2015 Will be the Year…

1…..That I go out of my comfort zone and try new things, and talk to new people.

2…..To celebrate myself, and learn to love the person I am. It might take the whole year, but this year I’ll learn to love myself.
3…..That I will go on great adventures and STUDY ABROAD.
4…..To expand my blog/work on it more/post more/generally make it better.
5…..To consistently post YouTube videos and work on my channel.
6…..That I will study everyday.
7…..That I workout at least five or six days a week.
8…..That I will eat healthily, and continue vegetarianism.
9…..That I will go out and be with nature more.
10…..That I will read as often as I can.
11…..That I will write at least a little bit everyday (or most days as school permits).
12…..Of random acts of kindness.
13…..Of mistakes that I learn from.
14…..To break out of my shell, and try to be more outgoing.
15…..That I start living my life to the fullest!
I hope you all have a wonderful 2015, and I wish you the best of luck! 🙂