collegewithcaitlyn

One of the things I hear the most on the topic of working out is struggling to find the motivation to even start. Trust me, I've been there. I know it may seem like I'm always all about they gym with my overload of gym selfies (sorry not sorry), but I struggle to scrape up motivation sometimes, too.

These are all legitimate reasons to want to start a fitness journey, but they aren’t getting you anywhere in the motivation department. All three goals are too vague and can therefore never be reached.

For example, I can say that I want to be healthy. But what does healthy really mean? Does it mean going to the gym three days a week and only eating poptarts once a week, or does it mean living at the gym and never touching food with added sugar?

If I cite gaining muscle as my ultimate goal, what do I really mean? Do I mean I want biceps that are somewhat prominent and a nice quad-hamstring separation, or do I mean I want rippling muscles everywhere? See how unspecific that goal got?

So you want to lose weight?Well why? So you can feel better about yourself? So you can feel better about the clothes you’re wearing? So you can feel more confident about yourself?

So you want to get healthy?Well why? So you can stop feeling lethargic? So you can get clearer skin? So you can have better lungs to run a 5k? So you can live longer?

So you want to gain muscle?Well why? So can have more push when you run? So you can throw the basketball further? So you can actually serve a volleyball over the net? So you can feel strong?

In my experience, setting goals that have to do with the number on the scale and what my body looks like are not motivating. I find they hinder my performance and desire to hit the gym more than they motivate me to keep working out.

When being a certain size was my only goal, I had zero motivation and ended up being more scrutinizing than ever on my body. Now, I’ve learned to accept my body for what it is, while working for what I want it to be.

I want to be able to walk up the stairs without getting winded. (Okay I like to say I’m in shape but I still get winded going up stairs.)

Sometimes it’s becauseyou need to change up your routine. If you’re dreading that run on the treadmill, then maybe you should try a group fitness class, go for a swim, check out the weight room, experiment with other cardio machines, or take your workout outside!

This is something I used to struggle with a lot, and it really discouraged me. Which is why I had gym phases. I’d be all about the gym for a month, then I’d get so burnt out of doing of the same thing over and over again that I gave up and took a month break.

Now I mix up my routine and do different sorts of exercises every time I walk in the gym. Some days it’s spin class, other days it’s the stair machine and lifting. Some days it’s running outside, and other days it’s going hiking.

No matter what classes or workouts you try, you just dread it every time. This is when it’s time to step back and reevaluate why you’re there in the first place. Sometimes all it takes is a good:

If you’re really not into it, take a day off. Or a week. Don’t force yourself to run five miles if you don’t want to run five miles. It’s not worth feeling miserable. And it’s not worth feeling miserable if you do decide to skip a day. Everyone has skipped a gym day at some point in their life. It won’t kill you or set you back as far as you think. I promise.

So what drives me? I want to gain muscle so I can do one unassisted pull-up. I want to gain muscle so I can lift more than I did in high school. I want to be able to run a mile in under eight minutes and thirty seconds. I want to be able to run a 5k without stopping so I can sign-up for one.

All too often I underappreciated the fact that I had a constant group of people to workout with me in high school. I ran track and always had the same group of four girls to keep me up and running. Then when I came to college I had one amazing friend who would hit the gym with me up to five times a week.

Suddenly I was working out alone all the time. And boy it is hard! Motivating yourself can be such a struggle sometimes. Which is why I recommend you find yourself a gym buddy.

Even if it's a long distance gym buddy like me and blogger friend and fellow fitness enthusiast Abigail fromLiving the Gray Life. She may go to a school that is an eight hour drive away, but we still motivate each other to do our weekly cardio and push ourselves in the gym.

So whether it's someone actually dancing alongside you in Zumba or it's someone blowing up your phone with texts to motivate you to do stairs, find someone to get you moving.

Buckle up friends, because this is about to be a nice long detailed post where I spill my greatest secret. I’m about to give you the inside scoop on how I juggle going to college full-time, blogging, a semi-decent social life, gym sessions, and working two part-time jobs for a total of about 30 hours a week.

This is a no-brainer I know. But I swear so many people look over this step. Which I don’t understand, because not having anything written out stresses me out. A.k.a. why I have a school/life planner, a blog planner, a dry erase calendar, and a real calendar.

Write down everything.You will forget something if you don’t. Just like I forgot about my calculus 3 homework the other night until I was driving home from work.

Keep track of all assignments.Have all your projects, essays, and tests written down somewhere along with notes to start working on them before they’re due. The second part being the most important because procrastination is a thing.

Prioritize.Learn to do what’s most important first. For example, I get four calculus assignments a week. Three of them are due anytime before the end of the semester, and one is due exactly a week after it was assigned. I don’t have time to complete all four during the week, so I make the one that has a set due date my top priority.

When I was planning my classes for this semester, I knew I had to leave room in the morning to work at my on-campus job and room in the evenings to work at my off-campus job. This didn’t work out too well, since I have a 4:30 class on Tuesday and Thursday, but hey everyone needs a break from work every once in awhile.

I just officially confirmed my schedule for the fall last week, and again I made sure to leave time in the morning and afternoon. However, this time the mornings I have off I’m going to use to go the gym because I prefer morning workouts, and then in then I'll have a couple hours almost every day to do homework and hang out with friends before I'll be scheduled to work at my off-campus job.

I work at my on-campus office every Wednesday and Friday morning until my class at 1:00 p.m. The office is open from 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m so on days when I don’t work at my off-campus job until 5 p.m. I could run back to the office after my 1 o’clock class and get in another two hours.

While yes it’s possible, and I have done it, it’s exhausting. I mean that’s working over 10 hours a day. And while yes, I could use the money like any other college student, over exerting myself to the point where I stop finding my job fun isn’t worth.

Set limits with your job. Don’t give your job the absolute maximum hours you could work, because you may not be able to survive them. Instead, write out a sample weekly schedule with all your classes, events and proposed work schedule. Does it seem reasonable, or are you dreading it just writing it out?

If you’re already wanting to complain about the schedule you wrote down, then you are a little over ambitious. Consider lightening the hours you've proposed before you turn them in to a supervisor.

I do a lot of homework at work. Like a lot. And almost all my blog writing and designing gets done at work, too. (This whole post was completed while at work).

Well my on-campus job is extremely extremely lenient with me doing homework and taking breaks. Mostly because I honestly don’t have too much work to do there, but also because it is an on-campus job and they understand how much work college is.

My off-campus job is somewhat lenient, but I’m certainly much busier there and can’t just pull out my notebook and start cracking on that week’s statistics homework. I can however, write and edit essays, find research for projects, and draft blog posts between helping patrons because I sit at a computer my whole shift.

