college

Love your routine, and yourself

October 16, 2016

The number one response I have for people when they ask me how my year has been so far is "Good!... Busy...." I usually flash through all of the meetings and stress I've already had to deal with this school year after I say that. I don't want to put all of that on this person who is nice enough to initiate small talk with me. If you're in college, or just graduated, or are a young professional, you probably know this feeling. You may also know the feeling of being so busy that you lose track of yourself. Looks in the mirror getting ready start becoming a scene from Mulan. Who is that girl I see?

It's important, however, to not lose yourself amid the stress. I know this sounds like a generalized piece of advice that will go in one ear, and out the other. Instead of giving you some cliche advice, I'm going to give you some tangible ways to actually relieve stress. These have worked for me, at least!

1. Spend some time on your hobbies/passions
One of the main reasons I decide to relaunch my blog is so that I could have a hobby to go back to when life gets stressful. Just a little bit of anything you're interested in - writing, singing, designing, drawing, sports - can remind you why you're here in the first place.

2. Watch some trashy reality TV
There's nothing that mades me feel better than reminding myself that my biggest concern isn't whether Bethany said something about my fiance or if Kim ordered grape soda for dinner instead of raspberry. If I feel like my life is a senseless pit of stress and obligations, I like to vicariously live through entitled trust fund adults spending their money on bottle service and manicures.



3. Look back at pictures of memories with your friends
This also works if you're feeling down. Remembering old times really makes you realize that whatever you're stressed about is temporary, and time passes.


4. Look back at old, embarrassing 8th grade pictures
This is the same logic as watching reality TV. Comparing yourself now to where you were reminds
you of how much you've grown.

 


5. Treat yo self
Treat yo self to something you've been craving foodwise. Buy yourself those shoes you've been eyeing, or those concert tickets you really want. It's something to look forward to.

6. Nap!
I mean, is there anything better than SLEEPING DURING THE DAY? Sleeping at night is already amazing. It's like getting a medium coffee when you ordered a small. Score!

7. Indulge in your favorite media
Are you a huge Netflix original junkie? Do you follow YouTube series? Do you love podcasts? Do you feverishly stress-read fan fiction? Are you a total nerd and love all of these things like me? Indulge in something you love to let loose and read/watch. It gets your mind off of the stress and simultaneously stimulates it.
8. Do the easiest, quickest things on your to-do list first
It may sound weird, telling you to do things on your to-do list to stress you out less, but if you just get the quickest things done now, there will be less to stress about. More time for crying in the shower!

9. Have a heart to heart with your friend
If something is bothering you, ask a close friend who will offer a fresh perspective on it what their opinion is. Someone else can tell yout the things you're too afraid to say about yourself.

10. Catch up with someone you haven't seen in a while
It's good to keep updated with an old friend to deliver some nostalgia to distract you from your current peril.

11. Go somewhere spontaneous
Take a random trip somewhere with minimal planning. Worrying about plans working out in order for a trip to work is too stressful.

12. Daydream
I often like to daydream about the future, and what all of my hard work could lead to, to keep me motivated.

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college

5 Fun Times to Have an Existential Crisis your Senior Year of College

September 27, 2016


Senior year of college is a time for many big steps in your life. Maybe you land an internship at a huge company you've been eyeing. Maybe you move in with your significant other or friends that you've been trying to move in with for a while. You could make a professional connection that will lead to a huge opportunity after graduation. Or, maybe you have five existential crises a week! 

The first three weeks if the semester, which has felt like three months, is basically a mix of the paragraph above. The scary part about being a senior in high school is that you have to answer the question: "What do I wanna do with the rest of my life?" For those who have a broad major, narrowing down to the exact answer to that question can be crisis-ensuing.

The thing about these existential crises is that they can happen anywhere. Out on a date? Crisis! In class? Crisis! Trying to finally get some peace and quiet? Or SLEEP maybe? CRISIS! Here's a list of fun places to have an existential crisis your senior year of college.


1. Walking to class
Imagine it. Its a beautiful day - sunny, even. You're listening to your favorite podcast in your headphones and cracking up. Then, someone on the podcasts says the word "future" and your sunny day turns to a sponge gar meme as thoughts of mortgages, apartment decorations, and meetings in conference rooms run through your head.

2. Swiping through Tinder
Think about it. You're swiping through tinder for a self esteem-boosting game, and all of a sudden you see a dude with a sick neck beard and Titleist snapback. In his bio, he says "Hakuna Matata, bro", and you think "God, when are guys these days going to GROW UP?" Next think you know, you're beating yourself up for saying that while binge-watching spongebob in Breaking Bad pajama bottoms. How fast is growing up too fast?

