Some Inspiration For a Rough Day
Category: Life
What It’s Like to Unplug For a Weekend
Okay, so this is super overdue, but forgive me on that one. Over the first weekend of Spring Break, I stayed off of my phone and social media. I still got on my laptop to do homework and study (because let’s face it… I can never catch “break” in Pharmacy School without homework or something to study). So here I am to tell you how it felt.
Friday. Friday, being the first day, was hard. Every time I opened the internet, I feel like I started to go to Facebook. After the first few hours, it was good though. I went to dinner with my parents and then we watched a movie and were able to spend some quality time together. I was already feeling as if I didn’t need my phone to be happy, and that it was much better to spend QUALITY time with the people I am around. I’ve always thought it was rude to be on your phone constantly when you plan to hang out with someone, but even I do it sometimes. It’s a bad habit, but it’s one I’m trying to correct.
Saturday. Saturday was a lot easier. My mom used to always get mad at me when we would go shopping and I would be on my phone constantly. It was really nice to spend a day shopping with her and truly focus on what we were doing. I’m starting to really understand why it upsets her for me to be on my phone. She wants to spend as much QUALITY time as possible with me while I’m home from school. After shopping, we watched another movie with my dad, and then, we went to bed. It was a pretty eventful day, and I didn’t find myself reaching for my phone as much as I did Friday.
Sunday. On Sunday, I was getting pretty used to having my phone, but I had to turn it back on to respond to someone about them potentially purchasing a laptop that I had for sale. After that, I still didn’t use my phone a whole lot, but I did respond to some friends who had not heard from me all weekend.
All in all, I feel that it was a really good experience. I would highly recommend it to anyone who feels like they are on their phones too much. It was a nice cleanse, and now, I keep my phone on Do Not Disturb mode so that I only get my notifications when I look at my phone, and it doesn’t vibrate and disturb whatever task I have going on. However, when someone calls me, it goes through because I know they really wanted to get my attention and it was something that couldn’t really wait.
I hope you guys decide to try this out for yourself, you won’t regret it.
Stay Golden,
Emily
My Lifelong Bucket List
Hey loves, this is just a small list of things that I hope to accomplish in my life and be able to be the best version of me that I can be. I hope to fall in love, but more importantly, I hope to be happy in all that I do. Hope this gives you some ideas.
- Travel to all 50 states.
- Have and/or adopt 1-3 kids
- Do everything in my power to make said kids happy
- Spend quality time with my family
- Get married and have a solid foundation for that marriage
- Be the best Pharmacist possible
- Always remember to be thankful for what I have
- Save money
- Get a puppy
- Make time for the people that I care about
- Talk to long-distance friends as much as possible and plan yearly reunions
- Give back as much as possible
- Do lots of volunteering
- Stay fit
- BE HAPPY.
Stay Golden,
Emily
My Astrology Profile: Fact or Fiction?
Hey party people! Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not a big proponent of Astrology Signs and Horoscopes, but I figured that I would delve into a little bit of research on my sign, the ever enticing Scorpio, and see what it had to say. Hope you enjoy!
General:
“In control of their destiny” – Astrology.com
“Determined to Succeed” – Astrology.com
“Highly attuned to the vibrations of others” – Astrology.com
“Scorpios love competition in both work and play” –Astrology.com
“Oh, and we invented sexy” – compatible-astrology.com
Traits:
Tempermental
Curious
Intuitive
Persistent
Stubborn
Determined
Intense
Passionate
Clever
Perceptive
Loyal
Caring
Devoted
Love:
Compatible Signs: Pisces, Capricorn, Virgo, Cancer
“Scorpio is the most sensual sign of the zodiac.” – astrology-zodiac-signs.com
“Once Scorpios fall in love, they are very dedicated and faithful.” – astrology-zodiac-signs.com
Conclusion (My Thoughts):
Okay, so from what I’ve gathered from my little bit of research, I am very much like what a Scorpio is supposedly supposed to be like. I’m determined and passionate. I love deeply and I work hard at everything I do. I get emotional, but tend to hold it in until I can’t anymore. I’m loyal and kind. I am one of the people that my friends go to most for advice. Most of the time, when I have a ‘gut-feeling’ about something, it is right. I get suspicious. I hate lying and cheating.
There were a few things that I read that I didn’t feel sounded like me, but overall, I feel that my horoscope is pretty accurate, however, I know that it is not completely factual… So… I would say be careful with trusting horoscopes fully.
How do you feel about yours?
Stay Golden,
Emily
Things I’ve Learned Being a Little Sister
What is it like being a little sister? What is it like being the youngest? Here’s what my experience was like. Also, shoutout to the best big brother a girl could ask for… I love you Justin!
- You get away with a lot more. I mean come on, were your parents really that worried about what you do? They’ve been through this rodeo already. They know how to raise a child… plus they always blame the eldest child for whatever you actually did wrong. MUHAHA (I mean… sorry Justin).
- Your older sibling will always fight for you. No matter what happens, your older sibling will always be there for you, to fight for you, and to pick up the pieces when you get hurt. They’re the best!
- You are always the baby. No matter how grown you are, you’re still the baby. You will always be treated as such. Heck, my MOM is the baby of her family, yet she still treats me that way (but that’s OK… it happens).
- We have it better, because they went through life first. Anything that they got in trouble for, you best believe you didn’t do. They were the guinea pigs and you made sure not to follow in those footsteps (but the good things… you always try to live up to those expectations and it sucks).
- You tend to end up living in their shadow. Ever go to the same school as your older sibling? I have… and let me tell you what that was like. All of the teachers had high expectations because of how great my brother was (which was fine but also annoying). And… teachers you didn’t even have still seemed to know who you were.
- You always had a built-in babysitter. This kinda sucks for the older sibling, but it wasn’t too bad for me. At least my babysitter wasn’t some random person. My parents always had my brother look after me, and I’m glad because we got to spend a lot of time together.
- You are the one teased. The younger sibling is always the one teased… I mean are you really going to chance it teasing your older sibling? Nah, at least not me. But hey, it’s not that bad.
- You’re the last to move out. Being the last to move out, I feel like it’s really hard on your parents. Not that they weren’t upset that your siblings moved out, but it’s just that now none of their kids are home. They may take that out on you, but let it go.
All in all,
Being the little sister wasn’t the worst thing in the world. I’m very thankful for my older brother.
Stay Golden,
Emily
It’s Okay to be Single on Valentine’s Day
Being single can be really lonely and sad, but to be honest, you should not feel bad about being single on Valentine’s Day. Come to think of it, I’ve never been in a relationship on Valentine’s Day.
It’s crazy to look back on my life and think about how most of my relationships have ended before any birthdays or good holidays for relationships. I’ve only had one relationship on my birthday and Christmas, none on New Year’s, and none on Valentine’s Day, but that’s okay!
I would rather not spend my holidays with someone unless they were serious about me, and quite frankly, most of my relationships have not been that serious.
I know that Valentine’s Day is one of the worst holidays for someone who is single, but it doesn’t have to be. Being single on Valentine’s day gives way to a drama-free day of pampering yourself, hey, take yourself on a nice date.
If you aren’t interested in having a day all to yourself, get some of your girlfriends together and have a Galentine’s day! Have a movie marathon, drink some wine, whatever your heart desires.
Now if you’re a guy reading this, treat yourself. Spend time doing what you love, whether it’s alone or with your friends. Make this day about yourself.
All in all, it’s okay to be single on Valentine’s Day. It can actually be fun.
Stay Golden,
Emily
Learning How to Cook
Over Winter Break, I decided to take it upon myself to start cooking more… and BELIEVE ME… my parents definitely were not complaining. Anyways, I’ve started to really enjoy it. It’s perfect timing for me to find a passion for cooking, as I just moved into my new apartment last month.
I’ve been cooking a lot since I got here. Anything from salmon, to pasta, to burgers. I really, really enjoy it.
Cooking is pretty easy as long as all you care about is following other peoples’ recipes and not making your own. I started a Pinterest Board for all of my favorite recipes, and I’m making my own little cookbook with my favorites as well.
So, I thought I’d ask you guys…
What are your favorite simple recipes? Let me know in the comments!
I hope y’all are having an amazing year so far.
Stay Golden,
Emily
How to Set and Achieve Your Best Goals
Whether your goals are personal or professional, setting goals is just a part of life. However, achieving them can be harder than you think. Here’s a guide to setting and achieving goals.
Goal Setting:
1. Figure out what type of goal it is you want to achieve. Is it a personal goal (i.e. losing weight, becoming more outgoing, etc.)? Is it a professional or career-based goal? Is it long term? Short term? Somewhere in between?
2. Make sure your goal is reasonable and direct. Don’t just set a goal to lose weight; make a goal to lose a particular amount of weight (i.e. 10 lbs in 6 months)
3. Figure out a plan to tackle that goal. Plan out what you are going to do every day to achieve your goal. Is your goal to make all A’s on your next report card? Try to study every day. Is your goal to save $1000 by the end of the year? Save $20+ a week.
Achieving Goals:
1. Reward yourself for work well done. For studying, for every week of a solid and consistent study routine, reward yourself with something that you would enjoy. This could be something simple such as a bag of candy. If you’re trying to diet or eat healthy, give yourself a cheat day every once in a while.
2. Discuss your goals with friends or family. If you think it’s going to be hard to keep up with your goal yourself, make sure to tell some of the people in your ‘circle’ about it so that they can hold you accountable as well.
3. Make sure your goal is still what you want. If your life changes, don’t feel like you have to keep the same goals. For instance, if your goal was to keep your partner happy, and they cheat on you, don’t feel like you should forgive them instantly and continue on with the relationship.
Overall, goals are an important part of moving forward in life, and you can set and achieve your most important goals.
Stay Golden,
Emily
Work Hard, Dream Harder: A Dream Board For My Future
This is a little dream board of what it is I want my future to look like. Enjoy!
House
Family
Nemo
Ring
Audi R8
Pomsky/Husky
Jeep
Me as a Pharmacist
My White Coat
Volunteering
Wedding
These are just a few things that I would love to see out of my future, but I’m always up for the changes that come along in my life.
Stay Golden,
Emily
Bullying… The Facts and My Story
I’m sure you all remember the viral video that came out last month about a boy named Keaton Jones and his story. Whether or not it was a scam, bullying is a real issue, and it’s not just an issue in person. Cyberbullying is a real problem as well. Here are the facts about bullying, and my cyberbullying story.
Definition of Bullying
Bullying is undesirable, unwarranted, aggressive behavior that involves a power balance (real or perceived). It tends to be repetitive, but can also be considered bullying if it has the POTENTIAL to become repetitive. It can cause some serious mental health problems in the bullied or the bullier (What Is Bullying).
Examples of Bullying
These are just a few examples of what bullying can encompass, but it is not an extensive list. (What Is Bullying).
- Teasing/ Name-Calling
- Threats
- Leaving someone out (on purpose)
- Creating Rumors
- Physical Hurt (Tripping, hitting, pinching, etc.)
- Taking one’s things
- Saying hurtful things on the internet
Definition of Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is when bullying occurs on a piece of technology (cell phones, computers, tablets). (What Is Cyberbullying)
Frequency of Bullying
According to a 2011 study from the National Center for Education Statistics,
27% of children aged 12-18 were bullied. Of these, 5% were threatened with harm,
9% of children aged 12-18 were cyberbullied. Of these, 3.6% were subject to hurtful information on the internet.
These statistics may not stick out to you, but this is out of ~24,000,000 students. So, ~6,500,000 students aged 12-18 were bullied and ~2,200,000 students were cyberbullied.
BUT the good news is that we can help prevent bullying.
Here’s a few ways that you can prevent bullying:
1. Teach Kiddos About Bullying. Teach your kiddos about the warning signs of bullying, how to step up and stand up to bullies, and talk to a trusted adult when they see, or experience, bullying.
2. Keep Them Talking. Always ask your kiddos about their day and any good or bad things that the day has brought.
3. Model Good Behavior. As we all should know, kiddos learn a lot from the adults that they are around. In order to make sure your child stands up for themselves and others and always does what they should do, make sure you’re setting a good example for them.
Now, I’m going to share my bullying story.
Throughout my whole life, I have been really skinny. People have always said that I need to “eat a cheeseburger” or asked me if I was anorexic. Now, at the time I didn’t really consider it bullying, but it was hurtful when it was something I couldn’t help. This isn’t my bullying story, but so that you have some context, I needed to preface my story by saying that.
In my sophomore year of High School, I got bullied by my “friends”. In December of 2012, I was making YouTube videos of me playing Just Dance on my Wii (yes, I know that was weird, but I embrace my weirdness… I love it). Anyways, this “random” YouTube account started commenting on my videos telling me “you look like you have a stick up your ass” and comments basically telling me to kill myself. As if that wasn’t hurtful enough, the night I got those comments, I was supposed to go to one of my friend’s houses for a sleepover with 3 of my friends.
While I was there, I confessed to them that this douchebag commented on my videos being really rude and hurting my feelings. They seemed to feel bad for me, but they didn’t. Later that night, we were playing games and having a good time, and then… they decided that I needed to undergo the “friendship initiation”. Basically, they convinced me that they all had gone through it and that it wasn’t a big deal, but it was. During this “initation”, I was laying on the floor and they started kicking me. At first it was all fun and games because they weren’t kicking me very hard, but then it started getting harder. They kicked me in the head, neck, and stomach. This still didn’t really phase me, but a couple days later, I started to bruise on my stomach. And yes, it would seem I was really naïve and I probably was, but that doesn’t make it okay. They probably didn’t realize how badly it hurt, but I didn’t really think they did it to be mean…
That was until I got a twitter request from the same “guy” that made mean comments on my YouTube videos, and I realized something strange about it. The “guy” was following very few people, and 2 of them were 2 of the “friends” that were at the sleepover. That’s when I knew something was fishy.
Now’s where I talk about the importance of talking to your parents… I told my parents about all of this, and they knew just what to do. My dad told me to go to the “friends” and tell them my dad has a friend in the police force and that he found the IP address that the comments had come from and that I knew it was one of them (he really could have, but he didn’t). That’s when one of them came forward and told me exactly what happened.
Before I arrived to the sleepover, the 3 of them had planned all of this, made the comments, and laughed at my misfortune.
After finding out that it definitely was one of them that had posted the nasty comments, my dad went to talk to the parents of the girl. Her parents were very defensive and were so sure that she would never have done something like that. They didn’t believe us and she was lying through her teeth.
She’s lucky that I didn’t have a low self-esteem or depression… my “friend” had commented on my videos under a fake name to hurt me and she told me to kill myself… what if I had?
This just proves how important it is for parents to talk to their kiddos about bullying and why its a terrible thing. There is a significant correlation between bullying and child suicide.
If you have been bullied, stay strong… and as always,
Stay golden,
Emily
Sources:
1. What Is Bullying.StopBullying.Gov.
https://www.stopbullying.gov/what-is-bullying/index.html
2. What Is CyberBullying. StopBullying.Gov.
https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/what-is-it/index.html
3. Student Reports of Bullying and Cyber-Bullying: Results From the 2011 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey. U.S. Department of Education.
https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2013/2013329.pdf
4. How to Prevent Bullying. StopBullying.Gov.
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