So my tip to you is to find a job where you work at a computer.Because it’s life saving, and honestly if I solely worked at a job where I didn’t have access to the internet I would fail all my classes. Okay maybe that's a tad dramatic. I would just fail any class that has any sort of essay in the syllabus.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned this semester it has nothing to do with integrals, spherical coordinates, accessor methods, or standard deviations. It’s that going to class with just a few hours of sleep is absolutely miserable.

I have 8 a.m.’s three days a week and work at 8 a.m. two to three times a week, so I’m up early almost every day. I don’t mind that. I love getting up early, I just don’t love getting up early after staying up past my 9:30 bedtime. (Which I don’t think I’ve even met since winter break to be honest).

I’ve slowed down a bit since spring break, and have been giving myself more rest and sleep, but the weeks before spring break I was totally overexerting myself. My typical weekly schedule looked something like this:

I was so dang tired all the time y’all. I was getting up between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. every day but not going to bed until at least midnight because I had homework to do, food to cook, a shower to be taken, friends to keep up with, blogs to write, and c̶u̶t̶e̶ ̶b̶o̶y̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶a̶l̶k̶ ̶t̶o̶.

I don’t regret stretching myself so far. I’ve had my best semester so far here at college, and I attribute it to the fact that I’ve gotten out so much more instead of holing up in my dorm like I did every other semester. So while I would never do this to myself again, I know it happens to some college students and I want to help you!

I’m going to show you how to cope with the days, weeks, and months (because it happens) where you find yourself sleep deprived. Oh, and how to avoid it too, because that’s what I’ve learned this second half of the semester!

Also, just eat good food in general. Food is fuel, so if you’re not eating or eating like crap then you’re going to be dragging and not able to keep your eyes open.

Don’t fall into the trap of eating Taco Bell, Papa John’s and Steak & Shake everyday. Because you’ll feel extremely sluggish. There’s no problem with treating yourself when you really want it, just don’t do it everyday, especially not when you haven’t slept very well.

Instead, opt for fruits and veggies. Maybe a good smoothie or salad. Or if that’s too “healthy” for you, try opting for yogurt, nuts or even some chips and guac as a snack. It’s better for you than Doritos - or so I tell myself.

I was just telling my friend the other day that my number one secret to not sleeping all day long is not going back to my room between classes. If I did, I’d be out and asleep in no time. Instead, I’ll hang out in the student union between classes, go read in my favorite spot on campus, go to the gym, or go to tutoring for statistics.

Just stay out of your room, and away from dead silent places. Instead, go somewhere with a good deal of people so the noise keeps you awake, and you aren’t tempted to take a cat nap that turns into you falling asleep for the day at 2pm.

It may seem counter intuitive, but I attribute the energy and motivation I have to knock out some homework once I finally get back to my dorm 14 hours after leaving that morning to the fact that I hit the gym.

During the school week, I go the the gym about three times. On Monday’s, I’ll go right after my 8 a.m. calculus class, which is honestly one of the only reasons I wake up and can make it through that class. I wake up excited to hit the gym, so I have no temptation to hit snooze or skip class. Plus, then I don’t really have to get ready. Just throw on some spandex and a tank, eat a bowl of cereal and toss my hair up in a pony. That means I get to sleep for another 45 minutes or so since I don’t have to do my hair or make-up.

The other two times I go are Tuesday and Thursday after my evening class. Most times, I’m so exhausted that I don’t even want to make the five minute walk to the rec center, but I’m always glad I do. I’ve never not left the gym more hyped than when I arrived. I leave with the energy to run a 5k, which I channel into my statistics and calculus homework after hopping in the shower and throwing a veggie burger on the stove.

Now, the things I’ve learned this half of the semester: how to squeeze in those extra minutes of sleep and not be so tired throughout the day.

I discovered this app while readingJasmin's blog. Basically, Sleep Cycle analyzes your sleeping patterns (awake, sleep, deep sleep) depending on how much noise your making in bed and then wakes you up when you're most awake during the 30 minute interval you preset. I was pretty skeptical of it at first, but now I use it every night!

I usually set it to wake me between 6:30 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. It may seem like 30 minutes is a huge time gap, and how the heck is that supposed to help you sleep more? Well because it has a lovely little snooze feature!

Let's say the alarm goes off at 6:33 a.m. I pick up my phone and when the screen wakes up the sounds turns off. Then when I see it's too early to get up, I just set my phone back down and the app waits until I'm "awake" again to go off again. Gone are the days of hearing your alarm, tapping XXX to end it, and then falling back asleep. The only way you turn off the alarm is to swipe on the screen, and then a graph will pop up showing you your sleep for that night. How cool, right? I always love looking at analytics like that.

Do not drink that coffee after lunch y’all. Just don’t do it. It’s bad and it screws with your sleep schedule more than you would think. Unless you’re really planning on staying up for hours past your bedtime (which I don’t recommend), put the cup down and pick up some water and eat a snack instead.

This is something I’ve been doing as long as I can remember. Like I’m talking elementary school. So if that doesn’t attest to how helpful this is, then I’m not sure what will.

And funny story: of course the one time I was too lazy to lay out clothes the night before I woke up 13 minutes before class started! I was running around my room jumping in and out of clothes like those crazy scenes in movies. But don’t worry, I made it to class on time!

College is a time for meeting new people and staying out late and having fun. BUT, that doesn’t mean you should let anything get in the way of your college success or your health.

Yes, you may really like this boy (or girl, whichever team you bat for) but do you really need to stay up until 2 a.m. texting them about random nothing? Or just staying awake hoping they text you back?

Put yourself first and get some rest. Your good night’s sleep and education should come before any boy who you’re not even fully confident likes you. So tell him goodnight and get some beauty sleep.

My love for coffee has slowly grown to the point that I can even drink black coffee now! But now I can’t even drink those sweet lattes from Starbucks anymore. Too much sugar!

This semester I have my own coffeemaker and a crap ton of meal plan money to waste on the Starbucks on campus, so my coffee obsession (I refuse to say addiction!) has sort of sky rocketed.

One of the biggest being insane stomach aches, cramps and bloating. I’ve had stomach issues a lot in the past, so I didn’t think anything big of at first. Honestly, I thought maybe I was just wearing too tight of pants or something, but that proved wrong when the worst stomach ache hit me while I was at work in my comfy slacks. The whole time I was dying at work, trying not to throw up or curl into a ball I made a connection: every day I had gotten the cramps I had also gotten Starbucks.

It’s been just a little over three weeks without buying a drink from Starbucks and I’ve had one little stomach episode, but it was about one thousandth of the pain of what they had been three weeks ago.

Now I’m not sure exactly what was causing my stomach cramps and nausea spells, but I it was something to do with only Starbucks coffee specifically. I know this because I was able to make my own coffee and actually enjoy it. No stomach cramps from that!

And it definitely wasn’t coming from an overload of caffeine either like I thought, because when I made my own coffee I made about 24 oz, which is the same as the iced venti I usually get!

