Perfectionists

Everyone has that one friend,or is that one friend, who always wants everything to be perfect. Perfectionists are all around you, especially at school. That's why I wanted to talk about this, since we are going back to school in less than a week! Those perfectionists are extremely hard on themselves in every way, not only in grades. They don't even need a parent to punish them for a bad grade, they almost punish themselves. I know this because I am one of them. Now, when I say punish themselves, I don't mean like hurting themselves. I just mean that they get so upset and angry that they work extremely hard to pull the grade back up. Just recently, I read an article in a magazine that talked about how some perfectionists take it too far and do end up harming themselves.

    This may seem crazy to some people, but when you put that much pressure on yourself to get good grades and do well in sports or whatever else you participate in, it can really stress you out and eventually you're going to snap. That's why I think it's important that we support our friends who are like this, tell them to remember that getting a B on one quiz in Chemistry isn't going to ruin your career goals. Remind them that the world isn't going to end if they get a 93 instead of a 97. But don't tell them to just stop what they are doing. It isn't that easy for them. So just keep all of this in mind as you enter the new school year, and don't let the stress ruin you.

    Until next time...

-Yours Truly

Binder Cover Ideas!

Hey! Since school is literally a week away, I know that people are starting to pack their book bags and finish up buying school supplies. For some reason, I am like seriously OCD about my school supplies. Everything has to be perfect. So, one thing I like to do is to make homemade binder covers. No, homemade does not mean I printed them out! So I am going to post some pictures of the ones I made this year, and talk you through it. It's really not hard, but it can be very time consuming!
    Your binder cover really just depends on what you like. This year I decided to go with color coded binders, so I bought red, blue, white, and black binders. In order to make my own binder covers this year, I went through some old magazines and pulled out pages that had really cute designs on them that were either red, white, or blue (Leah, from Love Ling, made me a binder cover for my black binder). Then I went through the pages and cut out little squares of the designs and pasted them on to construction paper, which was also color coded. If all of this seems confusing, here are the pictures!

    So, when making your own binder covers, you can cut out strips of magazines and piece them together, you can do squares, or maybe triangles. The possibilities are seriously endless. I hope you liked seeing these, and email me pictures of yours if you decide to make them! Here is a link to Leah's blog page, go check it out! Love Ling Blog Until next time...

-Yours Truly

Back To School

    So it's already August, and that means it's time to start getting ready for school again. Personally, I like to wait until the very last second to start thinking about all of the homework to come. Anyways, I thought that I would give you guys a few tips on how to survive a crazy school schedule. All of this information is coming from a professional commitment juggler... me! So here are a few things I think would really help you during school:

1. A Planner That is Perfect For You
    I know this sounds really stupid and nerdy, but seriously. Go to Target or Walmart and look through all of the planners they have in stock. There are a ton to choose from, so just look at all of the different formats and sizes and find what works best for you! Personally, I like to have a lot of room to write homework and extra-curricular stuff.


2. Color Code Everything!
    We all used to do it in Elementary school, so why not bring it back? Buy highlighters and binders of the same color so that all of your supplies for each class are color coded and match what you have in your planner. This helps me visualize how much work I have for each class. Also, it allows you to quickly glance in your backpack and see what materials you are missing. It may seem childish, but it seriously works.


3. Have a Study Plan
    Everyone has their own way of studying, and before you get too deep into the tests and quizzes, make sure you have a plan. My personal plan is to look over notes and highlight the things I don't know. After that, I go through and make flash cards for all of those highlighted things. It really helps me get the material in my head. Just find the perfect method for you and stick to it!


4. Schedule Some Time for Yourself
    This is going to sound super cheesy, but you really do need to spend some time each week just resting. Allowing yourself to relax will help you stay more focused when you are completing other tasks, like homework. So just kick back and enjoy your free time!


That's all for today, and I hope you can use some of these tips to help you in this coming school year. Sorry about the giant break in posts, but hopefully I will be posting more soon! Until next time...

-Yours Truly

Saying Goodbye

It's that time of year when you have to emotionally prepare yourself for seniors to leave your school. The sad fact is, you may not ever see them again. Just the thought of that scares the heck out of me! I don't want to lose some of my closest friends! But not all of the people leaving are seniors, sometimes people move or find better opportunities. This doesn't make it any easier to say goodbye. So that's what I want to talk about today.
    Just recently my school held the end-of-year banquet where they show baby pictures of all of the seniors and it's just an insanely emotional time. It's so difficult to imagine them just not being there anymore. To imagine that next time you come to class, their seat will be empty, or filled with someone new. That is the sad truth about high school. Even though you have to say goodbye to all of your senior friends, you can see them leaving as a challenge to meet new people next school year, and to make new friends. It is so hard to see all of these people I have grown to love leave, but in the end there isn't much you can do about it.
    So how do you keep moving? Find new friends, keep in touch with those who have left, and remember that change is what keeps us all moving forward. Until next time...

