20 Things I Learned in 2020

Hello! I am sure that you guys probably have no idea who I am at this point. I must be truthful when I say I lost the motivation and love for this blog over the past few years. School got a lot harder and I was more focused on my book server which you can check out here. I learned a lot during this chaotic year about myself and others. I wanted to share with you the twenty things I learned.

1. It is okay to ask for help! This was something I struggled with a lot in 2020 because I felt like I was burdening those around me if I asked for help. I realized that 9/10 times the people you care about will want to help you.
2. Losing friends is 100% normal! 2020 was a big year for me in terms of relationships. I gained a few friends and I lost a few friends. Some friendships were lost organically as the year went along and some ended in bad terms. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Those people were meant to be in your life for one reason or another.
3. Give yourself a damn break because you’ll suffer from burn out. I went to school from Spring – Summer – Fall with no true break. I felt so burnt out by the end of fall semester I had honestly debated taking a semester off.
4. Self care is key especially during a pandemic. I honestly neglected myself for the first few months. I wasn’t giving myself the same love I was giving others.
5. People are selfish. I guess I have always been the kind of person that wants to believe in the best in people, but I think it is safe to say we are all selfish in our own ways. I realized that there’s different types of selfish behaviors (wear your mask pls).
6. Not everyone is going to like you and that is okay! You don’t need to change yourself to please others. I came out of a really rough friendship group at the beginning of 2020 that always made me feel like I was a different person.
7. It is okay to not have accomplished as much as you wanted to this year because it’s been a really rough year. I honestly don’t think I completed any of my goals for this year (rip).
8. Second chances are worth it. I do want to note that if the person is toxic and bad for you then don’t give them the second chance. If both parties have grown and acknowledge their mistakes then the second chance is worth it.
9. Stop letting people peer pressure you into things you no longer have interest in doing.
10. Sitting in your best friend’s car and having a laugh can relieve stress. I am so grateful that my best friend and I have been very good about social distancing and being mindful of others that we are able to have moments like these this year. It has really helped with my mental health.
11. Stop feeling bad that you gave up on your bullet journal towards the end of the year. I love my bujo, but I had no motivation to continue on with it because school was so stressful.
12. Get out in nature more because it is healing. I went hiking a few times this summer and went out on the water. It has really helped me take my mind off of things.
13. New hobbies are fun! I picked up roller skating recently and it has been a blast.
14. Read at your own pace. I feel like this is something I am constantly reminding myself because I feel like I read so slowly compared to others. I might not be reading nearly 50 books a year, but I’m chugging along.
15. Sometimes life is just hard and the only thing to do is look forward.
16. Spending time to just destress at the end of the day is so crucial for mental health.
17. TAKE YOUR DAMN VITAMINS!
18. Take breaks from social media! I actually ended up deleting my snapchat app for good after I took a social media break in May/June. I have definitely been limiting my time on twitter and other social medias. This year has been filled with so many negativity so breaks from social media is needed.
19. Make sure you take care of yourself before you take care of others. If your mental health is a bit of a mess then you might not be able to fully be there for your friend or partner. This is something I really had to focus on this year because I’m empath. I have a lot of feelings lol.
20. Be fucking proud that you made it through this year because holy moly it was a train wreck of a year! This goes out to everyone that had no idea if they would make it to see 2021.

I don’t know where I am going to go with this blog. I think I want it to be more than just a book blog. I think that has always been my intention since day one. I really hope that you guys take the time to stick around if other content outside of bookish content appeals to you. I can’t wait to see what the new year brings us.

Summer Bucketlist

I put a poll up on twitter to see what you guys might be interested in seeing next on my blog. Summer bucket list is the option that won so here we are with all my goals for the summer. They will be split up into lifestyle and bookish goals.

Lifestyle

• Learn how to Paddleboard
• Go on a hike
• Thrift with my friends
• Unpack my room
• Spend time with friends and family

Book Related

• Finish 2 book series
• Read at least 3 books a month
• Set up my bookshelves

 

You may have noticed that some of my goals revolve around unpacking and setting things up. I am actually about to move this weekend to our new house in a new state. I’m going to have space to actual bookshelves and be able to customize my space. I am really excited for this new chapter of my life. Do you guys have any summer bucketlist goals?

Go Green

You guys are probably really tired of hearing me talk about Earth Day, but I can not stress the importance of it. I was recently watching a video about these two girls that decided to go zero waste for a week. It inspired me to sort of make a part two for my previous post. I promise the book content is coming back shortly after finals are over!

We can take little steps to help reduce our waste. You don’t need to live a zero waste lifestyle to make a change. I am going to list some ways you can make the change in your life.

• Reusable Water Bottle – This alone cuts back on so much plastic. So many companies make reusable water bottles. You can get a filter for your tap that filters out all the bad chemicals. I personally have a reusable Brita water pitcher and I have multiple reusable water bottles. I recommend camelbak, hydro flask, and sand cloud
• Reusable Coffee Cups – I see you guys out there getting your six dollar starbucks coffee. I am in the same boat as you. Did you know you can get your coffee in a reusable cup? I don’t know if Starbucks still does this but they will give you a small discount if you use your own cup. There’s plenty of places to buy coffee cups though I definitely recommend society six and amazon for cute ones.
• Reusable Produce Bags – Yes they actually make reusable produce bags which are a god send! You are bringing less of that cheap flimsy plastic bags home that you never use again. I can not preach it enough that these are amazing investments. I know Whole Foods currently sells some though if you are an online shopper like me I recommend flip & tumble because you get 5 decently sized bags for 12 bucks.

