"donut worry, be happy" Whoever said food doesn't make everything better was lying to you. It does. For one, scientifically, eating food stimulates hormones in your body to be produced and fulfill your satiety. Nonetheless, eating reduces stress, which in college is where the freshman 15 most likely comes from. I have slowly found my eating habits change dramatically since I've been here. The honest truth is that gaining weight your freshman year is basically inevitable. First of all, there's a [pre-paid] dining plan that includes unlimited soft serve ice cream. And a topping bar. And sugar cones. Most of all, food just makes me happy when I'm feeling down/excited/anxious/joyful/stressed/(any emotion)...so all of the time.
I find myself in a reoccurring pattern everyday: I am stressed/sleep-deprived/sad and I decide that I deserve a treat for getting through the day every night at dinner. I have found food as a source of happiness for me. It gets me through the academic stresses, as well as the social and emotional stresses I have experienced thus far in college. All the late nights of pizza and ice cream with friends, to eating an oreo (or 2+) after acing a midterm, food has helped me get through these times (as silly as it may sound). I am not telling you to stop eating healthy and eat unhealthy food all day, every day. What I am sharing with you is my experiences of living a life in moderation that has made me the happiest I have been in quite some time. From eating that morning donut, studying past 12 am, running along the Mississippi, binge watching Netflix (Grey's Anatomy), and eating a few more salads, I have (finally) found a life in moderation. Moderation is key to being happy. Eat that donut today. Go on a run. Buy a cup of coffee. Pinterest for an hour. Watch an episode on Netflix. Study hard. Instagram a selfie. Make someone smile. Do whatever will make you happy, + most of all BE happy because you are awesome. xoxo Jo
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Change is inevitable. Until the day we die, we will be continuously changing. Whether that is our style, our personality, our beliefs, our hair, or just ourselves. Within the past three months, I have noticed change within myself. Change is not always a bad thing. In fact, often it can be a change that helps you find who you are, or who you want to be. I do not think it can ever be pinpointed to a specific moment, rather a continuous and gradual progression. Yesterday morning, however, there was a moment where I realized this.
Your typical morning: alarm didn't go off, bad hair day, unfinished homework, negative sleep, tired body, Keurig out of water-you get the picture. Running late to my 8 am class, I decided I still needed coffee to get through the day. It was really my only hope to prevent a mid-day mental breakdown. I ran out of time to add 1 tbsp of Hazelnut creamer. I have been an avid coffee drinker (at least one cup a day) for the past 3 or so years. I cannot recollect a moment where I ever drank my coffee without any additives. I am a sucker for flavored creamers and have most likely tried every flavor, even the special editions. However, this morning I found myself drinking black coffee, and liking it more than I ever thought I would. Now a poor college student, I became happy inside at the fact that I would now be saving money!! Oh how a few dollars changes once you are in college and literally broke. This change from creamer to no creamer doesn't sound like anything particularly special, but I saw a change within myself. How did I go so long without knowing this about myself? How did I go so long without ever trying my coffee black? What else do I not know about myself? If you never take the risk, as small as a change in your coffee, how will you ever be able to understand yourself? If you can't understand yourself, how are others supposed to? This had me pondering my life, and myself. The question of "Who am I?" crossed my mind a time or two. The short answer to the question: I don't know, and quite frankly I will never know. If change is continuous throughout my lifetime, I will never be able to understand or even know every part of myself. The only way I can try, is to live my life to the fullest and take advantage of every opportunity at hand. Get to know yourself. Take risks. Make mistakes. Try your coffee black. After all, change is inevitable. I am sitting here with Walter (library to clarify) listening to Vance Joy, drinking my cold coffee, and people watching to avoid studying at all costs. Then I realized, I need a study break-time to blog! Vance Joy just told me that "we all die trying to get it right". Amidst my attempt at understanding the Kinetic Molecular Theory (KMT), this seemed more interesting at 10 am on a Tuesday morning.
