On Being Burned Out by School

Here's a pep talk for you, love: 

     

     As you may or may not have noticed, I'm having some issues keeping up with this blog while school is in full swing and kicking my ass every day. Don't get me wrong, Winter Quarter has been beyond wonderful on a personal level; I've fallen in love, I've crossed some once very anxiety-inducing things off my 13 Goals for 2013, my sorority won Greek Week 2013, I've made some break-throughs about drinking and haven't had to rely on it as much, and I've moved in with my best friend (which has made a huge difference to my daily happiness, lemme tell you! haha). But due to the fact that I've added one more academic class, a leadership class, and am actually involved in Tri Delta this quarter because I am without mono, I am quite busy. Which is something I'm really not used to, so adjusting has been a tiring experience.

I've reached a point where, last weekend, my motivation to stay ahead and keep working to the best of my ability has waned significantly. Recently, I've just kind of said to myself, "You know what? Fuck it! I'm done." and procrastinated on my studies, without every feeling the relaxation that should come along with it. But when you have like 200 pages of reading to do every week, plus assignments to go along with it, plus attempting to give quality group presentations worth 15% of your overall grade, plus writing papers, plus running around trying to catch the bus and make as many sorority events as possible, plus trying to spend time with your hallmates who somehow seems to be on top of their lives, you get tired. And it's understandable to be tired. I love this school (and at times, I feel like I'm the only one :/) and I'm so happy... and so thankful that my little life has expanded into something this lovely! But I am beyond ready for Spring Break to come, so I may recharge and start over next Quarter with a new plan of attack. Three and a half weeks to go!

College is a learning experience. So here's what I've learned this quarter: 

1. You have to figure out what schedule makes you most efficient, and personally, though I've never realized it before this year, I'm a morning person. Currently, my schedule involves all afternoon classes (and I usually still get up at 8AM and attempt to groggily do homework before class... so what's the point of me having afternoon classes, really?), and by the time I get back, it's dinnertime. Then, I've either got a sorority meeting to jet off to, or I want to just chill out. Most of the time, after 7 o'clock, my brain is done for the day haha. Next quarter, I am going to try and build my schedule so I can finish at 2pm, get as much work done before dinner as possible, and have the night hours to myself.
2. It's really hard to keep your weight down when mealtimes are the only purely enjoyable part of your day. This sounds stupid, but because I am constantly doing work, food has become a real source of comfort for me, unfortunately. I've definitely gained weight and have been really inconsistent in getting my ass to the gym. Next quarter, when I get my life and schedule together, it will be easier, I hope!
3. Keeping your focus in a dorm room is next to impossible. I hate the effort it takes to gather up all of my stuff, inevitably forgetting something of course, and going over to the Academic Center to get homework done, but it's really hard to focus when I'm in this comfortable little space. With my bed next to me, my best friend now sitting right across the room, and most of my really good friends within walking distance, it's hard to concentrate. Not to mention that my boyfriend and I now live on the same floor. The only time I can be really efficient is if all of my hallmates are gathered in one place, watching a movie I don't care too much about or off at commons eating at odd hours. It sucks, but sometimes you have to separate yourself from the things you love so you can get everything done.

It's not much; I'm sure there are plenty of other lessons I've picked up the last eight weeks, but I can't quite think of them right now. Being so completely and utterly done with this quarter, I got up at 9:30AM (and yesterday I got out of bed at 10:30... the desire to stay in bed has been especially intense this past week), took a long shower, painted my nails, and now I'm just listening to music and writing until class. Because I decided last night that I am not going to do any homework today. Not before class, not before my sorority formal tonight. Nope. None. Because I am burned out. But it's all going to be okay. Everyone goes through these phases. And if you're feeling the same, just remember to keep your head on straight, guys (:

(by Sebastien Millon)

♥ Happy Living ♥

#vientolovin - Week 1!

    

      Despite the fact that I barely have enough time to maintain my insanity as it is, my friend Julian convinced me that I should start recording and editing vlogs for the duration of lent. These vlogs will feature my hall ("Viento") at university, and our adventures. At the end of every week, I am going to try to slap together something wonderful. Here is the very first edition!

Featuring: Valentine by Kina Grannis and Sweater Weather by The Neighbourhood. 

It starts off a bit slow at the beginning, but I think the video definitely picks up when the music starts, and I love the way our Beach Day turned out, especially the shot at 2:41, with my friend Megan staring out the window and her hair flying everywhere (: Though I did have a fair share of rendering issues, being able to edit is worth it.

♥ Happy Watching ♥

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

 

Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone! (: 

Even if you do not have a boyfriend or a girlfriend or a spouse, I hope you know that you are loved.  Your valentine doesn't have to be someone you're romantically involved with. And like my friend Teagan explained to me, Valentine's Day doesn't make sense because if you love someone, you shouldn't need a day dedicated to professing your love to them. You should profess your love to them everyday. So please, whatever day you read this on, go profess your love to your friends, your family members, your significant other, or anyone else you feel love for!!

Please enjoy the new, Paul Dateh remix of Kinna Grannis' single "Valentine," so very sexy with a style that reminds me of The Weeknd. As my hallmate Adrianna called it, it's baby-making music!

But if you are feeling a bit bitter (a perfectly natural emotion that I think gets a bad rep) this Thursday, Marina and the Diamonds released a new song this morning, "E.V.O.L."  

     This post was made very quickly, in a dark room while the rest of my hallmates and I sat around watching Valentine's Day. I've never seen it, and I really have no desire to, but here I am, while my boyfriend finishes his homework. Life update: I gave him mono, he got a really bad case of Strep Throat, had to go to the E.R. (but was released within a few hours, he's fine!!), and was out of school, basically sleeping for a week because he couldn't talk or eat..... so he has some catching up to do. But everything is great now! Like the gentleman he is, he bought me the bouquet of flowers featured above, and we went out to dinner at this really amazing restaurant (: I am so lucky to have him as my valentine (the first boyfriendy-valentine I've ever had) and my boyfriend of three months. Today is our three-month anniversary, actually! So that's really cool. And we finally got a picture together. New Year's Resolution - Accomplished!

♥ Happy Valentine's Day ♥

Room Tour, 2nd Edition!!

     About two weeks ago, I moved in with my best friend in my hall, Shanthi! I've got to say, though my past roommate was a polite angel, getting to live with a close friend is actually amazing. We go on little shopping trips and movie viewings together, people are constantly coming up to our room to hang out now, and I love being in this space. Even if it's not all my own, I love hanging out in my dorm room, giving me a sense of relief that I didn't feel in my old place. Before I was even able to officially move in, I started decorating. And I've got to say, I am in love with the way it all turned out. Here's a quick tour! (:

♥ Happy Living ♥

One of Those Days

     On the road to practicing radical self-love, sometimes you just wake up feeling shit about yourself. It's not because you are thinking negative thoughts about yourself, necessarily; sometimes it is just an overwhelming vibe that brings the whole idea of yourself down. I'm having one of those days. I woke up exhausted, and even after putting on makeup and getting my outfit together and trying to lift myself out of this rut, I don't feel any differently. So I've been watching Alias all morning, and I'm going to go to class, and go about my day as normally as possible. And then tomorrow, I will wake up and feel differently. I have to trust that tomorrow, I will wake up feel differently, because sometimes you have to accept that your mind works as a roller coaster, requiring a plunge to the bottom shortly after ecstatic highs. If you're feeling horrible about yourself, just remember that tomorrow is a new day, and if you don't fixate on your flaws today, you will wake up happier and healthier in the morning.

For now, remember the words of our Local Internet Hero, Kai:

"Before I say anything else, I wanna say: No matter what you done, you deserve respect; even if you make mistakes, you lovable. And it doesn't matter your looks, skills, or age, or size, or anything, you're worthwhile. No one can ever take that away from you." 

♥ Happy Living ♥

Music of the Month - January 2013!

     This has been a great month in music for me. Primarily, it is due to the fact that I discovered The Weeknd, and because of Cathy's contributions to 8tracks (the rate at which she makes playlists is both alarming and incredibly rewarding). Through late-night excursions of YouTube, I have discovered many eargasm-inducing performances that I'd love to share.

First, here we have my favorite musical ditty of the month. I discovered it only two weeks ago, through my mini-obsession with The Weeknd, and nothing has satisfied my ears since. It is an incredible medley of the band's album, The Trilogy, sung by SoMo on YouTube. Plus the video is mesmerizing, so that's always nice.

And on that note, I've been super into The Weeknd the past couple of weeks. It started with the pure sex that is "Wicked Games," which you can choose to actually watch the music video or not; I didn't until very recently, and I think the song stands better on its own so... make of that what you will. After hearing that song, I found The Weeknd on Spotify, and it has been my background music for everything since. I even put some of The Trilogy on my phone to listen to, which is pretty unheard of me, if only out of sheer laziness. 

Secondly, let us all pause to take an in-depth look at Cathy's 8tracks. Though her music taste is obscure and beautiful, and therefore all of her playlists are gold, I would like to highlight some of my favorites. I adore her Game of Thrones playlist, You Win or You Die, as well as Daggers in Men's Smiles, Curiouser (an Alice in Wonderland playlist), and especially Easy on the Ears. But my favorite of all time has got to be Garden of Eden. Here I have it embedded for your listening pleasure:

Garden of Eden from olivehornby on 8tracks Radio.

 A large portion of my month was blessedly filled with the Django Unchained soundtrack. It's hard to pick out favorites, but I can say that my roommate and I had "Freedom" and Ancora Qui stuck in our heads for three days straight. I linked a lot of other lovely songs in my mini-review of Django. Also: fun fact, my phone died recently, so I'm now using my mom's old cellphone, which I have endearingly named Django.

I also surprised myself musically this month. The beginning consisted of a tonnnnnnn of Beyonce (and hey, coincidentally, she kicked absolute ass during the Superbowl today. Didn't watch the game, but had to look up her performance this evening. DAMN WOMAN!!), and an addiction to the song and music video for "Like a Boy" by Ciara. Cathy made me back peddle into the early 2000s and the 90s for a good two weeks. However, the last week or so, I've been really addicted to Bruno Mars' new album, Unorthodox Jukebox. Which came as a huge surprise to me... I never would have thought that my ears would enjoy Bruno Mars so much. There are so many gems on that album, particularly "Gorilla," "When I Was Your Man," and "Natalie."

And lastly, we have a collection of lovely YouTube performances

Lana Del Rey - Blue Jeans (Live). 99% on this post because of the moment at 1:23. "No puh-le-ea-ase..."

Finally, I've got Paramore - Let the Flames Begin (Live, and apparently now with embedding disabled upon request... awkward) - 99.99% on this post, and in my likes on YouTube, for the epic outro. Particularly the little run of notes at 5:02 (when I am rrreeeaa-de-ey-ey), but the whole outro is divine.

That's it for now - Fingers crossed that February will bring great musical discoveries as well!!

♥ Happy Listening ♥