So I’m thinking the root of my stomach issues was coming from the coconut milk or just Starbucks coffee blend in general. I honestly have no idea, but I do know that I can drink their decaf coffee with no issue so I’ll probably just have to stick to that for now.

With 8 a.m.'s every day and then working until 9 p.m. at least three nights during the week I get super exhausted. I even have time set aside for a nap every Tuesday and Thursday, but lately I’ve been having to fill that time with group projects, homework, and school appointments. Hence my major upsurge in coffee consumption.

Not being able to drink it these past three weeks has be weird because I’m so used to just grabbing a cup when I’m tired. Or when I just want something bitter, because honestly my main reason for drinking coffee is for the taste. I just use the excuse that I’m tired to justify it.

Stepping back and giving myself a break from caffeine has been great, because it made me focus on getting more sleep and being productive without a the need of a sudden energy surge!

I’m going to be more picky about when I drink coffee now, or at least caffeinated coffee, since I was mostly only drinking it for the taste and feeling of sophistication.

I think for now I’m going to stick to buying decaf when I do have the craving for coffee, and leave the caffeinated stuff for when I make my own or just wasn’t able to get enough sleep.

The number one rule I took out of this little hiatus is to always always choose sleep over coffee. (Or energy drinks, whatever your poison is).

While yes, you could survive on six hours, or less, of sleep a night and a good old Starbucks venti, but that’s no way to live. You aren’t really awake, you’re just cruising through life barely keeping your eyes open! Trust me, if anyone should know it’s me!

These past three weeks without coffee I’ve been able to pay attention in my classes a lot easier and have had better memory retention! Boo-yah!

So don’t kid yourself into thinking you can survive without sleep. Because you can’t, and one day it’s going to come back to haunt you when you fall asleep in class or at your work desk.

The day I’m typing this out is a rare day in history because at this moment I currently have freshly washed hair. Well, if you count last night as freshly washed.

A question I always get asked when I go home or visit any family member is when the last time I washed my hair was, because they like to make fun of me and my tendency to only wash my hair once or twice a week. But the thing is, most of the time people would have no idea had I recently washed my hair or not.

I’ve hardly ever had anyone tell me my hair looked like it needed washed, and it was only after they were running their hands through my hair and felt how greasy it was. Had they of not touched my hair, they would have never known! Honestly, the amount of times I’ve been asked if I dyed my hair or gotten lowlights just because I haven’t washed my hair in a few days is insane. (And kind of annoying because that implies people think I’m a brunette, but I’m a proud blonde!)

So what’s my secret? How do I go upwards of three days without shampooing and conditioning without looking like I have a drowned rat living on my head?

The first dry shampoo I ever tried was Not Your Mother’s because it was the cheapest. I used it for a couple months before I realized that I started to get dandruff from it! So I had to stop using my beloved dry shampoo and actually wash and condition my scalp before I could go back to skipping multiple days between washes. So much effort.

When I got my scalp healthy again I finished up the bottle, so as not to waste it and I didn’t have the same issue so I repurchased it only to get dandruff again. So I don’t think I’ll ever be buying this product again. No matter how cheap it is.

The next brand I tried was Batiste. Now, Batiste is a little more pricey than other brands because it’s known as the “#1 Dry Shampoo.” Or at least it says so on the bottles.

The cool thing about Batiste is that they sell scented and colored dry shampoo! So you want your hair to smell like flowers, cherry, pomegranate, or vanilla? Well they got you covered! Don’t like the white residue dry shampoo can leave in your hair? Well Batiste has dry shampoo specifically for blondes, light brunettes and dark brunettes.

Right now, I’m currently using Aussie’s dry shampoo and I’m loving it! I actually need to go get a new bottle of it soon. It doesn’t have an amazing fragrance like Batiste does, but it does a way better job at keeping my hair nice and fresh.

With my handy dandy shower cap of course! I used to just throw my hair up in a bun and avoid the water as much as possible, but the edges and ends would always end up damp still. Enter the shower cap I got for Christmas and the problem was quickly solved!

One other thing you definitely need to be using in the shower is a deep conditioner. Since you won't be washing your hair every day, you also won't be conditioning it everyday, so it can get dry really easily. To counteract this, you have to make sure you're using a deep conditioner every time you wash your hair! And make sure you let it sit in your hair a couple minutes and don't just rinse it out right away.

If you’re looking to go past the two day mark, you’re going to have to come to terms with the fact that you are probably not going to be able to wear your hair down.

Unless your hair is highly accustomed to going four or more days between washes, your roots are going to get oily on day two. Sorry girl. But don’t worry, because there’s ways to conceal that!

You could just throw your hair up in a pony (my go-to), braid it, make a little pouf (or a big one if that’s your style), pin back your “bangs,” or throw it in a bun. So many options! There’s even more when you find out the different ways you can pin back your bangs (twisted, braided, or faux braided) and add half buns and ponies and double braids into the mix!

Not washing my hair every day is one of the reasons I got so good at braids! I taught myself how to fishtail braid, french braid, dutch braid, and even french fishtail braid! (Is there a real name for that?)

Tip for my short haired girls: my hair isn't long enough to braid it like that anymore, so I'll french braid it back, then end it in a bun at the nape of my neck.

One of the things I’ve picked up on over the years is that hair that has been curled will look “fresher” longer without any extra work.

I think this is because if you tightly curl your hair on day one, it will take a few days for it to fall, giving you waves to wear for the next couple days! How awesome is it? Curly hair is always great for nasty weather because if it gets wet poufy it will just had more texture to your hairstyle!

Five years ago I still washed my hair literally every day. I grew up being taught that I had to wash my hair everyday. I’m not sure what changed, but eventually me (and my mother and sister) started washing our hair only every other day. And that seemed like the norm when I talked to my friends, so that’s what I stuck with.

Eventually, I started going three days before I washed my hair again. It was so long ago that I can’t remember why, but if I had to guess it would have been because of one of three reasons: 1) I was too lazy to wash it because I used to have long-ish hair, 2) I didn’t want to wash it because then I would have to take the time to actually do my hair the next morning, or 3) I wanted to wait to wash it so it looked bomb af the day after next for the outfit I had planned that day.

At first, my hair would get so oily and dry at the same time that all day I was itching to take a shower and I couldn’t concentrate on anything else. Sound familiar?I promise you, your hair will soon realize what you’re doing and stop producing so much oil.

The reason it’s producing so much now is because it’s grown accustomed you stripped all the oil out of it every day or two, so it’s used to pouring out a whole head of oil every new day. Honestly, your hair doesn’t need that much oil.

One of my best friend’s sisters is hair stylist and she once went a whole month without washing her hair! I don’t know whether to shout #GOALS or to say, “Eh, maybe that’s taking it a bit too far.”