What does this actually mean? I think this statement is 100% accurate, and to me that is a little depressing. If you listen to the song, there is a juxtaposition between the lyrics and the euphonious melodies/harmonies. It is a personal favorite, but the lyrics are so candid it is difficult to accept reality. I think this says a lot about humanity: we all want to be perfect. It is in our human instinct to be better, do better. We are reassured we won't ever get it right, though. Part of it comes from a natural competition among other humans. Whether people admit it or not, everyone is competitive. When people say they don't care, they really do. There is a sense of self satisfaction with doing your best and feeling accomplished. This goal is unreachable. We can try our whole life to do better but we are human, we are flawed, and we will fail at times. Figuring life out is a constant, everyday struggle. I often ask myself, what is my purpose in life? Honestly, I do not know if I could ever find an answer that encompasses the quantity of reasons why I live life each day, wake up every morning. Right now? I would say I live life to make this world a better place, but then again I will be failing at my purpose in life for all of my days ahead. I truly think my purpose in life is to make an impact on this world, big or small. This may take my entire life to accomplish, or for me to at least realize I've accomplished it. Each day I wake up, I try to start with something positive, something to keep me going and maybe even make someone else's day. Even though I will be trying to figure out my purpose in life until I die, it is the journey that matters the most, something Vance Joy forgets to mention. I may "die trying to get it right", but at least I tried each and every day. At least I woke up every morning, thinking about how I can make this world a better place, how I can make someone's day today. Everyone has a different purpose in life, but the ultimate goal during this short life time we are given on earth is to give 110% each day and strive to be the best version of yourself possible, which is different for each individual. Think about what a difference it would make if everyone in the world had this mentality? If everyone tried to figure out their purpose and make the most of their time on earth? The time is now to appreciate every sunrise, sunset, cup of coffee, stranger on the bus, teacher, sibling, parent; because the reality is our life will flash before our eyes. Five years down the road turns into ten, turns in twenty, turns in thirty, and before we know it our life will unfold to the unexpected. Do something today to find your purpose in life, show your purpose in life, and live your purpose in this life. "If you have good thoughts, they will shine out of your face like sun beams and you will always look lovely." -Ronald Dahl Happy Thursday (or whatever day you may be reading this)!!! I stumbled upon this quote by Ronald Dahl several months ago, and looking back saw the beautiful simile correlated to the idea of "feel good, look good". Society often tells us if you look good, you feel good. I do believe that, but what about those days where putting on leggings is a struggle, let alone putting on makeup. What if I'm not looking good, rather looking like a sleep deprived, caffeinated gremlin walking to my 8 am class (which happens more than I'd like to admit)? Ronald Dahl reassures the "me's" in the world that if you have good thoughts, they will radiate outward and let your beauty shine through. Today I challenge you to see the inner beauty within yourself and others. Today I challenge you to look past outward appearance and appreciate the inner beauty that matters most. Lastly, today I challenge you to shine like sun beams and let that beauty radiate to others.
To my soulmates, aka the girls who literally know every single thing about me, thank you for being you.
Around my Junior year in high school, I was still searching for a solidified friend group. I had some close friends, but not a huge group of girls like I had always imagined high school would entail. It was hard, simply hard. Newsflash: girls are not always the nicest. Then halfway through the year, all of us decided to get sushi for someone's birthday. When I got home from dinner, I laid on my bed and realized I had found my best friends. You know how when you meet someone and you instantly click? Like you know you are going to be best friends? Well that's how it was for me. Thanks to that sushi dinner, I found my "people." I came from a small private school of about 30 people in my 8th grade graduating class, so you can only imagine what entering a high school with a graduating class of 460 was like. Finding friends who I could be myself with was difficult, especially amidst finding who I was Freshman and Sophomore year. I got lucky though, finding these girls my Junior year. I shouldn't say lucky, but blessed. Whether they know it or know, they have had a huge impact on my high school experience and for this I don't think I could ever forget them, no matter what has happened or what will happen. When Senior year rolled around, we hung out virtually every weekend and I think we can all agree, it was pretty great. Senior year was one of the best years of my life. Then the summer came and we hung out at least three times a week, and most of the time did not get sick of each other (that's when you know). Having a friend group that you can go to for everything and do anything with was one of the absolute best things about my Senior year. I had a support system, and a bunch of girls who loved me. They really changed my life. Now, I am sitting in my dorm room thinking about home, about my best friends all over the country. I miss them and am still trying to find my soulmates here. It's hard though, trying to find friends that are truly irreplaceable. No matter what happens in the future and what has happened in the past, these girls will always have a place in my heart and a part of me with them. To all (if you have ever been in the group chat) #ecigs: Thanks for being great at life, love you all forever & always. xoxo Jo Chestnuts roasting on an open fire?
