Self Care Ideas and Why it's Important

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With the semester now in full swing, I feel like it is important to mention self-care.  Some people might be familiar with this term but not the practice.  In simple terms, it is doing an activity or taking the steps to make sure that you are giving yourself the chance to decompress from all the stressors placed upon you.

It is often very easy to forget to do this when you have a million deadlines coming up and school and work and everything else on your plate.  I am personally very guilty of this! I personally have a tendency to put everyone else first, and one day my cousin sent me the quote, "you can't pour from an empty cup."  Honestly, that quote hit me and made me realize that in order to take care of others, you have to first make sure you are taking care of yourself. 

First of all, take a deep breath, and yes I mean right now. Take another. Ok, now do a self checkup. How are you feeling right now? Is anything bothering you? What is on your mind? If there is anything pressing that needs to be taken care of, write it down and deal with it in a few minutes.  Try to clear your mind if you can, I like to imagine being on a beach while doing deep breathing. That is how I help when I am in an anxiety attack, fun fact. This is good to help calm you down and get you started in relaxing.

Important note, self-care doesn't require Bath and Body Works candles and Lush bath bombs. That is a fun option but not the only type. I define self-care as anything that helps you relax or de-stress.  Self-care is important because with so much stuff on a daily basis that demands our time and attention it is easy to forget about making sure we are doing well.

And now, after lots of Pinterest and internet scouring, here are some of my favorite quick, fun self-care ideas, enjoy!

• There are the obvious and popular ones like take a bubble bath, hot shower, light a candle, etc.
• Get a piece of paper or journal and just write! Get out everything in your mind, don't pay attention to grammar or spelling or if anything makes sense, just write.
• Follow along with a meditation or self-hypnosis audio track.
• Make some comfort food.
• Declutter an area
• Write yourself a love letter
• Look in the mirror and compliment yourself.
• Put on some music and have a dance party.
• Watch a stand-up comedy or comedy movie.
• Call or text a friend or family member, catch up!
• Cuddle your pet, or your human lol
• Blow bubbles! (I love this! Don't forget to pop them too!)
• Try and say goofy things in an angry voice.
• Watch funny YouTube videos. (I love silly animal fails or Markiplier raging)
• Do some stretching or work out  
• This releases endorphins (see Elle Woods lol) and there are studies that show exercising regularly can help with depression - Linked a couple studies for your reference
• Write down a list of things that make you happy

These are just some things I like to do, but honestly, self-care is as simple as doing something you know will make you smile or feel happy or relaxed.  Self-care is about taking some time out of your day to make sure you are doing well, to make sure you are happy and relaxed and sane.  Taking care of yourself is not selfish.  I hope these help and you guys are able to make self-care a regular part of your life.  Now go make your own list! Any other self-care ideas you may have, share them below!

Have a great day,

<3 Kimmie

My Year in Review - the Good, the Struggles, and the Chaos

This year has truly been a rollercoaster.  I have moved three times and faced potential risks of being homeless.  I went through the pain of getting over a brutal breakup, but dated two people and now in a relationship with one of them.  I have had my car broken into three, yes three, times and the most recent of which they smashed my passenger window.  I cut out fast food (mostly) and am teaching myself to cook and meal prep.  Still trying to manage money better.  Had a falling out with friends, made new friends, started seeing a chiropractor, went back to therapy, got a new tattoo, and a slew of other events.  One word that definitely doesn't come to mind for this year is boring.

I didn't give this blog as much attention as it deserved and I really hate that with how busy I have been due to work and school, a lot of other things in my life have been neglected.  So tonight I decided to just sit down and write, to reconnect with why I started blogging in the first place.  I wanted to just let the words come and reflect on my year.

This year has tested me in a lot of ways.  There were a lot of tears, sleepless nights, heartache, stress and being terrified of not knowing what would happen next.  However, this year was not without its good moments.  I learned a lot about myself this year.  People came into my life who helped me learn more about myself and who I want to be.  They helped me grow as a person, teaching me new lessons and some I maybe didn't want to hear.  A year ago I certainly never would have pictured myself where I am today - a stronger, but still slightly unstable, but now capable of handling a whole lot more crap than before.

