Wellness

Lately I've been figuring out what's been making me feel healthier, both mentally and physically. In my early teens, I really did not take good care of my body and it affected everything; my confidence, my health, my mood. It all can be boiled down to just taking better and healthier steps, starting as soon as you wake up in the morning. 

These are things that have been working for me. 

1// Dedicate each day to God as soon as you wake up. 

I always always forget that every day if a gift. If you start out each day with a quick thank you and dedication, it helps keep you focused. And, for me personally, it helps me wake up on the right side of the bed. During the summer I wake up early and go to daily Mass with my brothers, and that's been really great for me.

2// Drink water. 

I know this one is more basic, but water is so under appreciated. It helps with your skin, fighting sickness, and keeping energy up. I always keep water next to my bed so I can start drinking as soon as I get up. Whenever I feel myself starting to get sick, I chug water and 98% of the time, I feel so much better the next day. 

3// Find a solid skincare routine. 

I did not take good care of my skin when I was 15/16, and I hated hated hated my acne. But I didn't know of any good skincare products that worked for me. Now I take much better care of my face and my acne is so improved. Having clear skin is also such a confidence booster. 

I'm using the clear skin routine from Bioclarity.* I love it because it's all natural, plant-based ingredients, so I know I'm not just piling on a bunch of chemicals onto my skin every day. 

*not sponsored, just love the products!

4// Get off your phone! 

We all struggle with this, don't deny it! But life is passing so quickly so go enjoy it! Go spend time with your favorite human beings! 

5// Schedule out your time. 

This is more a mental health tip, but having a schedule takes so much weight off, and seeing everything that you have to do for the day planned out keeps you from stressing about when you'll be able to fit things in. Give yourself an hour for this, and only this, then take a break (also a key step!), then move on to another time slot for another project. If you're into planners, those are also super helpful. 

6// Dress up!

I don't mean fancy, just get out of your pajamas! I don't know about you, but whenever I have a day at home, I get tempted to just lounge around in the clothes I slept in the night before with my hair still in a bun. This isn't good, especially if you have things to do! Put on an outfit. Even if it's still on the comfy side (eg joggers and a t-shirt is what I put on today), it'll feel better. Just as long as they aren't clothes you would sleep in. Get out of bed before 9 AM, comb your hair, wash your face, put on earrings. It'll get you motivated to get things done and not be lazy.

7// Eat good food. 

Life is too short to eat food that doesn't taste good, but it'll be even shorter if you don't eat healthy. Find some snacks that you like and that aren't Oreos. Lately I've been really into sweet potato chips. They don't taste healthy, in a good way. ;)


These are just things that have been working for me and have been keeping me up and bright and energized. If you're interested in learning more about stuff like this, head over to Vanessa's blog. She posts about health and fitness, a topic she's very passionate about. Go show her some support! 

Thank you, V, for reaching out to me and giving me the idea for this post.

Nice to Meet You

It's easy to lose yourself in college. 

I was reading a blog post this morning by a girl who just finished her freshman year at a big UC school. This sentence popped up and got me thinking. In order to lose yourself, you have to have found yourself before, or at least have a decent understanding of who you are. 

I wanted to get it out there--who I am at the moment, my somewhat blurry understanding of who I am as an individual and as a child of God. I wanted the internet to witness this, in case I do lose sight of myself for a bit in college (which I pray won't happen, but I have a feeling it will to some degree). 

So, as of June, 2018, summer after high school graduation, this is who I think I am. 

I am awkward but I am happy. I care too much about what people think of me and that gets me into trouble sometimes. I write but not enough. I wear flannel and t-shirts and my favorite physical feature is my eyes, which are not a consistent color and I think that's really cool. I have loved the color pink since I saw the movie Funny Face for the first time. Trust issues is not, nor do I think it will ever be a problem for me, as I am generally too trusting but I actually like that about myself. However, I have learned to keep my mouth shut about some things. 
I love to smile, as I believe they are contagious and I like making others smile more than anything. I am serious about my faith, but still probably not enough. My sweet tooth will be the death of me. 
I want to travel the world, but don't want a one-way ticket because I love home too much. I want to meet people and drink exotic teas and eat different foods and take pictures. I want to take a lot of pictures so I can bring that little bit of reality home with me as a memory. I want to write about everything I see.
I want to make people proud. This is the biggest fear of mine, that the people I care most about will be disappointed in me. 


I never want to lose sight of God. If I lose sight of who I think I am, it won't matter as much to me as losing sight of Him. This is the most important part of who I am, the fact that I am this way only because He created me to be this way. If I change in college, as long as my existence still glorifies the Creator, I'll be fine. 

Every Day a Little

Do you know how easy it is? 

To sit behind a screen and type out all these things? Do you see how simple it is to string words together and suddenly be a preacher? Explaining the dot-to-dots of life, talking about loving and being loved, about how to follow God, about how to make a difference, about how to not judge people and put them in boxes. It's so easy. 

Why is it so hard to live out? Why do the connections and explanations and inspirations become blurry in real-life situations? Why is it so common that I get inspired by a post and tell myself to change, and then crumble under the real-world? 

Because it doesn't happen so simply. I get frustrated with writing sometimes because it's so easy to type out how to live a good life and how to be a better person and how to squash those faults that have been burning inside me. It's so easy to see it on a screen. I feel like I'm two different people: the person who posts on this blog, the person who appears to have things figured out, who can set words in a sentence and have it make sense. And then the person who goes to school and fails the test or says something rude or ignores God's voice constantly. 