YES. It is officially acceptable to listen to Christmas music as today is a very important day: November first. Out of the entire year, Christmas season makes me the happiest. I may or may have not been listening to Christmas music for a few weeks to get me in the Christmas spirit, but now that it's November I can openly share that without sounding too crazy (ok a little). Not only the music, but where would I be in life with the cheesy, predictable Netflix Christmas movies. They really mean it when they say it's the little things in life. Living in a dorm isn't exactly "home-y". It is impossible to keep clean for longer than 24 hours. It smells like Cafeteria food (& a musty basement). It is where I sleep, eat, do homework, think about life, hang out with friends, cry about life, pray-all in a very (very very) small square. All that in mind, it is difficult to feel at home in college. However, one piece of home remains in those happy Christmas songs, twinkly lights, and Netflix Christmas movies that nostalgically remind me of family time spent together. I am beyond blessed to have those memories, but now that I am away I miss them more than I ever thought I would. Last night I deep cleaned my dorm room, turned on my twinkly lights, made myself some hot cocoa, & put on Christmas music (Michael Buble obviously). I instantly became happy, overwhelmed with joy thinking about snow, family, friends, Jesus. Sometimes you have to make your own sunshine. In this case, I did and I encourage you to find what that is for you. Today is going to be a wonderful day, so go forth & make your own sunshine. Colossians 4:2-6 Persevere in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving, at the same time, pray for us, too, that God may open a door to us for the word, to speak of the mystery of Christ, for which I am in prison, that I may make it clear, as I must speak. Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let you speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you know how you should respond to each one. It is currently 22:26 (yes, I use military time) on a Tuesday night. I'm lying in bed, restless after a long day as a college student. All day I was falling asleep, daunted with the minimal sleep from the previous night spent doing homework (+pondering life). Now, I am wide awake-funny how that works, isn't it? Tossing and turning in my lofted, pillow-topped mattress, I opened the bible to find some comfort. The verses above became my new favorites momentarily after I read them. With the simplicity of words, a life changing message struck right to my heart. After the difficulties I faced today, although minute compared to other people's burdens, this made me realize I need to take advantage of every opportunity, good or bad. Each day, we are presented with challenges and triumphs. How we react to each of those circumstances shows a lot about our character. In Colossians, we are told to persevere. No matter what, make the most of every opportunity. With a bad situation at hand, turn to God and make something good, something positive out of it. Perhaps that means praying to Him, growing a deeper relationship with Him, or simply offering that burden up to Him. If we can live a life where our adversities and successes are both given up to God, we are living a life for Him. When in doubt, pray to God. He is here to listen. In the future, we are guaranteed a life of extraordinary times, as well as terrible times. With God in our lives, we will always be able to persevere through the tough times. We can keep our hearts open to Christ, allowing Him to come into our lives and make them whole. Through prayer and a relationship with Christ, our words will be "seasoned with salt" to those around us. We can strive to be more like Him, living in His image. In doing so, we will make the world a better place and have an impact on those around us. When was the last time you saw the light of Christ through someone else? With God in our hearts, we can season our words with salt and persevere through the good, the bad, and the ugly times of our life. We can be the light of Christ, shining to those around us. Today, I encourage you to season your words with salt, allow God to come into your heart, and persevere through all the struggles, no matter how small, you encounter today. Today I woke up an hour early to drink a cup of coffee and do some homework. I decided I deserved a little pinterest time and happy music before I get my day going. I start browsing and put on shuffle and my absolute favorite song "Angel" by Jack Johnson comes on.
This song is nostalgic for me. I love it because I believe there are angels on this earth within each person, doing good in this world and making others happy. It reminds me of a teacher I had during high school that tragically died after child birth my Junior Year. When I say she was an angel on this earth, I am not exaggerating one bit. She radiated positivity, happiness, and kindness each and every day of class. I had her Freshman and Sophomore of high school and got to know her fairly well. She had such an impact on my high school experience, but also my life, whether she knew it or not. To this day I still think about her sparkly red shoes and amazing smile that would light up any room she strutted in to. I know she is watching down on all of us each day. Every time I hear this song, it reminds me of her impact she left on this world. I wish I could go back and tell her how much she inspired me to be positive and live life each day with an open heart. I wish I could tell her how much I appreciated her and how much her dedication to teaching meant to me. This is a constant reminder of the unexpectedness of life. After I found out about her passing, I was in complete shock and my only regret was not telling her these things. It's a constant reminder to tell the people you appreciate in your life that you do appreciate them. To tell the barista at Starbucks that their happiness made your day. To tell your best friends how thankful you are for them and how much you love them. To tell you parents how you couldn't live without them. To tell your teachers that you appreciate their hard work and dedication to help you become who you are. Every time I hear this song I think about Mrs. Sutrick and her irreplaceable happiness that flooded my heart every day in class. I hope someday I can make an impact like she did on the world. "Today I will be happier than a bird with a french fry" In loving memory of Amanda Sutrick |
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