If there is one thing this year has taught me, it is that you can always get through it and that even when you don't realize it or want to ask for help, you have people who are willing to stand by your side, to dust you off and help you back up.  I am so incredibly thankful to all the people in my life who have helped me through this year; to everyone who has reminded me that I am strong enough to get through whatever storm I was facing, to lend a helping hand because they knew I hate to ask.  I know I will come out of 2017 as a stronger person, more willing to ask for help because I know that I have wonderful and caring people standing by my side.

Despite all the insanity of this year, I am happy to see the leaps and bounds I have made and I am excited to see what 2018 has to offer.  I don't really have resolutions but I do have goals for myself, to continue my growth as a person. 

My Goals for 2017

Everyone has their "New Years Resolutions" and I feel like a lot of the time these drop off within the first several months of the year.  And to be honest, a lot of the time the goals we make for ourselves are very broad or very large goals that we become overwhelmed by and just forget about or get too overwhelmed by the prospect.

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So I just wanted to create a simple (yet a little vague) list of goals that I want to keep in mind throughout the year...and yes I realize in this list I switch between first and second person a lot lol.

• Be Yourself!
• It's ok to be yourself, and people who aren't ok with that don't need to take priority.
• It's ok to be on my own.
• Learn how to survive on my own!
• Stop putting yourself down!
• Build self confidence and self worth.
• Get to know myself
• Blog, read, and write on a regular basis.
• Work out on a regular basis.
• Complete the rock climbing mile high challenge at school.
• Stay up to date on project pan.
• Read 20 books this year.
• Get my GPA above 3.3.
• Work on developing study plans and sticking to them.

I'm going to try and do my best and update you on some of these that have deadlines. Any related posts will be linked in the list. If my reading goals and project pan posts have not been posted already they will be soon!

What are some of your goals for this year? Share them with me in the comments.

I hope 2017 is a wonderful year for all of you.

- Kim

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Combating Post-Breakup Blues

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Most people have gone through some type of breakup in their lives, and the majority will probably tell you that it sucks and is painful. I have been going through this as of late and personally, I'm with the majority.  So here is what I have learned over the past few months that have been helping me get through this hard time.

- Get your support system! I can't stress how important it is to be around people who genuinely care about you and who want to support you.  By having a strong support system you have people who you can turn to when you are having a bad day, who are willing to listen to you talk, even if you are saying the same thing as before.

- Put some distance.  For me, he moved back home to a different state, so I didn’t have to go through the issues of seeing him on a regular basis.  Bt I did have to force myself to talk to him less.  If you do see your ex frequently or have the same friend group, try taking a step back.  I’m not saying stop hanging out with the friend group, just take some time away from events where you would be in the same place.

- Allow yourself to grieve.  One thing you absolutely don’t want to do is bottle up those feelings, because they will explode in the worst way, and probably the worst timing.  If you need to cry, that’s ok, you’re allowed to.  You need to let yourself go through the grieving process, because in a way, it’s like a death.  Something that has been a big part of your life has come to an end and you have to ride that out.

- Friends on social media. As much as it sucks, you will want to remove them from your social media because it will torture you. If you guys do plan to remain friends, at least remove them for a while. I personally stayed facebook friends with him for a while and I was paranoid about posting anything that he could take the wrong way, etc.

- It’s your business.  On the social media note, don’t post all the details on facebook or anywhere really.  Because really all that will do is probably open up a can of worms of people dumping on them and trying to tell you what you should do and personally that just made me feel worse.  I really didn’t want to hear people trash talking him and I certainly didn’t want to draw the limelight on what had transpired.

- Painful memories.  You probably want to delete your photos together and remove anything that is a painful reminder of the split.

- Don’t drink alone or hole yourself up.  We’ve all heard about the infamous way of getting over someone through the bottom of a bottle.  Alcohol is actually a depressant.  If you do want to drink, invite over someone who makes you feel good and safe and who wouldn’t mind if you got emotional. The day he and I broke up I went over to my now roommate’s house and we drank and watched a movie and hung out.  Going back to the first point, don’t try to fight this on your own, don’t shut yourself off from everyone, in fact, I’ve gone out more than I have in ages because I don’t want to fall into the trap of sitting at home wallowing. I want to be surrounded by good people in a good situation.