3. Presenting in class
Imagine you're up there presenting the project that you've worked SO HARD all semester on. The project includes and interview with your boss, and you start thinking about if you'll ever be a boss one day, and if you'll be a good one. You'll start wondering if your employees will respect you. Then you ask yourself when did you start wanting to be a boss that is respected and stop hating your bosses? What happened to the days of being carefree, full of attitude and sneaking a red bull and quick BuzzFeed article in between terrible customers at the cash register?
4. Ordering a burrito
You're at chipotle, which is usually somewhere you go for comfort. The employee asks you if you want white or brown rice and you habitually say brown. You start to think, however, will you ever splurge on white? When do you have to start caring about how you eat? When will your metabolism catch up with you?

5. In the middle of the night
You usually have no trouble with your roommate. You're not too noisy when if you come in late or if you have to wake up early. The only trouble you've ever had is when you woke up in the middle of the night screaming about what you're going to do with the rest of your life.

In all seriousness, self-care and mental health is important, especially at such a stressful time in your life. If you haven't already, please don't be afraid to reach out to the resources available to you on campus!



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LIFESTYLE: 9 MISTAKES YOU'RE NOT EVEN REALIZING YOUR MAKING

June 09, 2014

Life is hectic. If my life had a soundtrack, it would be ding-ding-ding if each ding represented moving on to another activity. It's great to be productive and out and about, but if we don't realize these next nine mistake we're making, our mind and body may not be too happy with us.


1. Not reading more
Reading is time away from the phone calls and commercials and stress. It takes you away from your life and into someone else's. It's like taking a vacation without booking a flight and hotel. Even if the content has some stress or drama, you're worrying about someone else's drama, not your own. On the flip side, if it's someone's love and happiness, it goes right back to us. You may say you have no time, but just take five minutes before you go to bed. I prefer ending the night with Mad Men, but we all have our preferences. 

 2. Not saying please and thank you more often
How do you feel when you're not compensated or let alone thanked for you work? You probably feel unacknowledged and unimportant. In a rush, if someone grabs something for us or does a simple favor, we can forget the most important part of the transaction: a please or thank you. It's like shopping, the favor is what we're buying, and the please or thank you is our tender. It will make both parties feel better. 

 3. Not taking a breath
Just like that Ana Nalik song, I think we all need to just breathe. If I'm watching TV, or even typing a blog post, sometimes I just take a few large breaths. There, I just did it. With all of the things pulling us in different directions, sometimes we can find it hard to breathe. Not only do we need to physically breathe, but we need to mentally breathe. We just need to..not. Maybe for a few minutes every day, or every few days. Just not be occupied. This is the biggest challenge to me. I've been trying to watch more MTV as a form of "not"-ing. It's just time not thinking about school, money, work, family, or anything else.

 4. Not saying no more often. 
This is also my vice. As a young and ambitious millenial, I think I need every opportunity to advance me to get me to where I want to be. But I want it now. Then, I find myself putting half of myself into all of the things I'm affiliated with, when if I had only a true few I could dedicate myself more. Quality over quantity.

 5. Not saying yes more often
...aaaand on the flip side of that, theres this. I'm trying not to contradict myself here. Just because a situation may seem fishy, just do some research. See how every opportunity can help you and how you can fit it into your life. As they say, don't judge a book by it's cover. You never know what may come of it. For me, the best decisions I've made are the ones that I barely thought through.

 6. Not being more selfish
At the end of the day, we only have ourselves. Yes, we have our boyfriends, girlfriends, cats, dogs, moms, dads, teachers, cousins, etc. However as humans we are innately a tad bit self-centered. We love to help and spread our love, however if you're being spread too thin, it's not good for you. Wouldn't you rather have yourself all in one piece, than a million pieces splattered everywhere? 

 7. Not appreciating the little things
This can apply to everything... whether it's relationships, family, food, or life in general. The town you live in may not be your favorite, but think of your favorite pond to have picnics at. Think of the little freckle above his chin that is oh so cute. The things that make us the happiest don't have to have a shiny price tag.

 8. Not being outside more often
I'm an outdoorsy kinda gal. If you're not, that's fine. But just being in nature, especially on a nice day, can be to therapeutic. Taking yourself or a dog for a walk, even if you have no specific place to go, can really help. No wonder the walkers on the street always smile at you.
9. Not letting ourselves indulge
Yes, I love being healthy and this is a healthy lifestyle blog, but if we don't feed our soul... we may lose ours. To a point of moderation, of course, if we see our favorite type of pizza or cronut or pie, go for it. Stop punishing yourself!
I'm not saying I'm not guilty of these either, I definitely am. We're all on this journey together. Life doesn't have to come with a guidebook. If we all made life a lot less complicated, we'd all be enlightened.


Lastly, I thought I'd start sharing some favorite products at the end of my posts. I love this stuff, and I thought it would go along with the health theme of this post. 


If you're looking for a natural way to get rid of stress, try bliss stress remover. It gives you what it's namesake is!
Get it here, and put ohaixnikay@gmail.com as a reference when you make a free account to receive cash back!