How often do you wash your hair? Would you want to see blog posts about the specific hair-dos I do after day one? Let me know in the comments below!

It was part of my yearly goals andsemester goalsto read more books this year and it's started off great! I've already got four (and a half) books read, which means I already met my semester goal of three!

Nothing like working at a library to spark your desire to read right? Yes, I got a new job. Which means I work two jobs now. That's not what this post is about though, but watch out for a new post on balancing two jobs and college soon!

Today I've got three let downs and one must read for you. I'm not going to tell you which is which until the end, though! That way you still read the description of each book to decide whether it's a good fit foryou!

I was so excited to start this book because I love historical(-ish) books and Disney!! Plus, Aladdin and Jasmine are two of my favorite Disney characters. I always wanted to be Jasmine when I was younger because I loved her outfit the most. Forget princess dresses! And Aladdin is my second biggest Disney prince crush.

One of the things I loved most about the book was how the author the furthered the character developments. I thought this was great because even though we do know who the characters are, I certainly didn’t know everything about them. Like who Aladdin’s mom was! Plus, the book made Aladdin seem even more hot and dreamy. (Someone had to say it.)

However, the plot fell a little short of my liking. The book was basically the same as the second part of the movie when Jafar stole the lamp from Aladdin, so it really wasn't too different from the movie, like I thought it would be.

“Welcome to a new YA series that reimagines classic Disney stories in surprising new ways. Each book asks the question: What if one key moment from a familiar Disney film was changed? This dark and daring version of Aladdin twists the original story with the question: What if Jafar was the first one to summon the Genie?

When Jafar steals the Genie’s lamp, he uses his first two wishes to become sultan and the most powerful sorcerer in the world. Agrabah lives in fear, waiting for his third and final wish.To stop the power-mad ruler, Aladdin and the deposed Princess Jasmine must unite the people of Agrabah in rebellion. But soon their fight for freedom threatens to tear the kingdom apart in a costly civil war.

What happens next? A Street Rat becomes a leader. A princess becomes a revolutionary. And readers will never look at the story of Aladdin in the same way again.”

The book was a little all over the place, and highly unrealistic at times. Or maybe I’m just too naive to believe the things that happen in this book are actually possible by kids my age. Who knows? Also, the chapters told from Delia’s POV were so vague and didn’t seem like real writing to me. It was just words tumbling all over the place that made no sense, so I always rushed through those chapters. Good thing they were always extremely short.

The ending also really confused me. Like I had no idea what happened, so I looked up reviews to see what other readers thought and there are so many different theories. I guess the author wanted to leave it up to the reader to decide.

There were some good things about the book though. There were quite a few quotes and passages that I highly related to or had to sticky note because I loved them so much. I also really enjoyed how the characters seemed very realistic and not just people on paper.

June and Delia used to be closer than anything. Best friends in that way that comes before everyone else—before guys, before family. It was like being in love, but more. They had a billion secrets, binding them together like thin silk cords.

But one night a year ago, everything changed. June, Delia, and June’s boyfriend Ryan were just having a little fun. Their good time got out of hand. And in the cold blue light of morning, June knew only this—things would never be the same again.

And now, a year later, Delia is dead. June is certain she was murdered. And she owes it to her to find out the truth…which is far more complicated than she ever could have imagined.”

What I loved about the first book was how out of the box and real it was, but the sequel didn’t have that same feel. It seemed too cliche and not as thought-out as the first book. There was still tons of wicked imagery and insane events though. Plus, Jude has such a great backstory and realistic personality that it makes the book still worth a read.

“Sofia is still processing the horrific truth of what happened when she and three friends performed an exorcism that spiraled horribly out of control. Ever since that night, Sofia has been haunted by bloody and demonic visions. Her therapist says they’re all in her head, but to Sofia they feel chillingly real. She just wants to get out of town, start fresh someplace else . . . until her mother dies suddenly, and Sofia gets her wish.

Sofia is sent to St. Mary’s, a creepy Catholic boarding school in Mississippi. There, seemingly everyone is doing penance for something, most of all the mysterious Jude, for whom Sofia can’t help feeling an unshakeable attraction. But when Sofia and Jude confide in each other about their pasts, something flips in him. He becomes convinced that Sofia is possessed by the devil. . . . Is an exorcism the only way to save her eternal soul?”

I picked this book up on a whim when I was perusing Target’s book section (always a bad idea - well bad for my bank account but good for my soul) and I have no regrets.

I think the best part about this book is that it’s about a hiking trip, and I’ve been absolutely dying to go hiking again. Okay, maybe I shouldn’t use that terminology in reference to this book.

Anyways, another awesome thing I loved about this book was trying to figure out who is hunting the kids. The author throws so many different people it could be at you and my guess was way wrong. And I’m usually pretty good at predicting those sorts of things!

One thing I didn’t like about the main character Sera, is how she keeps referring to herself as her mother and how she needs to stay away from boys because “giving in” to your feelings towards them is bad. It’s so annoying how much she whines about it and I personally don’t agree with that viewpoint.

Murder, justice, and revenge were so not a part of the plan when Sera set out on her senior camping trip. After all, hiking through the woods is supposed to be safe and uneventful.

Then one morning the group wakes up groggy, confused, and with words scrawled on their wrists: Damaged. Deceptive. Dangerous. Darling. Their supplies? Destroyed. Half their group? Gone. Their chaperone? Unconscious. Worst of all, they find four dolls acting out a murder—dolls dressed just like them.

Harsh but I kind of like the title because it makes me feel powerful for choosing to remain independent. Also, apparently I’m the “Vice President” of the GDI’s. A boy who used to be in a fraternity considers himself the President and he has other people standing as Standards and Recruitment and appointed me VP when he heard I’m a GDI whose best friend is in a sorority. Sadly, I don’t think it's a position I can add to my resume or email signature.

But besides that I actually have quite a few legitimate reasons for choosing to remain independent of Greek affiliation. By legitimate I mean reasons that don’t include, “They’re dumb and stupid and just party.”

I’m not the kind of girl who likes to be around a lot of other girls all the time. Actually, I’m not the kind of person who likes to be around a lot of people in general. Which explains why downtown areas give me anxiety.

All of my friends here at school (literally not joking - ALL of them) are affiliated, so I once asked all of them what sorority I would be in if I had gone through recruitment. They all thought for a couple minutes and came up blank. They couldn’t see me in any sorority on campus, and if that’s not a sign that I shouldn’t join then I don’t know what is.

Quick note: I do know some people who are are socially anxious or introverted that joined a sororities and completed blossomed. It’s a case by case basis, so what I’m trying to say is don’t let this one reason keep you from rushing.

If you didn’t know, it costs money to be in a Greek organization. And it’s not cheap. Now I know there are payment plans and such that you can work out with your sorority, but I just don’t see the point of paying to be in an organization? I mean I can make friends and volunteer without paying for either?