- Rebuild yourself.  I started rock climbing more and trying to figure out who I am on my own.  We were together for 4 years, so I hadn’t been an adult on my own, I’m learning how to do that now.  Focus on learning to be happy on your own, you don’t need a significant other.

I hope this helps some of you out there and if you are going through a breakup, I wish you all the best and remember, if no one else, I believe in you!

Hugs from my computer to yours -

Kim

P.s. here is an article that helped me and inspired this: Cosmo.

Life Threw Me a Curve Ball

I wanted to apologize first off for the radio silence from me the last six months. My life took a turn for the crazy over the last half of 2016.  My boyfriend lost his job which resulted in me working on average 50+ hours a week between my two jobs and trying to balance 15 units in school. Everything went haywire and to say I was stressed would be an understatement of epic proportions.

Unfortunately, in December, my boyfriend and I split. We were together for nearly 4 years.  It has been a very difficult transition and an even worse build up. Making the decision to end our relationship was incredibly emotional and one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make. I don't want to go into the details of the situation but I do feel that it was the best decision and course of action, no matter how painful.

I honestly feel like the last half of 2016 every time I thought I had hit rock bottom and it couldn't possibly get any worse, some asshole threw me a shovel.  It has been a whirlwind of changes, challenges, and sometimes seemingly impossible hurtles to get over.  But I'm still trying, taking each day at a time. 

Now that the holidays are over and my work schedule has calmed down, I finally have time to really think and I am trying to still process everything.  School is back in session and with a new year I am really hoping for a new beginning. 

I have some new content lined up for this blog and some posts will be going up soon.  I have a goal to have a post up every Wednesday.  If there is anything you would like to see me talk about please let me know in the comments.

Thank you, I hope all of your holiday season went well.

- Kimmie

Life Update: Graduation and Goals

Hi everyone! I have returned once more lol. I'm sorry for the radio silence, so here is a brief update on what has been going on with me. I graduated from community college about 3 weeks ago, and I just went to orientation for Sacramento State on Monday. Other than that I have just been working like crazy and trying to find something full time related to my major.

I'm excited for this transition and excited that, after 3 years since leaving Concordia, I am back at a university ready to go!

And what the heck, here are my goals for my time at university:

• Join a club - believe it or not I have not joined a club since Concordia.
• Get into both the business and psychology major programs. Bit of explanation, both of these majors are impacted so, come September, I have to complete the supplementary application to be admitted to the major. 
• Here are my long term goals:
• Join an honor society
• Graduate cume laude - which means with honors, having a GPA higher than 3.5. Overall I am trying to aim for magna cume laude which is having a GPA between 3.75-3.889 GPA.

I hope you are doing well and having an awesome summer. Let me know if there are any posts you want to see :)

Big hugs from my computer to yours,

Kimmie

Exciting News and Updates

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Interwebbies! Ok, so since we last spoke here is the lowdown:

1. I am moving to a new place, still in the same city, but it is a very beautiful townhouse that I am super excited about. I will be moving this upcoming Friday the 25th, and I may post a couple pictures once I get everything set up.

2. I GOT ACCEPTED! After 2.5 years of hard work and dedication, I will be returning to the world of universities for another go. (I attended a university for a semester before life happened and since have been attending community.) I will be graduating in May with an associate degree for transfer in business and will be attending Sacramento State in the fall.

3. I did get in a car accident about a month ago, everything is alright, it was pretty minor.

4. Sleep schedule is still a horrific mess...yup probably not gonna change any time soon XD because who doesn't love a closing shift to turn around and work an early morning shipment and then close again that night....it is definitely a roller coaster. 

5. My schedule in general is still cray cray! Haha, if you have been following me at all you know that my life is pretty much always busy. As a college student working two jobs, I don't really have much time for a social life or my poor neglected blog. But I do try, I still love my blog very much.

6. The fur babies are still doing well. And for fun, here are some goofy pictures of them:

They sleep so weird....

During the moving process I will have some posts coming your way that are already scheduled and ready to go. I also have some good content for my College Survival Guide coming up soon! Starting with "I've been accepted, now what?"

