StuDYING Habits

Hello lovelies!

With midterms coming up, many of us are extremely stressed and overwhelmed. Trying to keep up with papers, presentations, and work (if you currently have a job), can be very hard. When we take on too much at once, like taking extra classes or working a job that gives too many hours, we want to be productive, however, this often does the opposite, making people shut down and get very little accomplished.

This week, I'd like to go over helpful study habits I have found helpful for me, and ones that have hurt me rather than helped me.

I usually study with my friends around, and I feel like that is both helpful and hurtful to me. Depending on the friends I study with, and what is going on with our friend group when we hang out, determines how productive or unproductive I am. I find it best to study with friends that I see often enough where we don't feel like we need to catch up, so we can focus on our work rather than each other. It is also good to study with friends that know when it is appropriate to talk, and when to focus on doing work. If I don't go with the right group of people, sometimes we will spend the whole time talking, and I end up drowning in more work.

Studying in my room is also something that kills my productivity. When I'm in my room, I am distracted by wanting to talk with my roommates(we're all friends so it can make focusing on studying hard) and by having my bed and books so close, it makes me tempted to read and nap. I find that going somewhere off campus really forces me to study, because I am far from most possible distractions that keep me from my work. 
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Also, never feel guilty if you need to cancel studying or hanging out with friends if you need some alone time to study. You are in college to get a degree and do well, so it would be a huge disservice to yourself to not focus on the things you need to do for you!

Until next time, have a beautiful week!

Say No To Drugs, Not Naps (I actually don't mind the drugs so much, just get enough rest plz)

Hey guys!

This week I thought it would be a good reminder for everyone to talk about how important it is to be well rested. With midterms coming up, there has been more and more homework and studying to do that has been piling up (at least it has been for me), and that leads to staying up late getting work done, or waking up early, scrambling before class to do it. Sometimes both.

This is why it's so very important to get the at least the minimum amount of sleep you need to feel well rested. This post is probably gonna sound like a rant from that one grandma in your family whose hobby is nagging others lol, but I feel like many times we get so caught up hanging out with people or over-working ourselves that we forget to do the basic things we need to do to take care of ourselves.

Personally, I need like 10 hours of sleep to be able to function, and this can be extremely hard to get overnight. This is why lately I've been taking so many naps, and it's been so good for my well-being and productivity.

Lately, when I have been napping, I've been missing out on hanging out with friends. Which is something I generally feel bad about, but I have to remind myself that it's not selfish to sleep if you can't function. So if you ever feel too tired to go out, don't feel bad for staying in! You should literally do nothing, nap, and give yourself a break! It's much needed sometimes, and if you have good friends, they'll definitely understand. (:

Have a wonderful week lovelies!

Food for thought? Remember to eat!

Hello lovelies! 

This week I wanted to write about something I've been struggling with over the past few weeks, an issue I feel many college students experience. It can be really hard to remember to take care of ourselves throughout our busy days, with classes, homework and studying, there seems like there is hardly any free time we can have for ourselves. While juggling everything, I often times forget to eat. I'll go throughout an entire day only have eaten an apple and a granola bar. And at the end of the day when I get to my dorm, I won't have any food waiting for me! The Dining commons closes early, and the freshman meal plan I am on doesn't really give me money to eat anywhere else on campus.

Summary: It can be extremely hard to eat when you're busy all day and when places to eat on campus close early. So, many times, we just don't. Which is extremely unhealthy.

This is especially bad for students who are already struggling with eating disorders. It gives these students a reason to not eat, makes their fight against their disorder more difficult, and is an uphill battle. 

I have come up with a few solutions to this issue, and if this is something you struggle with, I hope this list is helpful for you!