Also, I just learned this last semester, but you have to pay just to rush, too! I found out because I actually thought about going through recruitment just to see what sororities I would get bids from (and then turn them down of course), but then my good friend informed me it cost $50! Like what? No thank you. Maybe if it was $10.

When one of my friends joined a sorority freshman year, I remember her saying how immediately her Facebook started blowing up with friend requests. So yeah, that thing about how joining a Greek organization is one of the fastest ways to make friends is true, but that doesn't mean they’re all real friends.

Plus, since you are forced to be around these girls a lot for events and meetings and such, you either become friends or you’re stuck in this sort of limbo between “I have no idea who you are” and “I’m friends with her!” Which is when “kinda” friends are born.

Personally, I like to have a cap on my amount of “kinda” friends. I don’t like being around people who aren’t my friends, or who I know won’t be a good friend of mine. And that seems to be difficult to control when in a sorority.

Bouncing off that last point, I really like to make things difficult for myself. (Just ask anyone who knows me and they could spout off at least five people on the spot). And one thing I find really difficult is making friends. So when I came to a college where I knew absolutely no one, I wanted to challenge myself to really make friends and not just have them handed to me wrapped in Greek letters.

So that’s why you won’t ever see me joining a sorority. But just because I don’t want to join one, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t join one!

I want to make this absolutely clear: I’m not hating on Greek organizations. I’ve seen them completely open up girls who were falling apart and help people figure out who they are. Plus, they stand for some pretty dang causes and charities, and I love that! I just can’t stand the setup of how they’re run, which has to do with who I am as a person. Meaning, what’s stopping me from joining may be way you’re dying to go through recruitment! So do it!

Any other GDI's out there? What held you back from going through recruitment? Or are you affiliated? If so, with what sorority and what made you join?

I had no idea what a cover letter was until about a month into my first semester of college. when I went to apply to be an orientation leader. Then I was scrambling trying to figure out what it was to met the application deadline. Oops.

I want to save you the trouble of Googling the crap out of "how to write a cover letter," and sorting through the thousands of articles that pop up so today I'm breaking it down fast and simple for you!

If you aren’t sure what a cover letter is, it’s basically a letter to a company that you send along with your resume. Usually it’s read first, hence the term “cover” letter. Since it is the first thing companies read, it’s important to make sure your letter stands out and makes the employer want to look at your resume.

Cover letters are super simple to write, I promise. They follow a simple three or four paragraph format, which I’m going to break down for you right now! (Stay until the end and I’ll even share a cover letter template with you!)

First off, you need to include your address in the top left hand corner of the letter. This is important because it allows the employer to know whether you live close to the job you are applying for. It also allows them a way to contact you (should your email or phone just decide to stop working randomly).

Leaving two lines of space after the date, you can also include the address of the employer. However, this is usually only done if you know the specific person to whom the letter will be addressed.

If you are applying for a job on campus, and you live on campus, I would use your dorm address rather than your actual permanent address. That way the employer knows you live as close as possible, and therefore will find it easier to get to work.

Of course, if you know the name of who the cover letter is going to then put their name here, but most of the time you aren’t going to know exactly who you’re writing to. This means you’ll more than likely be using a generic title to address the letter. I usually use “Hiring Manager” unless the job description says otherwise. Another popular title is “Human Resources Manager.” Just never use “To Whom This May Concern.” That’s too informal and groups you with the rest of the people applying - which is what you’re trying to avoid.

In this paragraph you want to share your interest for the job, along with what that job position is, as well as how you heard about that position. This should only take you two to three sentences.

These next one or two paragraphs are where you really want to draw the reader in and show how qualified for the job you are. To do so, you should draw from your resume and elaborate on a specific skill or past job to highlight your competence in the field you are applying for.

This can be a tad bit difficult when you are applying for a job no where near anything you’ve done before. But don’t fear! There are ways to still have something of substance to talk about in your cover letter.

Here I'm not drawing on actual experiences of mine, but my passions in life that relate to the job I'm applying for. It shows the employer how much you want the job and how hard you'll be willing to work to get hired and keep the position.

This is your last chance to make an impression, but like the intro paragraph it’s super concise! Be sure to nail into them that you’re really interested in the position! (Even if you have to say just that!) Then, you want to provide your preferred method of contact (usually email) and thank them for taking the time to read your letter.

Last but not least, you gotta leave that John Hancock so they don’t forget whose amazing cover letter they just read! Now remember, now is not the time to get all buddy buddy or clever, so stick with the usual sign off of “sincerely” and you’ll do great! Just be sure to leave two lines then type your name. The space is there for a real signature, should you have to print the cover letter out to hand over in person. You could also create a digital signature, but I just haven’t gotten around to that yet!

Considering how little time writing cover letters take, it’s amazing the impact they can have on your chance at getting your dream job. I mean think about it, if you were the hiring manager of a company, who would you rather consider for employment: the person who just submitted a resume or the person who submitted a cover letter tailored to the position and their resume? (The correct answer is the second option.)

I’ve got some real world experience to back this up too. I’ve applied to a lot of jobs in the past couple of months, but I really only ever heard back from employers to whom I had submitted a cover letter as well as a resume. Even though nine times out of ten, they didn’t even ask for one. I swear they’re the main reason I get called into interviews.

Taking the initiative, and time, to craft a perfectly written cover letter shows the hiring manager how dedicated you are to get that position.

If you’ve made it this far you’re probably like, “Okay Caitlyn, where’s that free template and sample letter you promised me?” Well wait no longer because you’ve just hit the jackpot!

Just click the image above to download your template now and start writing some brilliant cover letters of your own! (It pays to stay until the end, am I right?)

I have these “rules” that I created for social media. Like not consciously, but one day I just found myself telling myself I could or couldn’t do things and I’ve just always followed those rules. For example, I only like a tweet if I have a reason to want to go back and look at it one day, maybe it was funny or maybe it made me happy. I never like tweet that I “like” but don’t have a reason to go back and look at again. Other rules I follow are never using a solo quote as an Instagram caption, never subtweeting, and never deleting old pictures.

With my sister being a middle schooler, I’m pretty in tune with how they interact socially and use social media. There are a lot of things about this next generation that I don’t like (mirror selfies with the flash on so you can’t even see anything. Like really?), but one that really bothers me is the fact that they delete pictures off their Instagrams all the time.

I never delete old pictures. Not off my phone, not off Twitter, not off Instagram and not off Facebook. No matter how embarrassing they are, and trust me, there are some really embarrassing ones.

First off, I don’t see it as torture. I’m a visual person, and I love documenting my life through pictures. I love being able to look back and remember how I was feeling and what happened on the day I took a photo. Which is why I have thousands of pictures on my phone, my laptop, and tucked away in photo albums. I’m that girl who’s always saying, "We need to take picture!”