If you have anything you would like to see me write about I would love any feed back and suggestions you have to offer :)

Have a wonderful day,

<3 Kimmie

What's on my Mind - Free Write

Its 12:08 in the morning and I was sitting here thinking about what to write. I have a list of things I want to create posts on that pertain to my "blogging niche" college, life, makeup. But for some reason I couldn't think of anything, I was simply staring at a blank page. So I decided just to tell you what was on my mind, to just type and see what comes out.

Life scares me.  I am not at all good with change, and as I am coming up on what should be my last semester in community college, I am forced to face the inevitable changes that will take place in my life once more. I have placed my application for only one college, the one CSU closest to me, a risky move I know. But now that I have moved so far away from home, living in a new city and forced to start all over, I really don't want to relocate again. I'm scared that I won't be able to make new friends, that I'll be overwhelmed.

I feel so lost in my life right now. If you asked me what I wanted out of life a couple years ago, I could have easily told you where I wanted to go to college, grad school, what my majors would be, and what I wanted to do career wise and in Job's Daughters and in Demolay. But know I don't know. I feel like all my dreams have abandoned me. I still want to serve as Grand Bethel Girl to the state of California, but I feel like my chances are running out. My bethel is struggling to stay open and we haven't been pulled for a slot in quite a while.

I feel like I'm just drifting from day to day, surviving and trying to figure out where I stand. I feel like I am questioning everything in my life, wondering if I am doing the right thing? What choices should I make from here? Am I where I want to be? Where do I want to be? Thank God for my boyfriend being so understanding and always reassuring me, because we just hit three years, we have been fighting a bit recently due to how much stress we have both been under, and self conscious, anxious, able to jump to worst conclusion me, is even questioning our relationship thinking that "oh we are at the stage where most high school couples break up."

They all make it sound so easy when we are in high school. Go to college, graduate, get a job. No one ever tells you how to handle all the bumps in the road, the twists and turns, and the self doubt that gnaws at your mind. The world expects us to be so grown up and sure of ourselves, knowing what we want and how to successfully be an adult when, in many ways, we are still kids in our own rights. Figuring out the world, taking hesitant steps into adulthood, stumbling and falling. Someone should really write a manual for this insanity we call life.

Alright, well if you are still here reading this, I appreciate it. Sorry for any grammar errors, I was honestly just typing whatever came to mind. Let me know what content you guys would like me to post more of or if you have any suggestions for me. I hope you all have an amazing rest of your day/night and I wish you luck on your journey.

- Kimmie

Surviving Working 2 Retail Jobs...During the Holidays!

Hi everyone, I wanted to do a post on what has been taking up the majority of my time and energy this holiday season. I have been working two retail jobs, at Victoria's Secret and at Ulta, and it has gotten super crazy with hours. I have worked multiple 12-16 hour work days between the two jobs. This week alone I am working over 50 hours! So I came up with a couple tips for working two retail jobs:

- Separate your availability. If you give both jobs the same availability there is bound to be overlap leaving you having to find someone to switch shifts with you, or work with your manager to switch you which is a hassle and is crazy. I learned that the hard way this week...

- Give yourself room to breathe. On this one I seriously need to take my own advice, but, I am intentionally working as much as I possibly can to help me pay off some bills quicker. If you can handle it, go for it. But if you can't, don't push yourself to the point where you are sick or too exhausted to function.

- Get to know your co-workers and managers. This will come in handy if you are stuck in situations where schedules overlap, need to switch, need someone to cover you, etc. Also, people are awesome, make friends!

Hope this helped, and wish me luck that I survive this holiday season! haha, I wish you all Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas!
<3 Kimmie

Pale Princess Makeup Tips

Hey guys, here are some tips I have compiled for those of you who, like me, much resemble Snow White in complexion. I plan on doing a post on my favorite makeup products for fair skin in the future, but for now here are five tips to keep in mind.

Disney Princess Snow White Cinderella Aurora and Belle (clipped to polyvore.com)

1. Make sure it matches! This is basic makeup 101; however, with extremely fair skin it is very easy to tell if your foundation doesn’t work for you. I can’t tell you guys how many times I have blended my foundation down my neck, it looked fine, then walked outside and looked like I had a wave of orange. Err on the side of going lighter and avoid foundations that oxidize.

2. Add some color back. I have been learning that it is very easy for pale girls to look washed out, ghostly or sickly. Looking dead is the last thing we want.

3. Concealer lips = no-no! I know girls love their nude lipsticks and I am no exception. However, especially with pale girls you want to avoid going too light because it will wash you out and make you look sick. Go for a “your lips but better” shade instead.

4. Careful not to go overboard. Ok, so when your face is naturally almost as white as a clown’s, it can be easy to add too much and look like you just got done working a kids party. Once again, I learned this the hard way. Find the happy medium with your makeup application. And this isn’t saying you can’t go dramatic, because if you can do it, rock it.

5. Don’t forget your brows. This is my weakness because brows are often the last things I remember. But, when you are fair, and especially if you have light brow hair, you will want to fill them in to frame your face and it can look weird if you don’t.

Hope these tips helped, and I have learned these all from my own trial and error and looking like a goof. Although, at the end of the day it’s just makeup, it washes off. So enjoy and have fun with it!

Life Update

Hey everyone, so I thought it would be fun to do a bit of a life update to let you guys know what has been going on with me since I moved and since this year has been very crazy with lots of changes, struggles, losses and just crazy stuff going on.

So I was finally able to get a job in late August that wasn't a temp job. I am working at Victoria's Secret part time and more recently I just got hired for seasonal part time at Ulta Beauty. I've been working at VS for about two months now, and I like it, but am unfortunately not getting many hours due to being in between back to school and holiday. I am learning what it is like to struggle financially as an adult. We have rent, my car payment, school, and I'm paying off my hospital bill from my car accident last year! (I know right!)

Nothing screams "you're an adult now" like having a list of bills to pay and constantly being afraid of not being able to. I am really thankful that I have a second job for holiday because I can hopefully have a little bit of spending money and not be worried about affording everything. If anyone has any advice for working two part time retail jobs, please let me know, I could really use the help.

To top everything off, I am not able to get my financial aid through school because of issues and I'm having to go through a complicated special exceptions process, and having to deal with applications to universities to transfer. Wish me luck.

Other than money school is going well so far. I have managed to get myself back on track and have a transfer plan together again and it does really give me some peace of mind knowing that at least on part of my life is somewhat stable.

Sorry for my mini negativity rant. I honestly didn't mean for this to turn into one, but I feel like things are starting to get better and turn around, and I truly hope that is so. I'm trying really hard to stay positive and work my way through all the struggles I am going through, but it is really hard, I am not going to lie. This year has definitely been one of the most difficult I have gone through.

Time to take a deep breath and just keep on truckin'. That is truly how I life my life. I am realizing not matter how hard things get, I just keep going, and just keep towards my goals and handle what is thrown my way as best I can. Like a little fishy once said, "just keep swimming."

This is my tattoo.

Hope you are all doing well. Hugs from my computer to yours,
<3 Kimmie

My Goals for Summer 2015

After reading the little engine that couldn't a.k.a. Matthew's post on his goals for summer I was inspired by his witty and sarcastic writing to share my goals for the upcoming months with you and tried to channel a bit of his style into this post.

I hope you find my goals entertaining and interesting.  I wanted to write about something other than the typical summer agenda of a majority of school kids: sleep until noon every day and go to the beach.

Without any further ado, here are my ten summer goals:

1. Read 5 books.
Since starting college I have fallen so behind on reading anything aside from what was assigned. I used to have at least two personal books in my backpack at any given time. Seriously, in middle school I would get in trouble for reading in class, get my book taken away and then just pull out a different book!

Will probably create a summer reading list on my Goodreads account.

2. Find a job.
This one is a must since I have moved and am now currently unemployed. My boyfriend keeps making jokes about being my “sugar daddy” in the mean time! As much as I love him, and that he is offering, being a grown up I unfortunately have bills that call my name every month.

3. Be more active on my blog and writing in general.
I have had this idea for a book in my head for years and I have written bits and pieces so I want to try and put that together.

I seriously neglect this blog during the school semesters and I feel bad about it, but unfortunately for the past year and a half I have been overloading myself when it comes to school and work and I barely have had time for sleep.