-Yours Truly

Positive Attitude!

I'm sorry it has been so long since my last post, but a lot of fun and crazy stuff has been going on in my life lately! The biggest thing is preparing for exams, it has consumed a good bit of my time lately so this post is kind of relating to that. I have been really stressed out trying to cram a semester's worth of information back into my head. It's definitely a tough process, and I find that during this time I fall into almost a haze or kind of sad state. It is just a lot to think about at one time. So this post is going to talk about keeping a good attitude during these hard times!
    Everyone has those days where you are feeling kind of blue and you don't really want to do anything or talk to anyone. That is completely understandable, but for me exam week is just a week of torture. So the best thing to do is focus on the positives in your life. Think about that special someone, or something major that just happened.... for me this would be getting my adorable new car! If you just focus on the good things going on, exam week will fly by. Remember, it's just a test and you will do great. Just don't mess yourself up, you can totally do this! I believe in you!
    This is an extremely short post, but here it is. I hope that you can keep a good attitude throughout your exam week too! Good Luck! Until next time...

-Yours Truly

My Crazy Week!

    Hey guys! I know I haven't posted in forever and I  apologize. I figured that you guys might want an explanation so here are some things that have been going on lately:

HOMEWORK! oh my gosh, I have had boatloads of it lately! I don't know about you but all of this homework better help me out down the road. Anyways, last week I went on the annual band trip to Orlando! It was amazing!! The sun and warm weather definitely put me in a better mood, and missing a little bit of school didn't hurt either. I got to spend some quality time with friends, major memories made there. Anyways after that I was busy helping out around school with all of my extra curricular activities. It is sooo important that you are involved in your school and that you are showing interest in something other than academics (Colleges love that). So I also went and saw Divergent... It literally blew my mind. I loved the movie and the plot is so interesting. Not to be cheesy, but it kind of changed my way of thinking a little bit. So after Divergent I had more homework and then threw a little party. It was super cute even if our plans didn't go like I wanted them to. It's good to know that I have friends who are willing to spend time with me doing absolutely anything. One of those friends was Leah, the one from the beauty blog! Go check out her blog at www.lovelingblog.blogspot.com ! Anyways, that's a brief recap of what I have been up to!

Well, I hope you enjoyed this random post about me. More to come!

- Yours Truly

Procrastination

   

We all do it. We all spend that extra few minutes walking around our house trying to put off our homework. We watch that extra T.V. show just so we don't have to go finish that paper. I know that it is so tempting to just keep stalling all of your work until the last second because it seems easier. But trust me, from experience it makes everything 2000000 times worse. I have struggled with this problem my whole life and recently I have been trying so hard to kick the habit. These are some ways to help break the cycle, I hope they can help you out:

1. Go for the harder tasks first!
    - If you knockout the really hard stuff first you can kind of relax later on and coast through the easy stuff!

2. Power down all the distractions!
    - Find a quiet room with no tempting electronics in sight. It may be hard to part with your precious phone, but the faster you work the faster you can get back to pinterest!

3. Get a study buddy!
    - Choose a friend who you know will want to work and not goof off! Sit down with them and work together. Ask them any questions you need and make sure to talk only about school topics.

4. Write it down!
    - Make sure to make a list of all the tasks you have to accomplish that day. It needs to be detailed and as you finish them, mark of the items. This will help you feel like you are getting things done and will encourage you to keep working.

5. Break it down!
    - On your list break big tasks into easy-to-manage shorter tasks. Like instead of saying "write English paper" write down "Complete English paper outline, Finish Works Cited page, Tweak introduction, etc."


    Well, I hope this helps! More posts to come soon!

-Yours Truly

Hard Work

   

Hey guys! I know it has been a while since I posted last and I sincerely apologize! Lately my life has been changing so fast! I just recently got my license and with all the school work and extra-curricular activities I haven't had much extra time! So I wanted to talk to you guys about hard work. Today I worked at a concession stand for 8 hours. I know right. It was a ridiculously long and boring amount of time. While I was standing at this little stand I realized that this was my first real job that I got paid for and it hit me how much work is in my future.
    Now I know we all know how much work goes into homework and school. It's enough to consume someone's life. But working for money is a completely different experience. While I was working I got hungry so I bought myself some food and I realized that I had just spent an hour's worth of work on some fries and a hot dog! It was completely insane. So I now have a new appreciation for all of those teenagers who are going to school and have a part time job (especially those in restaurants). So I guess this little "rant" is just to try to show you what I have opened my eyes to see. I want to give everyone who already works a big hug and tell them to hang in there because you are doing some major hard work. Well, until next time (and I promise it will be soon).

