Are You Pretty Enough?

Hey!

    So recently I have found myself getting caught up in how I look and what others think of me. I find myself asking, "Am I pretty enough?" Hint: that's the title of this blog post. So why do we feel like this? Why do I feel inferior to others all of the time? Why do I compare myself to other girls?
    Honestly, no one knows! Society has forced young people into insecurity. We all second guess ourselves and constantly think that we aren't pretty enough, or smart enough, or popular enough. It's kind of messed up if you think about it. Personally, I struggle with this. I find it hard to tell myself that I am enough. I am perfectly imperfect. Especially when I've been thinking differently my whole life. So I guess the moral here is: Yes, you are pretty enough. You are beautiful and unique, don't let anyone make you think otherwise. My friend Leah posted a while ago about this, here is the link to her post ---> You Are Enough   Check back for more later.

Bree

Stress Sickness

Hey!

    Over the course of this school year I have already been sick 4 times. That's insane, right? I mean what is going on with me. I talked to my dad about it and he said that high stress levels can lower your immune system enough that you can get sick more often. It turns out that junior year is literally making me sick. I have had the flu, two chest colds, and my throat is currently sore. So what are you supposed to do when stress sickness hits?

    The first step is to take care of your health. Eat a ton of healthy foods, especially oranges, to keep your immune system running smoothly. But you also have to take care of your stress level too. Personally, I have a lot going on and when all of my schedules start to collide my brain explodes. Apparently this ruins your immune system, so make sure you build in relaxing days on your weekends. It also helps if you get all of your school work done early so you don't put as much pressure on yourself later on. 

    The main thing to remember is: don't make yourself sick with stress. Like I said in an early post, school tends to run your life, but don't let your performance in school hinder your emotional health. Check back for more later.

Bree

Socializing

Hey!

    With the start of the new semester I have found out that in some of my classes, I don't have anyone who is really my friend to talk to. Starting in a new class is always hard, but it's even harder without your best friend by your side to struggle through it with you. So I have made the decision to use this semester to make new friends. That's right. I said it. New. Friends.
   I know that it might sound dumb, but making new friends is hard, you have to continually put yourself out there to even talk to new people.Socializing with others is not only difficult, but it is essential. So I am going to challenge you. Right now. We are all going to make at least one new friend this semester, and who knows, they might end up being another one of your best friends. Well, this is just a short post, but check back more for later.

Bree

A Fresh Start?

Hey!

Where I go to school, we are currently in between semesters with 5 days of down time. I have successfully wasted a ton of this time laying on the floor and binge-watching Netflix shows, but there is still one more day to prep for the new semester. You might think that I'm crazy, but I like to start the semester fresh. A fresh start.
    I start by cleaning my room and organizing any clutter that could be distracting. This probably sounds ridiculous, but having a clean room keeps my head clear and tends to postpone stress. So go put all of those clothes away and dust off that desk, because this semester could be the start of a new you! I also have a little farewell ceremony for all of the assignments from last semester's classes. This is my absolute favorite part because it's like a giant weight lifted off of my shoulders... literally. And lastly I like to take the time to sit down and organize new binders for the upcoming classes. Creating new binder covers and labeling tabs helps me get excited about the semester to come.
    If you felt like you left first semester with some room for improvement, this is your time to show the world just how hardworking you are! So go for it, and be the best you can be! Check back for more later.

Bree

Ideas to Relieve Boredom

Hey!

 I don't know about you guys, but this weekend I have a 5 day weekend with literally nothing to do! I have no homework, nothing to study for, nothing to practice for, and it's going to be amazing. A lot of people might just lay around and be bored the entire time, if that is you this post is for you specifically. Here is a list of thing you can do to relieve your boredom:

1. Do a Blogilates Workout with Cassey Ho at Blogliates.com!
2. Try a new recipe
3. Bake some cookies
4. Paint your nails
5. Create a blog
6. Climb a tree
7. Make a friend
8. Hangout with new friend
9. Dance around your house
10. Try a new hair tutorial on YouTube
11. Eat something you've never tried before
12. Go to a Zumba class
13. Ride your bicycle
14. Take a long bubble bath
    
15. Start a new book
16. Finish an old book
17. Make new binder covers for 2nd semester
18. Redecorate your room
19. Try out a new restaurant with a friend
20. Create a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork
21. Give to the Homeless(preferably food, not money)
22. Clean out your closet and take it to Plato's Closet to sell
23. Go shopping
24. Go on a picnic in your front yard
25. Take a cute selfie

I hope that  this is at least somewhat helpful, and that you enjoy your weekend! Check back for more!

Bree

Don't Let School Ruin Your Life

Hey!

    If you just read the title you might think I'm a little bit crazy. What I'm trying to say is that school is stressful for everyone. Getting good grades will get you into a good college which will lead to a good career, so we all base our success on grades. I do it too, almost everyone does! The flaw in this mind set is that you are going to have off days where you don't do well on a test, or get an awful grade on something. I just recently found out about one of my grades in an AP class and flipped out. But you have to remember that you are taking hard classes, they don't expect you to get 100s, they are ecstatic  if you get As or Bs! So don't stress over the small stuff. And maybe I should take my own advice sometime aha. Check back later for more!

Bree

Disappointment

Hey!