So believe me when I say that for the time I don’t have a job, I am taking advantage of sleep as much as I can!


4. Kick ass in my summer classes.
Since I am a double major I have a ridiculous amount of classes I need to take before I can transfer to a four-year university. My goal is to graduate from community by spring of 2016, however, that is looking harder and harder. So I am taking two classes online to try and ease the amount I have to take the coming year.

Or so I tell myself as I will likely continue in my overachieving, put too much work on myself, ways… Wish me luck!

5. Get my life in order.
Ah yes, the ever present, daunting task that every young adult, well really all adults, must face.

Can we all agree that it is ridiculous that in your senior year of high school you still have to ask for permission to use the restroom and then a mere months later upon graduation, you are expected to have your entire future figured out. Um, what?

So this one probably wont be completed this summer, but I can still try.

6. Come to terms with the fact that I am no longer a teenager.
Seriously! I find it so crazy that tomorrow is my 20th birthday! Where in the world has the time gone! I feel like just a short time ago I was still in middle school! Well it doesn’t help that I still get told I look like I am in middle school… But now I am a full blown adult with bills and independence and, and….can I just have nap time back???

7. Stop eating so much fast food.
I swear fast food is an addiction! My tummy pudge hates me.

Speaker box: “Hi, welcome to McDonalds can I take your order?”
Me: “Um yeah, food that is good…um just give me one of everything. And don’t forget the extra large oreo McFlurry.”

What am I doing with my life?

8. Get ripped.
Highly unlikely I will come out of this summer with washboard abs and a thigh gap (don’t really care about the gap anyway) but I would just like to get toned up. I think it is ridiculous that I am considered on the high edge of overweigh. I am supposed to be between 115-130. I am barely over that, well like 15 pounds over that but still. Shall we revisit number 7?

However, I do want to do a cosplay of Selene from Underworld and if I am getting into a spandex body suit, there will be no jiggle. I WILL DEFEAT THE JIGGLE! MWAHAHAHA!

9. Find the Holy Grail.
Or you know I could just rewatch the movie for the millionth time and laugh at the Monty Python cast and annoy my friends for the next two days with non-stop quotes from the movie. If you haven’t seen it, drop everything because your life is not complete until you do.

10. Go to the river.
I have lived about a 10 minute drive from the beach my entire life and it is really strange not being that close. But on the upside there is a cool lake nearby that allows swimming and has barbecues so that sounds like a fun weekend.


What are some of your goals for this summer? Anything life changing planned as we once again celebrate the two months we have to catch up on sleep and our social lives?

Hope you all have an amazing summer!
<3 Kimmie

The Fear: Getting Sick!

It is the bane of pretty much everyone I have ever met, but it is worse when you have class or work or various other commitments in life. Yes, I am talking about the thing we all dread, getting sick. Especially this time of year when it is the cold and flu season, we are all a bit more susceptible I am going to share a few tips for avoiding getting sick or just getting over your cold faster.

1. This is the most basic of all tips, the thing they have been teaching us since we can remember, WASH YOUR HANDS! This little thing is so incredibly important because it prevents the passage of germs. I would also suggest carrying around a small thing of hand sanitizer from the drugstore or Bath and Bodyworks. They are inexpensive and fit in your backpack, purse, pocket, etc. and especially with how germy college campuses can be, this will come in handy!

2. Don't over work yourself and get those Z's. One of the biggest reasons I get sick is because I am famous for burning the candle at both ends, over working myself and not getting enough sleep. So this is defiantly one area I need to work to improve on. But the more strain and stress you put on your body, the more likely you are to catch a cold because your body isn't fully on its game or it is exhausted. Your sleep is your body's time to repair itself and fight off any potential threats, it is why when you are sick you just want to sleep.

3. Make sure you take your vitamins. I would seriously recommend just everyone, make sure you take a daily vitamin, or at the very least vitamin C to help keep your immune system up and to just help your over all health.