I think we're all kind of like that. I don't think we need to think we're two different people. Life is hard and we are weak. But if you have the intention to change, to be better, to start listening to Him whispering in your heart, then there's no need to beat yourself up, like I tend to do. We try, we fail. The important part is that we try again. 

"To reform. Every day a little. This must be our consent task if we really want to become a saint." 

That's a quote from Saint Josemaria Escriva. It's my senior quote. My mom picked it out for me. I had wanted to find a quote that could sum up my high school experience, and the more I think about it, the more relevant this quote is. I've messed up so many times, but what matters is I want to keep trying. Every day a little. 

A Small Update

I've stopped working on my manuscript. 

The main reason is that the laptop crashed and I (like an idiot) had only backed up about 3/4 of it. Which sucks. Because I had daydreamed of holding this one in my hand one day. But now that a lot of it is lost in cyberspace, I'm not working on it anymore. Call me a quitter, it's okay, I'm living with it. 
And I think it's a good thing because before the laptop crashed I had to force myself to sit down and write every day. It was a chore. I'd set rewards for myself, like, if you can write 500 words tonight, you can do this, that, or the other thing. But I've talked to writers recently who wake up every morning just itching to sit down and work on their WIPs. They have such a beautiful, strong motivation to just do it, and it's not a chore that needs a reward at the end of it to get it done--it is a reward in itself. And I just didn't have that with this one. The concept and the characters are still in my heart in a special way, I'm so madly in love with it all. it's just one of those things that is adding to the stress and maybe now isn't the time to be working on it. 

At first this scared me a bit. I thought maybe I was losing some of my writing passion. But since stopping, I've realized how I itch to write other things. Shorter things, maybe. I have more blog post ideas, short story ideas. I want to write little articles about things going on in the world, if not for the world, then just for me. I feel motivated to write again and it’s  a great feeling. 

I think you guys deserve a little life update. 

It’s Easter break. I find myself sleeping in and feeling well-rested. Eating eggs for lunch, which is a luxury in my mind. Making myself wear outfits other than my go-to jeans and an oversized college hoodie and just generally taking better care of my appearance. Drinking more water because it’s a lifesaver. Going downtown and looking in shops I don’t normally look in. Not stressing about my future anymore because I’m convinced God has it under control. Writing down ideas. Looking forward to graduation. Getting ready for the day lazily and slowly, a cup of black coffee on my dresser. 

I dunno, guys. It’s the little things I guess that add up to the big things. But right now, I’ve got  six weeks left of school and four and a half months until I move to college, and those may seem like big things (probably because they are) but the time is going to be so so filled with all these little moments that I can’t wait to experience. 

Good Friday

The Cross is so powerful. 

Often as Christians we tend to sort of belittle the Cross. It’s been an image for us since we were young and we get used to it. We stop acknowledging the power and the trust and the love behind Christ’s death. 

This Good Friday, realize again the intensity of God’s love for you through the Crucifix. Realize His passion for you, realize that if you were the only person that would be saved by His death, He would still endure the entire Passion and death for you alone. 

Realize that the Cross is the answer to every question you could ever have. We always ask God how he could dare allow this pain in our lives. But the Cross is the answer. The Cross is how God wins our trust, our love, our souls.

Look to the Cross, not just today, but every day for the rest of you life. Hold onto it. 

If You Can Hear Me

Can you hear me? 

It's okay if you can't. 

I'm told I'm quiet. 

And you're busy. 

It's fine. 

I know you're there. 

I'll just talk, okay? 

The devil likes to talk 

He likes to whisper lies

And sometimes I believe him

Because he's the only one I can hear. 

Sometimes I can't hear you

And I lose sight of what's true. 

It makes me sad. 

It makes me feel like there's no light anymore.

I can't breathe.

I'm struggling. 

It's hard to trust someone who feels so far away. 

Do you have this? 

Is this under control? 

Because I'm confused.

I know you're there. 

I just want to know if you can hear me. 

It'd be nice if you could hold my hand. 

Hold my heart instead.




I’m not depressed guys. I just know that people go through difficult trials in their lives and sometimes it’s hard to remember that God is there. Keep your chin up, because He is listening. :)

The Emotion vs The Reality

I've had a lot of time to sit and think about what my goals are, what I'm headed towards. Rainy SoCal days tend to do that to a person.

That tends to be what people focus on. Once you're a teenager, people begin to judge you based on where you are headed. So what do you want to do? What do you want to be? 

This morning I found a bookmark on my desk (hidden under a multitude of papers and books and homework hi there) with a quote on it by St. Teresa of Avila: Do whatever most kindles love in you. And at first I was struck by the thought that maybe St. Teresa was lining up with this whole movement going on today that tells us all to follow our hearts, an idea I believe has become twisted in modern society. I was confused by what she might mean. 

But I don't think St. Teresa was trying to tell us to just go with our feelings. She's telling us to do whatever kindles love in us. 

We shouldn't do whatever we want, which is what I think this new phrase "follow your heart" is twisted to mean nowadays. This idea that has been the message of so many movies and songs and movements these days is that we should love ourselves first, above all else, and do whatever we think will make us happy, regardless of what anyone else feels or thinks. We should just follow whatever our emotions tell us. 

Love is an outward thing, not an inward one. Love is wanting the good of the other. Love is sacrifice and patience and so very, very unselfish. If we do anything, it should be something that kindles this kind of love in us. Another great saint, Mother Teresa, said, do little things with great love. This should be our motto. We cannot have this selfish, "me-first", "follow-my-heart" mentality. We should always have this goal that no matter what we end up doing with out lives, true, good, unselfish love results. Not only results, but is engrained in our every little action.