    I know that everyone has been disappointed before, it's just part of life. But, how you deal with it can help you get through tough times.
    I recently experienced disappointment when I went to audition for All-District band. I have spent the last 3 months practicing and preparing for this audition and I got up early and went to the school it was being held at. For those of you who don't know you are required to have a specific piece of music learned to audition with, they call it the "solo piece." Anyways, I was just about to go into the 1st audition room when I heard that the audition for the solo piece was on a different part! A part that I had not even looked at, much less practiced until it was perfect. So I had to leave my audition incomplete and know that this year I would not even have a chance to participate in the performance.
    I know that most of you don't really understand all of the band stuff, but that's not what was important. The important part was the disappointment I felt in myself and the situation. I will admit it, I was upset when I found out, we all have a right to be. After some thought, I realized that auditioning for this band wasn't what was so important about participating. The best thing about it is all of the practicing you do before hand. All of the hours you spend preparing for this audition, you are making yourself a better player, and that is more worthwhile!
    So next time you get disappointed, look for something good and unexpected that came out of the experience. Check back for more soon!

Bree

Water

Hey!

Recently, my friend Leah, from Love Ling, and I have been doing this 30 day flat stomach challenge. The calendar includes a list of ab workouts to do everyday and also talks about how much water you should drink. Cassie, from Blogilates loves to talk about not only fitness, but hydration and nutrition too. So I decided to look up all of the benefits of being hydrated, here is what I found:

Water Helps Prevent Dry Mouth. Water keeps your throat and lips moist and prevents your mouth from feeling dry
Water Promotes Cardiovascular Health
Water Keeps Your Body Cool
Water Helps Muscles and Joints Work Better

Water Keeps Skin Supple
Water Cleanses Toxins from Your Body (www.onemedical.com/blog/live-well/6-benefits-of-staying-hydrated/)

This is just a few of the many great things that water can do for you! 
I know that this is kind of a nerdy, informational post, but I think everyone 
should drink water even if you think it's not "cool." So tomorrow, take a 
bottle of water with you to school tomorrow and see how much better you 
feel after staying hydrated all day!
Check back later for more posts!

Bree

My Music

Hey!

    As I mentioned in an earlier post I went to an antique shop yesterday! I actually went to several, but I enjoyed every second of it. I actually did make a purchase yesterday though. I was walking through the endless maze of old junk when I spotted it. A black guitar shining through the rubble. That sounds a little dramatic, but I really did want it. I spoke to the man who owned it and got a really good deal! So now I am going to teach myself some chords on guitar.
 

You guys probably didn't know that I also play a few other instruments! I quickly noted in a past post that I play the flute, which is true. I've been playing for 5 years now and I love it! I play in band class and also work on some solos on my own time.
    In addition to flute, I picked up playing piccolo

my freshman year. Piccolo is basically a smaller, higher pitched version of the flute, so it wasn't too hard to learn. The only difference is how much air is needed and how much muscle you need to get a sound out. But that is just some nerdy stuff!
 

Last summer I also ordered another instrument. I went online to Amazon.com and ordered a brand new ukulele. I seriously love it and it makes playing a string instrument a lot easier for small hands! I really enjoy playing it, but I noticed that song selections are a little more scarce than they are with guitar so I tried to learn how to play my Dad's old guitar but it was waaaaaay too big!
    This leads me to the guitar I recently purchased. It is a youth guitar and fits in my hands perfectly. I have

taken it upon myself to start learning some chords and proper strumming technique, since it's a little different than ukulele. Overall, I love playing music. Even though I'm only decent at flute, being able to teach myself about guitar and ukulele has shown me what I'm capable of. We can all do some incredible things, so go get inspired! Well that's all for this post. Check back for more posts soon!

Bree

Antique Shops

Hey!

    Recently I have been going to local antique shops with my family, and I really  love what they have to offer. I think that it is really cool to be holding something that someone used more than 70 years ago! Usually I don't buy much of anything I just enjoy looking through all of the things in the store. But that is not always the case.
 
Once when I was antiquing in Savannah, Georgia, I bought a really cool old music book for portable chord organs, which are in the same key as the flute( I play the flute). The music looks like it is probably from the 1950s! The way that the old yellowed paper crinkles in your hand makes it feel important. The music book that I bought is a book of Broadway hits. It's really funny because I don't recognize any of the songs, but when I get the chance I am going to try to play them!

    Anyways, I am actually going to an antique shop in the near future and I will be on the look out for cool items. If I get anything good I will be sure to write a post about it and keep you guys informed! And I think that everyone should visit an antique shop at some point. It's kind of an adventure and you might find some really cool stuff. Well, that's all for today. Check for more posts soon!

Bree

New Year, New Blog!

Hey!

    So, since this is a new year I thought it would be good to start a blog to save this year's memories on. That probably sounds super cheesy, but I kind of want to be able to look back at this later and laugh about all of the stuff I did. It's kind of crazy to believe that it is actually 2015. Last year literally flew by. Anyways, each year a make a point to make a list of New Year Resolutions. Most people call them New Year's resolutions, but I like to think that these things will last a little longer than just New Year's Day! So this year I made a long list as usual, but I think I will post it on my mirror, so everyday I will get up and see all of the things I want to accomplish this year!
     Among all of these things, going to the gym/exercising is of course one of them. I didn't make my resolution too insane though, just to exercise/go to the gym at least once a week. I recommend actually writing your list down, this seriously helps me put my ideas into action. Maybe at this time next year I can make a post about whether I met all of my goals for 2015. One thing that you should definitely put on your list is to read my friend Leah's blog: Love Ling Blog She is an amazing writer and she gives amazing reviews on makeup products and great advice for everyday life! So go check out her blog, you won't regret it.
    Just make sure that you don't waste this year, the most important thing is to make the most of your time here on Earth. Carpe Diem! Seize the day! Check back soon for another post!

Happy New Year's!

Bree