Okay that is all I have to share with you guys today! I provided direct links to everything I mentioned so please check them out! I really want to hear your input on all of this. I’m beyond curious! I hope you all have a good day and don’t be afraid to chat with me!

Support for Earth Day

Okay you guys should know by now that I’m a huge advocate for going green, supporting companies that donate back to worthy causes, and the whole nine yards. I mean I’m going into Environmental Science for crying out loud. Earth Day is quickly approaching on the 22nd of April. I kind of just want to shout out a few brands as well as some tips for things you can do on Earth Day.

Sand Cloud

I’m like 89% sure I talk about these guys a lot all over social media. Sand Cloud is basically a company that makes towels, t-shirts, water bottles, and etc. They donate 10% of the proceeds to marine life conservations. This company hit close to home for me so I have been a brand ambassador for them over the past year. They are slowly starting to produce more t-shirts that are made out of 100% recyclable material which is the bomb dot com. If you want to get 15% off your next order with them you can use this link to be referred to the website!

U-Konserve

Okay there is a huge problem with our landfills. The one way we can solve this problem is if we convert over to reusable coffee cups, water bottles, straws, and etc. This brand is amazing for that. They have a whole section on their impact, why you should reuse, the facts, and some resources if you are doubtful. I highly recommend checking them out if you are on the market for anything reusable. You can find them here if you are interested!

Some Ideas & Tips

• Do a beach clean up for earth day! Some beaches are already planning it so just check your area to see if they are for earth day. You can even just grab a group of friends and do it yourself.
• Plant something! Okay this one is probably one of my favorites but plant a tree or a new plant. There is plenty of plants that are easy to take care of if you prone to killing them.
• Speak Out! Talk about why earth day is important and what we need to be doing to preserve our earth!
• Make The Effort! I can’t stress this enough because it seems as though no one really listens to me. You need to make an effort if you expect to see a change. I do what I can to help better the earth so I hope you can do as well.

Those are just some of my favorite things that I wanted to share with you guys! Do you know what you are doing for earth day? Leave me a comment so we can chat about it! Have a good day 🌎

Studyblrs Unite : A New Discord Server

So a good friend of mine and I decided to make a server to help fellow students. It’s basically the studyblr community but on a chat room basis. You can talk to people in real time instead of waiting forever for them to reply back on Tumblr. We wanted to create a place that would allow students to meet other students that are in the same field as them. We have channels for math, science. english, and so on. We even have a section for you to show off your cute school supplies. You can ask for help on a certain math problem, get someone to look over your paper, and so much more.

We only ask that you do not bully others for what they are studying or need help on. We want this to be a safe zone. If you are interested in joining the server I have link right here for you to click.

Salt Lake City : How I Fell In Love

I know I was doing daily updates for my Salt Lake City trip, but I was so tired each night that I kind of forgot about it. This post is the recap of the entirety of my trip. I want to start off with the obvious. I fell in love during my trip to Utah. I fell in love with a city that is bustling and improving every single day. It was beautiful. The mountains surrounded majority of Salt Lake City. The people were incredible and I vibed so well with most of them. I have been to so many different places over the years yet there has only been a few that have called me to come back. Salt Lake City, Utah is one of those places.

I was going to do a huge collage of all the photos I took during my stay, but I decided to just link you guys to my instagram because over half of my recent photos are from that trip.

I want to talk about some of the more memorable moments from the trip to Salt Lake City. The Chalk Art Festival down at The Gateway was a wonderful surprise. I stumbled across it after going to one of my favorite places ever. I will talk more about that in a little bit. It was so cool being able to see the artists working on their pieces. One girl did the cover from Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson which was one of my favorite pieces. Another artist did Moana, I saw Finding Dory, and loads of other pieces. There was a huge dance party for the kids in the center of the plaza as well.

The Clark Planetarium in Salt Lake City was one of my favorite places from the trip. It made me feel like I was a little kid again being able to run around and see everything. I got to play with a ton of cool gadgets to see how tornados work, how the earth spins, and so on. I even got a ticket to see The Sun Revealed which talks about eclipses. I have always been fascinated by them. There will be a total solar eclipse on August 21st 2017 over the USA so be sure to check it out.

Overall, I really loved Salt Lake City! There is still so much more for me to explore so I have a feeling I will be back next summer for a super exciting road trip. I’ll keep you guys updated!

Salt Lake City Adventures : Day 1

This pictures honestly don’t do the Salt Lake City Library justice so I’m going to link a photo I found on the internet so you can get a better view of how gorgeous this library is. I finally arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah today after a roller coaster with the airport the other day. I’m grateful to be in this beautiful town. I have only been here half a day and I’m in love.