-Yours Truly

Just Keep Swimming!

   Sometimes life can throw you a curve ball. Things can go from fantastic to a complete disaster in about 2.5 seconds.So what do you do when you just feel like your life is ruined? Well, you just have to remember that it's not the end of the world. Just like in Finding Nemo, you have to become a Dori.
    Dori looks past all of the bad things and just keeps swimming. That's exactly the same principle that I apply in my own life. If something in your life goes wrong, or you make a huge mistake keep moving forward. Don't forget what has happened in the past, but use it so you don't make the same mistakes again. This also helps you forgive others.
    I definitely have a lot of people in my life who need to learn that it's okay to make mistakes and that others make them as well. If we could all just grasp this idea everyone would realize that all of us are going through the same problems.So to conclude this post, even if life sends you bad grades, mean girls, or bad boyfriends, remember to forgive and just keep swimming!

-Yours Truly

Don't Worry, Be Happy

Today I was inspired. This may sound extremely dumb to everyone else, but I feel the need to share it. I play in my high school band and today we had a playing challenge. I have been sitting 3rd for a week or two and I was so ready to be bumped back up to 2nd. Well today that happened. I completed my goal! I can't even describe how happy I was at first. Then I thought back to how I felt before the challenge. I was stressed, nervous, and shaky. That is when I realized, when you have put in the work, there is nothing to worry about. "Don't worry, be happy!" If you start to worry, you may prevent yourself from doing your best.
    Over time you start to realize the warning sign of worry. You get frantic, you question yourself, you even doubt yourself. We all need to just stop! That's why this quote really spoke to me. I can use this to help me get through nerve-racking times and do my best. So what makes you happy? What are you excited about? Think about the next big test, or your next tryouts. Are you ready for them? Well as Bob Marley put it... "Don't worry, about a thing, because every little thing, is going to be alright!"

-Yours Truly

Drama

   

 
    That's right, the five letter word that sends girls running. Nobody wants to have a ton of drama in their life, it just makes things too complicated. I know that everyone goes through drama at some point in their life, but why? That is what I find myself asking the universe. Why does drama even exist?!
     Recently I have been going through some drama of my own, and it sucks. Having to tiptoe around some of my friends is not exactly the time of my life. The silent treatment is almost worse than an actual confrontation sometimes. So what should you do? Should you try to fix it? Or should you leave things how they are and make your friend come to you? That's exactly what I want to know.
    The terrible thing is, there isn't a handbook you can go to in order to figure things out. It's all up to you and that scares me. Being caught up in an argument with a friend can really put a damper on your day, or week! So, I think the best thing to do is apologize and keep your head up. There is only so much you can do until it's time for your friend to meet you half way. So question of the day.... What is the longest amount of time you have been completely drama-free?

-Yours Truly

Embarrassment

 

    There it is. That one word that we all know only too well. Just like everyone else, I have had my fair share of embarrassing moments. It sucks. Whether you get tongue-tied in front of the class, or raise your hand and answer a question totally wrong, the feeling is just as horrific.

    Embarrassment may be difficult to deal with, but it is also very easy to overcome. The best thing you can do is just not sweat it. There is no reason to sweat the little things. Everyone messes up, we are only human. The real challenge is whether you bounce back after you do something insanely embarrassing or if you just let it ruin your day. The choice is completely yours. 

    Personally, I am a positive person. I like to find the silver lining in all situations, no matter how grim. My tactic to take down embarrassment is to just laugh it off. Mistakes happen all the time, and who really cares if you slip up a little. Remember to just be yourself and everyone will barely notice if something goes wrong.
    So, here is my question of the day... Next time you do something totally embarrassing, are you going to bounce back? The decision is all yours.

- Yours Truly

P.S. for all of you girls who love fashion, beauty, and more, go check out my friend's blog!
       http://lovelingblog.blogspot.com/

Figuring Things Out

    Considering that this is my first post on this blog, please bear with me. Today I decided that I wanted to start a blog that I could post anything on. Advice, drama, boring things about my life, and the stupid thoughts I have. I hope you find something I post on here interesting.
    Well, today I was sitting in class wondering why I was even there, as usual. When I looked around the room I realized how different my life would be if I didn't go to school. If my dream finally came true and I could just sit at home and eat chips all day. But, without school I wouldn't know nearly half of the useless facts I do now. I wouldn't even know how to type these rambling sentences. I know this is super cheesy, but without school where would you be? Just think about it. How many amazing friendships would you have missed out on?
    Anyways that was my thought for the day. I hope you suffered through this post and will suffer through more of them later.

-Yours Truly