4. Don't forget the C. Vitamin C seriously is amazing stuff and really does wonders. According to WebMD, "the benefits of vitamin C may include protection against immune system deficiencies, cardiovascular disease, prenatal health problems, eye disease, and even skin wrinkling." So yeah, it recommends taking 500 milligrams a day. I would suggest either just daily vitamin C supplements or EmergenC powder packs. This stuff is amazing, especially when I am getting sick it helps so much.

5. Tea time! I absolutely love tea, and let me tell you why it is amazing. Tea has antioxidants which can prevent cancer, hydrates your body, can lower the risk of Parkinson's Disease, and has a whole boatload of other health benefits, some of which were reported on by a little publication called Time Magazine. Health.com quotes ear and throat specialist Dr. Murray Grossman who said "drinking the tea and breathing in steam stimulates the cilia—the hair follicles in the nose—to move out germs more efficiently. Lemon thins mucus, and honey is antibacterial."

6. H2O! Water, water, water! I cannot stress enough how important it is to stay hydrated and believe it or not drinking water is one of the best things you can do for your body. It helps flush out your system and when your body is 80% water, it is good to keep that level up and water in stock lol. One of the main reasons people get sick is dehydration and being sick also makes you dehydrated, so...enough said?

7. Get vaccinated. The flu shot is really a life saver. Many places offer the vaccine for free or at a low cost. Make sure to check the wellness center at your school.

If you are sick:

Take advantage of the wellness center on campus. They have actual doctors and nurses that can steer you in the right direction and help make sure you get back to feeling like yourself quicker.

Don't risk it. Get some sleep, don't push yourself. If it comes down to going to class or work when you feel horrible, possibly getting others sick and making yourself worse vs. taking one day off to sleep, go with the sleep. Your health should never come second. I know I said in my post about going to class that I am the kind of person that goes to class when I am sick, but I still know my limits and I know when to take the day off, you should too.

To reiterate,  drink lots of water, get sleep, take the right kind of medicine for your cold or flu and make sure that you are taking the steps needed to feel better.

Hope this helps, good luck!

<3 Kimmie

Balancing work and school

Balancing work and school. This can be one of the most difficult tasks any college, or even high school, student can face. Trying to figure out a balanced schedule with time for work, class, homework, sleep, friends…it can be exhausting, and from experience not that easy. So here are a few simple tips I have come up with.

1. Talk it over with your boss. Most managers or supervisors will be willing to work with you if you take the first step and ask to sit down with them. They will not go find you. Sit down with your manager and discuss a schedule that works around enough time for everything else. Make sure they know the times you absolutely cannot work, so they know when not to schedule you. Remember to proactive and maintain an open line of communication, this is a key to a happy work experience.

2. Don’t over book. It is not a smart idea to be taking a large amount of units and also work a full time schedule. Find a balance. Say you take 15 units and work 20 hours a week. Find something that works for you and doesn’t kill you, haha.

3. You can say no. If it gets to the point of being overwhelmed, it is time to take a step back. If you are trying to add something new to your schedule and it just doesn’t fit, you need to think about the priority in which it falls. Remember, it is ok to say no and reschedule.

4. Have scheduled time for homework. When you are busy a lot it can be easy to forget about all those pesky little assignments you need to get done. So set aside specific times to just sit down and work through your homework. This will save you a lot of last minute freak outs.

5. You don’t have to be super[wo]man. No one expects you to work miracles. Just do your best and that’s all anyone can expect. Don’t kill yourself trying to do everything.

Please remember that each person's situation is unique, finding your balance will take a while so just be patient, know your limits and know your strengths. I hope these few words of wisdom helped you in some way.

Good luck <3 Kimmie

How I Deal with Difficult Days

A very common question people think about is “What do I do when my day turns to crud?” Everyone has their own way to cheer themselves up, or make light of a bad situation, so here is what I do.

Often when I am feeling down in the dumps and just don’t want to do anything my first instinct is to curl up into a ball on my bed, put a blanket over my head and just shut out the world. Lately I have been trying to break this habit.

When dealing with horrible days, especially during my freshman year, I basically had to remove myself from whatever was bringing my day down. Basically I force myself to do a form of meditation. Taking a couple moments to myself whenever I was feeling overloaded helped me be more calm and collected rather than scattered and stressed.