I just went through almost my whole feed the other day and the thing that I kept asking myself was, “Why the heck did I edit that photo like that?!” I also questioned why I loved taking pictures of oatmeal so much. But I’m not going to delete any of them just because I don’t like them now. Also, shoutout to when I used to collage pictures together all the time.

I guess you could say I’m a hoarder of pictures, but I really can’t bring myself to let go. I just love having something to look back on. Even if it’s badly composed and edited pictures that literally anyone could see.

Another reason I won’t delete them, is because they give my confidence. Yes, those dorky middle school pictures I posted on my Facebook for absolutely no reason give my confidence. (I literally have an album titled "Swinging at the Park.") Because if I’m brave enough to leave them up, then I’m strong enough to not feel offended if anyone says anything about them. Not that anyone ever has.

Plus, like I said, I love going back through them. I had no self-confidence in middle school and I honestly didn’t think I was anywhere near pretty, but going through all my old albums on Facebook the other day made me realize different. I literally thought to myself, “How did I ever think I was ugly?” How far I’ve come, right?

One more thing, a lot of people recommend you comb through your social media feeds and clean them out for future employers, but I don’t fully agree with this. While yes, you absolutely should not be posting anything illegal (um, duh) or malicious, I don’t think you need to delete your whole past. People know you created your account when you were really young, so they can't expect everything you’ve ever posted to be professional and mature. That’s just unfair.

I think college students, us girls especially, focus on how single we are around the new year (New Year’s kiss anyone?) and the dreaded Valentine’s day. Or Single’s Awareness day as some satirists dubbed it.

Don’t get me wrong, the idea of Valentine’s day is great! It’s always nice to show the person you love how much they mean to you, but it also makes people who aren’t romantically involved (*cough cough*) feel the tiniest bit crappy. Okay, maybe really crappy.

There’s always those movements around this time of year to forget about needing a partner and celebrate yourself (which yas, you do that!), but it can be hard when you actually want to be in a relationship. Like yes, I love myself and I know I don’t need a man to complete me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want one. Like I said in arecent post, I’m a relationship person down to my core, so I’m always on the prowl -- I mean, trying to meet as many new boys as possible.

And dear Lord have there been some super awkward and uncomfortable situations. I could write a whole book about all of the embarrassing things that have happened to me just in college alone that involve boys.

People don’t really tell you what it’s like to be single in college, especially not when you’re looking for more than just a casual thing, so today I’m going to give you some amusement and share, from my experience, what it’s really like to be single in college.

Sometimes it'll be genuine complaining, but most of the time it'll be comedic complaints."I haven't washed my hair in four days, no wonder I'm single!"

I honestly think the best thing about being single is complaining about being single. I have a shirt that says “Single all the way” and it’s legit one of my favorite shirts. It’s just fun to make fun of yourself sometimes. Plus, then it lets all the cute boys know I'm available. Like, hey what's up hello!

One great thing about being single in college, is that then you get to spend more time with your best friends. I mean, obviously you can still hang out with them even if you are in a relationship, but from what I’ve noticed, girls in relationships spend a lot less time with their friends than single girls do.

And one of the best girl talk subjects has got to be cute boys. Like you can never go wrong with a conversation about that. Also, you know you're finally "real" friends with someone if you talk about cute guys, like that's just a rule.

For some reason, people like to jump to the conclusion that you're actually anything but straight if you haven't been in a relationship for a long time. (I'm sorry I can't find a nice boy willing to date me okay?) But the suspicions get even greater when you and your bestie start doing literally everything together and cuddling when other people are around and calling each other babe and saying, "I love you." And then you constantly have to tell people that no, you actually aren't dating.

I wouldn’t say you’re lonely in college if you’re single, because that’s not true, but you certainly do spend more time alone - even if you do have a ton of friends. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with spending some time to yourself.

Spending more time alone is something I believe to be extremely vital and beneficial, especially during college. College is a time of growing up, becoming a real adult, and figuring out what you want in your life. Which personally, I think is a lot easier to do if you’re unattached to anyone.

Okay, maybe you don’t actually go on a date with anyone from the dating app/website, but almost every single girl I know has made an account on one and at least looked at potential baes. I mean when you’re that single, looking at a basically unlimited amount of cute boys is a pretty dang tempting option.

I’ve also known girls who don’t download apps like Tinder or Bumble themselves, but they’ll watch their friends swipe left and right and get sad when a boy they thought was hot get a left swipe. (#guilty)

Story time:Just last semester I was eating alone in the dining hall when a very awkward (but sweet, I’ll give him that) boy came up to me and started making conversation. And then out of nowhere asked me out. I blurted out “I have a boyfriend,” and sped away as fast as I could. And I wasn’t even finished eating yet, gosh dang it.

Like props to the kid for having the guts to do it, it made me feel pretty cool that someone would want to ask me out, but you were just not my type.

If you follow me onInstathen you probs know how avid of sunset enthusiast I am, but I’m also a sunrise lover too. One of my bigger motivators to make sure I don’t hit snooze on my alarm is so that I can see the sunset before class. If I get lucky, I’ll even get to watch it while walking to class instead of having to keep peeking out my dorm window every couple minutes to make sure I don’t miss anything exciting.

I do have to say that my favorite thing about having such early classes is that then I feel like I have more free time in the day. It took me a while to figure out why this was, but then I realized it’s because nothing is hanging over my head that I have to worry about doing later (ie. going to more classes) and because the earlier you wake up the more of the day you have to live. Like they say, wake up an hour earlier to live an hour more.

To kind of piggyback off that last one, since you don’t have any classes at night, you’ll (most likely) have nothing keeping you from watching your favorite tv programs! This is really important for me and one of my friends because we watch Dancing with the Stars together every Monday night when it’s on.

Last semester she accidentally scheduled a class in the middle of the show so sometimes she left early if they didn’t get let out early. Save yourself the trouble, and try to take the class earlier in the day. Plus, who wants to be in class after 4 pm anyways?

So you know how drinking coffee is a basic thing to do, and therefore gets made fun of? Or you just get teased because people think you have an addiction? Well, something about college makes basic girls out of all of us doesn’t it? But if you’re waking up early then people seem to judge less about the amount of coffee you drink. Not that I care if you think I drink too much coffee anyways. I don’t.

To get a tad bit sciency for a moment (this never happens), it’s been shown in multiple studies that by waking up early continually that you’ll feel less tired throughout the day. Of course, this also assumes that you go to sleep at a decent hour (no, past midnight is not a decent hour).

I agree with this assertion because last semester I would wake up between 9 and 11 every day and I was so tired all the time, and I couldn’t figure out why for the life of me! Then this semester started, and my alarms through the week only range from 6:00 a.m. and 6:45 a.m., and somehow I manage to feel more energized, even on my long days when I have class from 8:00 to 5:45! And I don’t even get 7 hours of sleep every night!

