HAILEYANELA

Being an adult is hard, and the transition from dependent adolescent to kinda-independent grown-up is one that doesn't come with a freaking handbook.

Here I am 15 days into the new year without a single goal set. There are the usual ones that I've sworn myself to upholding every year: eat healthy, work out more often, regulate my sleep schedule, act like an adult, blah blah blah. They're my go-to goals because, let's be honest, I didn't reach them the year before.

sometimes life gets really stressful really fast, the kind of stressful that has you counting down the hours until you can crawl back into bed. I feel like every time I cross one thing off my to-do list, three more things take its place, and the "catch-up game" is way too real. but sometimes you meet someone like robert.

I've been having growing pains. Not the physical ones, but the ones that are forcing me to stretch  beyond my bubble of familiarity. They're of the emotional sort; pushing me to adapt and become  accustomed to a paradoxical norm. Those pesky pains inflict a hollow, emotional ache that floods my  chest as I longingly look back at still-beating memories. Change and growth are inevitable but I  haven't quite learned how to appreciate the moment. That short moment where everyone is all smiles,  devoid of concern and blissfully unaware of the fact that the happiness will fade. People grow up and  grow apart, and that close-knit fellowship will cease to exist. But in that moment it's alive. It's pulsing  with an energy unseen, an energy that infuses inside jokes, pillow talks, and wordless looks. It's an  energy that dismally dims with time. Oh, but how I miss it. halloween '13. rileigh behind the lens.

You kinda have this idea of who you're going to be, and then things change and life gets in the way, and you're not the person you thought you'd be. Would you have been happier had you been "the idea of who you were going to be"? Or would you be in fact more miserable than you are as the person you turned out to be? I'd ask someone else, but misery doesn't  really love company.

I pride myself on being an optimist, a person who sees the glass half full. Most days. But sometimes I feel like there isn't a silver-lining to be found. All rain and no rainbow. Sure I could fake a smile, and I do some days, but it's never enough. I know that without the bad days we wouldn't have the good days, but bad days seem to last tooooooooooo long. So here are my three tips to turning that frown upside down. 1. List your thankfuls: a simple bulleted list of my countless blessings shows me just how well I have it. How many can boast the opportunity to attend a university at a subsided cost? Or a mother who supports them in ALL that they do? I even scribble down my gratitude for waking up to my alarm. 2.Turning outward: Do something for someone else. Write a note for a roommate. Braid a random girl's hair in the bathroom (true stuff). It doesn't have to be something massive, just meaningful. 3. Lose the 'tude: moping does nothing to help in the h...

At the start of every semester I swear to myself that I'll be on time to every class and always be prepared. Unfortunately that dream hasn't yet come to fruition. But with the help from my pretty Arvo watch, I'm crossing my fingers in hopes of improving my time-management skills. If you also suffer from being perpetually late to every event under the sun, know that you aren't alone dear friend.   But don't fret, because I've teamed up with Arvo to give you 15% off all Arvo products with my special discount code. So hurry over to snag yourself one before it's too late! lol discount code: ZCZMJTT   xoxo hails.