One of the best ways I have found to bring yourself back together is to take a couple moments and just breathe. Yes, breathe. I like to take deep breaths and try and clear my head and forget about whatever it is that is upsetting me. I love to think about something peaceful like lying in a hammock on the beach, just something totally different from what I am going through. When I do this I imaging that on each breathe I take in I am relaxing more and more and good stuff is coming my way, and when I exhale I imagine the negativity and stress just leaving my body and going away.

When it comes down to freaking out over assignments, tests, essays or whatever the case may be, I am an expert at overstressing. My boyfriend constantly has to remind me to stop freaking out and that I can do it. Reminding yourself that you CAN actually do something is one of the best self-confidence boosters and motivators. If something is getting of track or going wrong, you have the power to fix it.

This whole thing is mind over matter. When I am having a horrible day and feel as though everything is going to swallow me whole, it is important to take a step back and reconvene. 

That is my main way, other little ways include watching movies or reading or just being silly. Those things I detailed in my post about cheering up. 

Good luck with making the most out of difficult days. Hugs from my computer to yours, <3 Kimmie

Poetry Saturday - Butterflies

Source

Butterflies in my stomach as you smile at me with your small crooked smile,
You snake your arms around my waste and pull me close. I can't help but feel safe inside your strong protecting arms.
I'm scared because I don't know what could happen, but I know what I want to happen.
I hold my breath as your face is just a few inches from mine. I look hesitantly at you as your brown eyes look down studying me.
I send a silent prayer that you can't see my butterflies, but that you can see how badly I want you to feel the same.
We sway gently to the music playing, but standing on the dance floor, looking into your transfixing eyes, the world seems to fade and all I can think about is what I can't help feel for you.
Butterflies fill me and I just want to spend the night in your arms, close you, wishing that butterflies fill you too.

Thing Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Book Review

Things Fall Apart is a wonderful African Literature novel that discusses the lifestyle of an African village, Umuofia and the struggles of the main character Okonkwo. The novel also discusses the impact upon African indigenous tribes and religion when the imperialists and missionaries moved into Africa to “educate the savages.”

I really like this book, even though there are some really screwed up parts, it is a brutally honest representation of what life was like.

The book centers on Okonkwo, a powerful man and warrior in this village who has three wives, two titles, several children and a large compound.  Okonkwo is the kind of man who rules his house with a heavy hand. He despises laziness and really anything that reminds him of his father who died shamefully and in debt. (Okonkwo has daddy issues.) However, his fatal character flaw is that he is so overly masculine, he beats his wife when it isn’t “justified” by their culture, but just because he is upset and he refuses to let himself show any emotion.

Following Okonkwo, you can see how he struggles with himself and how he feels he must keep up this appearance of being overly masculine to be everything his father isn’t. He has this whole struggle of man vs. self, man vs. society and man vs. destiny. Okonkwo’s struggle is seen at many points throughout the story and in the end I feel like it is what leads to his downfall because he is so rigid and unable to adapt that he becomes obsolete when the western culture moves in. So if you like historical fiction and viewing other cultures then you should definitely give this book a try.

I did want to make one note, this book does include scenes where Okonkwo beats his wife and there are traits of sexism, however I ask you to keep in mind that this novel is set. The entire world was sexist towards women so you have to take that with a grain of salt and realize that Achebe is merely portraying the culture as it was.

Scars on my Skin

Scars on my skin,

That I made with nails or a pin .

I did nothing wrong

They helped me stay strong,

My way to deal,

With the pain I would feel.

They say that it’s bad

But please don’t stay mad

I did it to help me

Why can’t you see?

These scars saved my life,

When it was filled with strife.

Please all my family,

If you could forgive me kindly,

I swear I’m not crazy,

It all just gets hazy,

When my eyes fill with tears,

And cries fill my ears,

These scars brought me back,

Before I could crack,

But who are you to judge me?

These scars helped save me.

So what, maybe I’m crazy,

Because it’s still a bit hazy.

But that’s not for you to judge

Because these scars still have their touch

Source

Note from Kimmie: as I have mentioned in the past I have a history of depression and self harm and I wrote this poem about my history with it. For the record I haven't cut since, I don't remember the exact time frame, but I haven't cut in 2014. So I am pretty proud of myself.