One thing that I’ve been trying to get into is meditation. I know it sounds a bit hippy and out there, but bear with me here. Meditation’s focus is to just center your focus on the here and now, and to clear your racing mind. This is especially useful in the morning, because it will help you destress before your day even begins and allow you to start it in a great mood.

Plus, it’s a lot easier to do in the early morning because that time of day is associated with peace and quiet. And you'll be forced to be quiet as well since your roommate will still be snoring.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t love large classes. I’m not about anything over 40 students, and less than 20 is the jackpot in my book. If you’re like this too, you should consider taking 8 a.m. classes. Why? Because of their dreaded reputation, most sane college students tend to avoid them like the plague, making the early morning classes less full! Jackpot! Who’s the sane one now?

I’ve always had one or two friends that went to different schools, but as I went into high school and then on to college, the amount of my friends who lived far away from me grew exponentially.

I’m really not a fan of texting, especially not when the person I’m texting is in a different time zone. It makes communicating in real time extremely difficult since you’ll both be doing two totally different things and may have to wait hours for a response. For example, I’m three hours ahead of a lot of my friends, so when I wake up it’s around 6:00 to 9:00 a.m. my time, which means it’s only 3:00 to 6:00 a.m. their time. Basically there’s no way they’re awake yet.

If you try to have a conversation with someone this way, then it may take an hour or two or three to have a conversation that would only like five to ten minutes on the phone. And I know we all have five or ten minutes in our day that we could spare to call a friend.

However, there’s still the issue as to if they don’t pick up, which would have made calling about as effective as texting them, but I’d much rather find a surprise voice mail from a friend than a random text. Sometimes though, I like to spam my friends with tons of text messages at times when I know they can’t get to the phone, so they have something to read and laugh at when they get the time.

Now this presents the same issue of having to find a time that works for both of you, but I think it’s 100 percent worth it because seeing someone’s face and their surroundings makes it feel like you’re actually together.

Rabbit is an online video chatting application that allows you to share screens with those in your “room” with you! Basically, you can stream Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, and Amazon video together or just browse the Internet.

Just two days ago I was Rabbiting with my friend Emma who lives 2,200 miles away from me. We started American Horror Story together back in high school, and now we can still watch it together even though we lives states away. Plus, we can see each other while watching it so we can see and hear each other's reactions! We can also chat, but I had the feature disabled during this photo.

Rabbit can be a best testy sometimes, because it only launched back in 2013.The trouble you might have makes for great fun and problem solving with your friend, and nothing beats being able to watch you and your friend’s show together even though you’re actually miles apart.

You can also use Rabbit just to video chat like you would on FaceTime, just with a bigger screen than your phone. Which is why I prefer it over FaceTime.

The great thing about emailing is that it allows your friend to reply on their own time, and it’ll guarantee they see it. I mean who doesn’t get their email sent to their phone these days? Plus, it may motivate some people to delete those hundreds or thousands of unread emails they have sitting it their inbox. You know who you are.

I’ve technically never used this to keep in touch with a distant friend, but I used it all the time to stay in contact with my dad when he was deployed overseas.

I honestly can’t decide which I prefer, getting an email or getting a letter in the mail. Probably a real letter, because it’s more personal. You can see their handwriting, and it’s something they once held so it just feels more intimate and special. Plus, one of my friends likes to always doodle on the edges of the paper so it’s even prettier.

There are three downfalls to talking through snail mail though: it takes a few days for your letter to get in your friend’s hands, you have to pay for stamps, and they may forget to send one back.

This one is highly dependent on how far away your friend(s) live from you. Most of my friends in different states live over 1,000 miles away so it’s not plausible for me to visit more than once as the broke college student I am.

What I did my freshman year was to go back to visit during my winter break and then over summer just visit solely one friend. But that broke my bank account, so that didn't happen this year and probably won’t again.

Instead, I stayed home to work over winter break and I’m going to visit my friends over summer, and then have one of them take their turn to come visit me. Basically my plan now is to alternate with my friends on who is traveling to visit who and if I’m visiting all my friends, or just one.

For my friends who live closer, like only a state away, I see them about three to four times a year (besides when I see them during the semester). They’re about an hour to three hours drives away, so whoever is more comfortable driving does so, but they’re usually more casual short lived things like a night out, a trip to the skating rink and then a sleepover.

Speaking of friends, I consider all of you my friends! And I would love to get to know each one of you better, so I would love it if you filled out the survey I made! Just clickhere to fill it out now!

Have you ever been out and seen a cute couple eating together at a restaurant or sharing popcorn at the movies, and thought about how you wish you had someone to takeyouout on a date?

I know that in my very essence I’m a relationship person. I can tell because I love doing things for other people just to make their day and see them smile. I love planning elaborate surprises and planning gifts for half a year just to make sure they’re perfect. Quality relationship material I do think so myself.

But, I haven’t been in a relationship in months. Well, not a romantic one anyways. And sure, it feels just as great to do all these things for my friends, but sometimes I want someone to do something elaborate for me too. I’m not saying my friends don’t, but I can’t always count on others to bring me happiness.

Before I came to college it was almost unheard of for me to go out alone (unless it was shopping, duh). I didn’t want to look stupid. But then I moved across the country to go to college and wassuddenly without my trusted movie buddy. Iwas faced with a decision: either not seeing the new movie I had been dyingto see, or suckit up and just go alone.

That one self date made me fall in love. Now I actually prefer going to the movies alone, and actually went last week to finally seeFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

I've also taken myself out to brunch and lunch. Now, I just have to step it up a notch and take myself out to dinner, because we all know dinner time is the real date time.

Sure, I got some weird looks each time I went out to eat alone, and each time I go out alone, I always have to explain to the host that I'm not waiting for anyone and that I'm ready for a table, but I don't mind anymore. I revel in that moment of them realizing I'm confident enough to go out alone.

Besides going to see movies alone and eating out alone, I also want to start going places like museums, little coffee shops and other places alone, too.

Coming up with real date ideas is hard enough, so I totally understand how coming up with self-date ideas could be even more difficult! I mean you can't go bowling or putt-putting solo; some things are just too insanely weird to do alone and those are two of them.

I know some people can feel uncomfortable at first when they take themselves out, but it felt natural to me. I’ve always been a very independent person, so I think that’s another reason I’m so passionate about “dating” myself. I want to be okay with being alone and be comfortable doing things on my own. So while taking yourself out can improve your self-confidence itself, it can also expand your level of comfort with doing things without help.

Think about it. When you’re with someone else and you go out, you both can lean on each other to figure out any problems or issues you run into. Say you get lost downtown, but if you’re alone, you have to grow comfortable with going up to a stranger and asking for help without a crutch.

So recap: self dates not only help you grow your self-confidence, but also your level of independence. Plus, they boost your mood because they're just plain fun.

Have you ever taken yourself on a date? If so, what did you do? If not, why? And would you be willing to go on one? Let me know in the comments below!

I've been back to school for a week now, so I thought it was about time I shared my goals for this semester. I did a post like thislast semesterand it seemed to go over well real with y'all so I thought I'd do it every semester! (Plus then it keeps me extra accountable on achieving my goals!)

Basically achieve at least 3.6 GPA again. This may be a little harder since I'm taking two high-level math classes and my first real programming class, but I think I can do it! I've had a week of the classes already, and my professors are lovely so if I ever need help I'll be in good hands.

I fell in love with spin this past semester, but I really want to get into a new class as well. Right now I have my eyes on this barre-lates class. (Kind of like ballet and pilates mixed.) I guess we'll see how that goes!

I'm the kind of person who gets stressed out when my area is dirty and cluttered, so I really want to keep up with this goal. I kind of failed at this last semester because I ran out of paper towels and was too cheap to buy more and I only had two rags to clean with, but they were always in my dirty laundry, so I could never use them.

So, goal: clean the bathroom, vacuum, and take the trash/recycle out every week.Stay off my phone in classI was awful about this last semester. Like I would walk straight into my stats class, pull out my notebook and pens, then go straight to Twitter. Yup, I'm not letting that happen again. I've done a pretty good job so far this first week of school, but hopefully I can keep it up in the long run, too!

I nailed this goal last semester, and I know I can do it again. I just chose to include it here to make myself really accountable. I will not fail!

This is pretty similar to the "not saving all my homework until Sunday" goal from last semester, just a tad different. With the last goal I could have waited until Saturday (loophole!), but with this one I'm pushing myself to get it done with 48 hours of it being assigned. Or at least starting on it if it's something like a project.

Books take up a huge part of my life, but they kind of disappeared when college started for me. I hoping that if I make this a goal that I'll keep reading, and maybe even get a library card for the local library. I mean I love buying books, but they can be pretty pricey.

I've already pre-paid for a whole slew of meals and snacks before the semester even starts, so when I get to the end and find out I didn't use it all I feel like it's money wasted! All the meal plans at my school are basically the same price, so I can't change it to a lesser meal plan and save money. Last semester I could tell I just bought too much groceries and was more compelled to eat those than my school's food that I had pre-paid for. Basically, that was money I didn't have to spend on groceries and could have saved!

I'm normally really good this at this, but when spring semester hit last school year I never wanted to leave my room to make the walk to the laundry room. I mean it was freezing and getting dressed to just do laundry wasn't really on my list of things I wanted to do. But I'm determined to stay up with laundry this semester! Having an overflowing hamper is just an eyesore and smelly, and nobody wants that in their dorm room.

Two years ago today I didn't have a single social media app on my phone. Not because I didn't use them, but because I was challenged to stay off social media for a month.

That challenge taught me I'mliterallyaddicted to my phone, and I worry too much about other people's lives and what they think about mine. Since then, I've tried to stay off my phone as much as possible, but somehow in the past year, I've started using it even more than before. I know it's partly because I started my blog, since promoting it on social media is obviously necessary, but it's also because I'd been sucked further into the black hole.

I feel pressured to post on Instagram everyday, and like I need to watch everyone's Snapchat and Instagram stories (ugh, so much effort). I know I'm not the only one who's addicted to their phone and social media either. My little sister will flip out if her phone isn't within five feet of her, and if she's showing me something on her phone she won't even let me hold it. I have friends who endlessly scroll their Facebook all day staring at videos of cute animals and strongly opinionated statuses. I can tell more than just the people I know are addicted to their phone and its Twitter and Instagram apps, because when I go out to eat I swear that everyone is on their phones and not talking.

Now, I'm not trying to get you off social media completely, not at all. I'm just trying to help you overcome your addiction while I battle mine as well. We're in this together!

Basically, the rules are to only go on a social media app if I have a legit purpose to be on it. Things like promoting a new blog post, sharing something so great I can't keep it to myself, to look up a picture, to find inspiration, or to social media stalk someone (don't judge - I know you do it, too).

I love social media, I really do. But it's a necessary evil and people need to understand that. Yes, it helps promote business and bring you closer to people across the world and gives you inspiration, but it also creates stress to curate the perfect pictures and tweets. Sometimes I don't even realize how stressed out it makes me until I don't use it for a day or more.

Basically, if you feel like your phone is a literal part of you, and you no longer want to be a cyborg, I recommend going on a social media detox with me.

It doesn't have to be anything intense like a whole month without social media or even what I'm doing now, it could just be something simple like going a day without it or only letting yourself use social media for an hour or two a day. You could just make a goal to not watch any stories or to only look at the tweets that "happened while you were away" instead of going through your whole feed. There are so many different variations of social media detoxes that there is bound to be one that works for you.

It's New Year's, which means it's that time of year when we all make a resolution that we forget about in two weeks. No need to feel ashamed of that, because we've all been there! But as 2016 came to a close, I realized I was still going strong with the resolution I had made myself at the beginning of the year.

Keeping a gratitude journal like this is such a great way to improve your mental state of mind. Writing down what makes you happy, helps you to remember it, and by omitting the negative things, you're diminishing their power over your emotions. Basically, writing down what makes you happy instantly makes you happier, and helps you stay that way in the long run.

I have absolutely no idea where I got the idea for this little project, but I loved doing it so much. Yes, some days I forgot to do it, or was too exhausted to do it the same day so I had to do it the next morning, but it was worth it.

One thing I did notice the first month was that I was letting how much I had written each day affect my mood. I thought that if I had written less than five or so things that it meant I had a sad and boring life. I got a little stressed and tried to create superficial "happy" experiences just so I had more to write in my journal. Then I realized quanity isn't nearly as important as quality. I could have 20 mediocre things to write, or I could have five crazy exceptional things to write about and you can bet that I would prefer the latter.

Not only did my gratitude journal teach me quality over quantity, but it also showed me that I have so much more to be happy for than I thought.

When something positive happens, I tend to gloss over and forget about it, but when something negative happens I can't stop thinking about it. Since I end up thinking more about the negative things in life, it seems like there are more negative aspects of my life than there are negative.

It may seem like a waste of time or a pain to have to take the time out of your day to jot down just a few simple things, but I promise you it's life changing.

Plus, it really is amazingly simple. I'm sure you'd get the same outcomes as me even if you just wrote down one thing per day of the year. I mean, that's still 365 things that make you happy!

I really think this was my best New Year's resolution ever, and I doubt I'm ever going to be able to top it. I still don't know what my resolution for this year is going to be, but you can bet I'm going to be continuing this and making it a tradition! I mean, how cool will it be to look back on these in a few years from now?

Have you ever kept a gratitude journal? What was your best New Year's resolution? What's your resolution for the year? Let me know in the comments below!