This is the Salt Like City Library which is a gorgeous five level library that has everything you can think of. Each floor has a set genre to it so for example the main floor was magazines, audiobooks, and the like, the second floor was young adult, and so on. I walked every single floor because I wanted to get a feel for this place. It’s huge with glass ceilings, beautiful staircases, and  open space. The top level takes you out onto the roof top garden which is never ending. I got amazing photos of the view from the top. I honestly stood there for a few minutes to take it all in. I fell in love with a city in a few hours all because I could see the whole city from the top of a giant library.

I was obviously very happy in that selfie. I was like I need to get the mountains in the back ground of this selfie. I can’t express how wonderful it was to see such a beautiful city from such a beautiful building. I even went to the gift shop (yes the library has a gift shop) and picked up that beautiful post card. I managed to find the artist online so if you guys really liked that post card he makes prints! I honestly might go get some more before I leave so I can frame the because they are just so pretty.

Overall, I really enjoyed my first day in Utah. I plan to visit this really cool book shop today before I head downtown for dinner. I’m taking a chill day today because I have a feeling Friday and Saturday will be crazy.

 

Update : Airports & Drama

Hello, I bet you are wondering where my Wednesday post is so here I am. It is currently 12:23 am on Wednesday as I am writing this. I am here to share my horror story of a day with you. I am supposed to be in Utah right now with my dad. We arrive at the airport only to find out they tried to upgrade us and we lost our seats. It took them a hour to book us seats on our connecting flight. We were lucky because our flight out of our hometown airport was delayed.

We finally got seats on our connecting flight and we had the upgrade to get first class seats. We were all excited about finally getting to move on with our day. We make it to our gate and things are going great. It was about fifteen minutes after the plane arrived at the gate we were waiting at that we find out it’s broken. It took them well over a hour to fix the plane which was a problem because we had no idea if we would make our connecting flight.

We landed with about 10 minutes to spare. We grabbed our carry on suitcases and ran to the rail/tram thing. We had to make it concourse A which is a problem when the airport is HUGE. Well we made it, but they had already closed the gate. The lady at the desk was really rude to us which was a bit of a bummer after our rollercoaster of a day. We have seats on a flight for tomorrow (12 hours from now that I’m writing this and probably 4 hours from when this is posted) so hopefully we make it to Utah in one piece.

Overall, life is an adventure. I’m glad that my dad and I get to experience this together. I should have regular posts again starting Thursday! If you want to have live updates on my situation please follow my twitter.

It’s My Birthday!

I just wanted to stop by to let everyone know that yes June 6th is my birthday. I had such a blast hosting the readathon I did for the weekend before my birthday. There was just something magical about reading with a ton of other people. I am turning 20 which is a big milestone I feel like because I’m no longer a teenager. I hope everyone has a wonderful day, and remember that life is better with books.

What I Learned My First Year of College

Wow I’m posting about something that isn’t book related for once. I saw a few posts floating around on tumblr about college. What tips and tricks people recommended for freshmen students. Well I decided to make a post about what I learned during my first year of college. I’m not necessarily a freshmen yet because due to signing up late I was only able to get a few classes in Fall so I haven’t reached the amount of credit hours needed. I’m off by like a one class, but I’ll save the saltiness for another post.

1. It’s okay to cry – You probably read that like wtf are you talking about which is fine because I’m about to tell you. I started college in May 2016 and my last semester for the year ended in May 2017. I took summer classes to get adjusted to college life. Well I was fine through summer and fall because the work load wasn’t as much. Cue spring semester when I get stuck with professors that are major jerks, papers that I should have passed, and etc. I felt so down that I just cried. It’s okay to cry. It doesn’t make you weak. Crying helped me calm down, and I was able to tackle what I needed to do.
2. Freshmen 15 is real – Boy was I wrong to not believe this. I was going super strong with working out until I had a knee injury in February. I wasn’t able to work out, I felt so sluggish, and I gained weight. I’m not going to beat around the bush with this one. You need to watch what you are eating. You can’t let little things get you down either. Binge eating is awful, but we all do it especially when we are sad. Start working out even if it’s a quick 5 minute at home.
3. Summer Classes – Some people tell you to avoid those classes like the plague. I actually encourage summer classes especially if you are new to college. It helps you get used to the classes without having to deal with a ton of students. You also get more time with the professor in the summer classes.
4. Drink Water – We all know coffee is life, but it’s not that good for you. Water has a lot of health benefits. It helps get all the toxins out of our body, and I know you are stressing too. My biggest tip is add a slice or two of lemon to your water so you can sip on it throughout the day. This has helped my energy levels so much. I also recommend getting a reusable water bottle. It helps reduce plastic waste, and allows you to refill it whenever you want.
5. Clubs – Join clubs! This will help you figure out what you like and don’t like. Most colleges have clubs for just about everything so don’t be afraid to try one out. I run a Literature Club at my college, and it has been one of the most amazing experiences. I get to talk to people about books. I have made some life long friends along the way as well.

Those are the five things I have learned during my first year of college. I have had a lot of ups and downs. It’s going to be hard. College is such an amazing experience. I wouldn’t trade it in for anything in the world.