1. Get a refrigerator and a microwave : This seems pretty obvious, but I thought I'd put it out there anyways. Having a fridge allows you to take home any leftovers you have, and the microwave allows you to have them nice and warm! (I know it's extremely obvious buuuut I feel like someone out there may need to hear this lol)
2. After eating at the Dining Commons, if your school has to-go meals, grab one to take to your dorm! : This is advice that my uncle recently gave me, and it's brilliant. Just take the to-go meal and put it in your fridge! It reduces the amount of time you have to take to walk to get a meal, the effort of walking more than you have to, and you have food waiting for you when you get back to your dorm.
3. Sign up for amazon's grocery subscription : Have food delivered to your college on a monthly basis, and save money! This saves the time and energy of going to a grocery store (plus, if you don't have a car, it can be hard to get to one) Plus, when you sign up for a monthly subscription of your fav snacks, you save 15%
4. Sign up for any kind of food rewards program you can : I know many pizza places have rewards accounts where you can get free pizzas, grocery stores have point rewards system, and target does 5% cash back when you use your red card (You can even connect it to your bank account and use it as debit, it doesn't have to be credit)

I hope this post was helpful for you! Always remember to be good to yourself, self-care is not selfish, and of course, to eat! Have a beautiful rest of your week, peace! (:

Sacred Spaces

Hello lovelies!

I hope you all are having an amazing week! This post I wanted to focus on how important it is to have your very own sacred space. What I mean by sacred space is an area that you feel safe enough in to completely be yourself, where you can unwind and feel totally free to be you.

Transitioning into college life is so stressful because most of us are accustomed to having our own "sacred spaces" growing up. Most often, it's usually our bedroom, but can be any area of our home where we feel comfortable enough to just be. If you live on campus, unless you are living in a single, the privacy and comfort of having your own space is suddenly ripped away from you. You are alone, yet surrounded by people, trying to feel comfortable in a new place without the support of any kind of familiarity.

There are so many different little things you can do to make your area of your dorm feel more comfortable to you, to make you feel as much at home that you can in a foreign environment. Putting things up in your dorm that make you happy is so important, especially since most of us have to share our room, your room might not feel like you belong there, like it's not your space. Making the most out of the small space that IS yours in your dorm is so insanely important to feeling comfortable in your own skin, expressing yourself in your dorm helps give you the confidence to be comfortable being yourself to the rest of the world. Putting up pictures also helps if you feel disconnected from the world around you, giving you reminders of the people you love, helping to ground you when you feel lost and alone. Any little thing you can do to your room is important to making the space in your room your own, filling a bookshelf with your favorite books, putting up artwork from your favorite photographer, if you are part of a fandom bringing that into the decor of your room, literally anything that you can think of that brings you a sense of comfort, put up.

I hope some of my ideas sparked up some inspiration to make your dorms feel more like your own space! Have a wonderful rest of your week, peace (:

You gotta do the Yoga

Hey guys (:

So this week I'd like to talk about one of my absolute favoriteee things to do when I'm stressed out: yoga! Yoga allows people to focus on the present moment and reduces the amount of time the mind wanders (most anxiety and stress stems from worrying about future events). It definitely helps me with mine, and I hope my list helps you with yours!

1. Child's Pose - child's pose is a resting pose, it is easy for beginners and I usually start and/or end a yoga sequence with this pose. To do this pose, kneel on the floor with your feet together and sit on your heels. Then exhale and lay down, putting your torso between your knees. Stretch out your hands to the top of the yoga mat, staying in that pose for at least 30 seconds. I like to stretch out both sides of my back by reaching my hands to the left and then reaching them to the right.
   
2. Downward Facing dog - this pose is pretty easy as well, and releases so much stress! For downward facing dog, start standing with your hands reaching up to the sky. Then, bend over and place your hands on the ground. Hold this pose for at least one minute. If this stretch is too hard at first, try alternating what leg you are actively standing on. To do this, bend one leg forward while standing on the other leg, and switch until you feel comfortable. 
   
3. Standing Forward Fold (Uttanasana) - standing forward fold is great for quieting a restless mind. To do this pose, bend your knees and lean forward, putting your hands in front of or alongside your feet. Shift your weight to the balls of your feet, tighten your legs by straightening them. Grab each elbow and hold this position for a few breaths (or longer, whatever works for you!)
   

These are some of my favorite poses to reduce stress, and there are so many more out there! I recommend checking out the YouTube channel Boho Beautiful for yoga sequences you can do from your dorm room! Their videos are high quality, and they have yoga sequences put together for beginners so if you're thinking about getting into yoga they're super helpful! Oh, and not to mention it's completely free!

I hope you all have a beautiful week, peace (: