Laur Gets Lost

Category: lifestyle

• Podcasts You Should Be Tuning Into Right Now

  Posted at 4:24 pm by Lauren Russell, on February 21, 2019

  

  At the beginning of the new year I got SUPER into podcasts. I started having an actual morning commute and decided to start my mornings with a little more mindful thinking. Now, podcasts have quickly become my favorite thing. I literally find myself hoping it will be morning so that I can listen to my next podcast. The podcasts I’ll be listing today cover a little bit of everything but the main topics you will see are: wellness, business, and female empowerment. Be sure to comment and let me know your favorite!

  From the Heart: Conversations with Yoga Girl

  

  I first discovered Yoga Girl, or Rachel Brathen, last year when I was doing some mindless scrolling through Instagram. There’s a lot I could say about her but let me just leave it at this: she’s amazing. Conversations from the heart literally touches on every single topic surrounding wellness and happiness you could imagine. She also talks business, family, and just keeping it together. She brings on some amazing guests as well who add so much character to the show. My favorites are: What If Every Challenge Is A Blessing In Disguise, Let Your Inner Wild Woman Soar, and Feel Your F*cking Feelings. Listen to it here.

  Women, Work, and Worth

  

  This podcast is the perfect podcast for you or the many girl bosses in your life. As the title suggests, this podcast focuses a lot on women in business and how we can keep it together in a world that constantly doubts us. The hosts Kate and Tallia are so light-hearted and fun. Their advice takes you from where you are to where you want to be. Some of my favorites are: Five Must-Have’s Before Starting Your Business, Mastering Your Money Mindset, and Setting Goals You’ll Actually Stick To. Listen to it here.

  Girl Boss Radio: Self Service

  

  Girl Boss is a company owned by Sophia Amoruso, who if you don’t already know is the creator of the clothing company Nasty Gal and CEO of Girl Boss, a place that provides resources about money, career, and wellness to girl bosses everywhere. Sophia does a podcast on her own, but Girl Boss also does mini series like Self-Service. Self-Service is honestly a GOD SENT. This podcast has helped me change my mindset and my over all attitude about facing challenges in my every day life. I honestly wish there could be like 1 million more podcasts for self-service because they are all amazing. My favorites are: Dark Thoughts and What to Do With Em’, Learning How to Stop Self-Sabotage, and Learn How to Activate Your Inner Goddess. Tune into your cosmic comfort zone here.

  The Skinny Confidential

  

  I only recently started listening to The Skinny Confidential because of my great friend/business partner/shit talking buddy Adrienne suggested it to me but I seriously love it! A lot of the podcasts I listen to are surrounded around topics like wellness and business. Although this podcast does cover those topics believe me, they also just talk about random things that are super informational and fun to listen to. My favorites so far are their podcast with Kopari Beauty founders, How to Build and Monetize an Online Brand, and The Laws of Human Nature. Listen to them here.

  Thanks for reading along everyone, be sure to leave your suggestions below!

  Posted in lifestyle | 0 Comments | Tagged wellness

• Time Management Skills You Need to Manifest the Life You Deserve

  Posted at 4:38 pm by Lauren Russell, on February 17, 2019

  

  When I talk to people about productivity, some of the things I hear the most are “I don’t have enough time in the day,” or “I don’t know how to manage my time.” Time management is tricky because well, life is tricky. We often convince ourselves that we don’t have enough time to complete our goals because we “don’t have enough time,” when the reality is we are just using that to excuse the fact that we self-sabatoge our own success by wasting so much time in our day. I myself am so so guilty of this, and believe me I know it can be challenging to find time for the things we want however WE are the only thing holding ourselves back. We have 24 hours in each day and nearly limitless amount of possibilities of the things we can accomplish. Here are some time management hacks that have helped me transition into a more productive lifestyle.

  Plan your week on Sunday

  We spend a lot of time making plans, rescheduling, and simply just trying to find the time to plan things. Before I started doing this, I was taking life day-by-day. I did this for a long time, planning things as they came up and stretching myself SO THIN. I was constantly running around trying to juggle around 5 million things. Every Sunday, I sit down and create my schedule for the week and it keeps me running 100% smoother.

  Know What You Can and Can’t Procrastinate

  I’m not here to tell you to stop procrastinating because honestly that’s just unrealistic. I personally do some of my best work when I work a little under pressure, but if I wait till the LAST minute then the work is absolute garbage. It’s important to know what you can and can’t procrastinate. That 10 question quiz? Yeah sure, you can probably procrastinate doing that a bit. Getting ready for that interview? Probably not the best idea to procrastinate. Always consider how much time you can realistically procrastinate for, and also how much time the task itself will take. This will save you from missing deadlines, or stressing to get work done.

  Be Realistic With Your Goals

  As I said above, it’s important to be realistic about how much time you can procrastinate things. It’s also extremely important to be realistic about our goals though. In one of my favorite books, Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and into Your Life, the author talks about how we should be honest with ourselves about what we are willing and unwilling to do. For example, you say you want to drive a Ferrari, but you always procrastinate your tasks at work, you never want to stay late or sit in on meetings, and you only half-way do the job. The reality is you may want a Ferrari, but you are unwilling to do it. Since you aren’t honest with yourself though about what you are willing and unwilling to do you end up wasting your time working toward goals you don’t have the drive to achieve. Take some time to thing about your goals, what it will take to get there, and if you are willing to do that. If you aren’t willing, THAT’S OKAY but what’s not okay is chasing your goals in some mediocre way that only ends up wasting your time.

  That’s all I have for you all! I tried to steer away from typical methods of time management and look at it from a more creative perspective. As always your comments are not only appreciated, but encouraged. Have a great day, babes!
  

  Posted in lifestyle | 0 Comments

• Everything You Need to Know About Study Abroad

  Posted at 8:02 am by Lauren Russell, on November 13, 2018

  

  This past semester (fall 2018) I decided to accept an offer to study abroad in Budapest, Hungary. I have been here for just over two months, and I can truly say it is one of the most amazing and changing decisions I have ever made. Immersing yourself in a different culture can be so rewarding if you let it be. That being said, I see many people not allowing this to be their experience! This is truly heartbreaking because like I said, this experience can teach you so much about yourself but you just have to let it. Below you’ll find everything you need to know about studying abroad!

  

   

  The number one, and I mean NUMBER ONE PRIORITY thing I can recommend to abroad students is to honestly linger away from people from your home country. You are going abroad for a reason, if you wanted to just be with the same people from your school you probably should’ve just stayed home. Now, I’m not saying you need to cut off all your friends studying abroad with you. What I AM saying is that you should really try to branch out and meet people from new countries! You can get such a unique cultural perspective if you push your comfort zone a bit and talk to someone from somewhere else. Luckily, most study abroad programs will make this process super easy for you. In my experience, the first two weeks of school were really just about acquainting us with other people. We had events, bar nights, pub crawls, dances, dinners…. like so many different opportunities to meet people. Even now, we still have weekly events to bring everyone together that have been coordinated by our program. Use this time to get out of your normal box of comfort and meet some new people.  Not entirely sure about other places, but if you are in Europe this is a CAKE WALK. Not to generalize but honestly…Europeans are some of the most open and welcoming people I have ever met, so don’t be shy!

  Next, pack accordingly! I know, it seems all like “woah I’m studying abroad I’m going to bring all these cool clothes that I never wear at home, cause I’ll definitely wear them here.” Wrong. I promise you, your desire to wear sweatpants and a v-neck every single day is not going to change just because you are in a foreign country. Chances are when you are packing you will have one checked bag, your carry-on, and your personal item. In your head this feels like a lot of space, but when you realize you are trying to pack for 4+ months it really isn’t much at all. What I can say is most important is to bring pieces you can wear in multiple ways. I packed my must-have’s, but I also made sure I packed a lo of basics and things I could layer like sweatshirts, v-necks, and cardigans. Also, research the weather of the area you are in before you come. Don’t bring only summer clothes if it’s only going to be warm two months (ok, me.) I was lucky to have my dad bring my coat when he was on business in Europe and got to see me, but most people don’t get this lucky.

  

  Another thing to remember is that this is not going to be your home country. Everything is about to be so different, and that’s not a bad thing. The food will more than likely be different, as will the culture, the way people act, and maybe even the way people dress. Even though this may feel off and a bit uncomfortable at first, I promise it will be what makes your experience. Also, it’s important to remember that if you don’t adjust automatically, then that’s okay. I know so many people who had serious culture shock for the first couple of weeks and now they are having the time of their lives.

  Last, and most importantly. Do every spontaneous thing, follow every crazy dream, do every bucket list item you want, and take in every single moment. I feel as if I have blinked and now I’m down to only one month left. This has truly been the craziest and most eye-opening three months of my life, and I don’t know how to handle leaving this beautiful city I love so dearly. Fall in love with your abroad city. Spend weekends exploring new spots and find your favorite places. Have Wednesday wine nights by the bridge, or take a weekend trip to Croatia to see that waterfall you’ve always wanted to see. Stay up too late, go out too much, ignore your parents asking if you are “actually” studying, spend all your money, and never blink an eye because it’s over before you know it.

  

  Posted in lifestyle | 39 Comments | Tagged college

• Things You Should’ve Been Telling Yourself All Along

  Posted at 1:10 pm by Lauren Russell, on October 24, 2018

  

  My mind flows the most freely when I am stressed. Before sitting down to write this, I told myself I was going to lay in bed all day today. It’s raining, and it’s cold. That alone can take my mood from a 10 to a 3 in a matter of minutes. So that combined with the normal issues of life puts me at a strong 1 today. However, when I laid down, I kept thinking “what do I wish someone would tell me when I am down?” So here we are. It feels like you have such a huge circle sometimes, but then when the bad days roll around it really is like *crickets.* This is of no one’s fault, especially when you aren’t reaching out and telling people you need help because hey, everyone gets busy. Is this a post of me mostly just babbling…yes! So here we go.

  Stop living in any other time besides right now

  I wish I could actually tattoo this on to my forehead. If you are living in any time besides right now, there is no chance of you enjoying the moment you are in. Stop thinking about what could’ve been in the past, or what you wish you would’ve done differently. Stop thinking about deadlines and what-if scenarios. Although it sounds a little chaotic and stressful to stop planning or thinking (especially if you are a micro-manager like me,) sometimes it is exactly what you need.

  Unplug

  There’re so many things happening in the world right now. There’s a hurricane here, and a wildfire there, and Peggy’s baby is sick with cancer, and Roger’s dog just got hit by a car. Social media can be so amazing. It’s given me a way to connect with so many amazing people, and it also allows me to be up to date with what is happening in the world. At the same time though, that can become so consuming. You can either get in the comparison game and compare everyone’s best moments on social media to your not-so-great moments in real life…or you can just become overwhelmed with how utterly downhill the world seems to be going and the fact that it feels like there’s nothing you can do (not true.) So, with that being said take some time to just be in the space you are in. Stop being concerned with the world that is in your phone.

  Be kind to yourself 

  We are humans. We have good days, and we have bad days. Sometimes we even have bad weeks, or bad months. That is truly just life! When those days, or weeks, or months come, and they will, be kind to yourself. Don’t beat yourself up for being human and give yourself the time you need to be okay. Healing is not linear, sometimes we think we are getting better and then we get bad again. But the sun will come out eventually and it can’t be dark forever. Don’t forget you should be the most kind to yourself.

  Stop listening to other people

  I don’t know how else to phrase this, but just stop. Stop listening to other people’s expectations. Stop listening to what other people want you to be. Stop listening to how the world is telling you to feel, or act, or dress. Sometimes you must be selfish in life, and sometimes in those times of selfishness you don’t fit into the boxes people want you to fit into. WHO CARES? This is your life, and if you are living it for anyone besides yourself you aren’t going to live a life that is fulfilled. Shut out the noise and listen to yourself. There are over 6 billion people in the world, the opinions of a few are truly irrelevant.

  Posted in lifestyle | 1 Comment

• Why to Start Embracing Being Unapologetic

  Posted at 2:57 pm by Lauren Russell, on October 8, 2018

  

  For the longest time, my life centered so much around others. I was constantly thinking  things like “was it stupid to say that,” “do they think I’m weird,” “what if I say this and they don’t like me?” Even though I felt independent, I was living a life based off of what other people expected and wanted from me. To be real, I just wasn’t being 100% me. My anxiety and depression played a HUGE role in this, although looking back I didn’t even realize at the time that that’s not how most people were living. Then, after moving to Chicago + getting out of a long-term relationship I suddenly had this urge to re-brand myself. You see, the town I grew up in was for lack of better words…garbage. It’s one of those small towns where everyone is into everyone’s business and everyone has an opinion of what other people are doing. The brutal honesty is just that people are so bored with their own lives and the fact that there’s nothing to do, that they worry about other peoples.

  

  So when I got into my first couple of months in Chicago, I sat myself down and honestly told myself over and over that I was a bad bitch and that I was unstoppable. I’m serious people, if you keep telling yourself positive affirmations will really make you believe them. So eventually, I had built up a ton of confidence which is something I never had before but also didn’t realize I was missing. Suddenly, I was a force of nature. I started talking all the time in class, I started telling people no more often, and I started to see my goals so much more clearly and what I needed to do to attain them. MANIFEST YOUR GOALS GIRL INVEST IN YOURSELF.

  

  A lot, of the time I see that women are the people that have the biggest issue with allowing themselves to be unapologetic. As women, we are taught to make ourselves smaller and fit into the parts of society that women are “supposed” to fit in. We are supposed to carry ourselves with poise. We are supposed to be dainty, and kind. Gentle and sweet and mannerly and all things nice. When we detest those things, we are seen as three things: inappropriate, slutty, or manly. Welllll, I say SCREW THAT. In my little journey toward confidence and unapologetic-ness I found that the best way to live, is to live in a way where you are the least concerned with what other people think. So if I want to not wear a bra, I’m going to not wear a bra. If I want to say “fuck this bullshit” in my blog post, I’m going to say it. If I want to get political, I’m going to get political because that’s just what I care about. Once you start living a life where you are 100% doing it for you and no one else, you will find you are living a much happier life.

  

  Posted in lifestyle | 0 Comments

• 5 Ways You Can Actually Save and Make Money

  Posted at 8:44 pm by Lauren Russell, on September 25, 2018

  

  

  I try to travel as often as I can, but I’m also a full time student so I don’t really have the skills or the time to have a like real life “career,” that will give me a salary to easily support all my travel ventures. That being said, I often have to get creative with how I save and make money if I want to keep up with the lifestyle I’ve been living. There are honestly so many small things you can do in your every day life to make money, especially if you are living in a more urban setting.

  Stop spending all your money on food 

  I get it, I’m a foodie. I’m always thinking about my next meal and how soon I’ll get to eat it. The thing is though, going out to eat is EXPENSIVE. Even if you try to justify it by saying “well it’s usually only just $5-$6,” if you are doing that every single day you are basically spending more than $35 a week on food that’s probably not even that high in quality. If you multiply that by four, it ends up being $140 which is basically over half a plane ticket. I know for me especially, it can be really challenging to not go out to eat. I live in a dorm and my kitchen is limited. However, I still find ways to make it work! For example, you can get a package of pasta and 2 or 3 different sauces for around $7-$8. That can literally last you so long, and it also will save you so much time when you are getting your meals together if you go ahead and make the noodles in advance so all you have to do is add sauce. Another really inexpensive meal to have is sandwiches, they are literally so good and have so much variety. I get that it can be annoying to eat the same stuff all the time, but honestly the reward is much higher than the sacrifice especially when you are saving money so you can do what you want to do

  Utilize money making apps

  This one is best for people in urban area (sorry rural people) but this is a great way to make money! So you have a couple of great options for things you can do, and all of them allow you to work 100% on your own time. Let’s dive in!

  • WAG- Dog walking app, and super easy to get approved for! Basically you send in your availability, and once you are approved they will start sending you walks to do in your area. You 100% have the ability to turn these down and you won’t be penalized
  • ThredUp- This is perfect for those of you who don’t live in a big city. Thread up is basically a consignment app that will send you a bag with a prepaid shipping label (no cost to you) and then you fill the bag with your gently used clothes and send it in. They will look through your clothes and either recycle the ones they don’t want or they will send them back to you at your request. This isn’t the best app if you need money on the spot because it does take a bit to get money since you have to wait for your clothes to sell
  • Postmates- The app we know and love, but you can also be a delivery driver for them as well. This is a great way to get some extra cash, and like WAG it allows you to work 100% on your own time and decline jobs that you find to be too far or just aren’t interested in
  • Field Agent- I love this app! This is a great way to make money by doing what you are already doing every day. You earn money from this app by completing tasks such as going to Walgreens and taking a picture of a product and verifying it’s price. You can make around $3-$16 per task
  • ShopKick- Another great app that is also perfect for people in not as urban places, and like field agent you get paid to do everything you are already doing. The way it works is you get “kicks” for literally walking into stores, scanning items, and taking pictures of your purchases. This app works in places like Best Buy, Target, Ulta, Walmart, and so many more

  Give up a couple of those weekends out 

  This is especially a must for those 20-something age readers. People my age constantly ask me “how do you travel so much?” “how do you have money to do all of this?” but they are also almost always the people who I see going out to parties or the bars every Friday and Saturday night. It’s the little purchases like the $2 shots or the $3 beer that really add up and end up doing the most damage to your bank account. I know that FOMO is so real, but you know what’ also real? Being broke and not being able to do anything

  Sell your old electronics and textbooks

  You know that old iphone that’s been in your drawer for the past 4 years…well it’s time to send that baby off for some cash. Websites like Craigslist, Ebay, and Amazon will allow you to sell your old electronics and make some really good money depending on the condition of the items and how old they are. Companies like Gazelle will also buy your phone off of you, since there is a huge market for refurbishing phones. BookScouter, Decluttr, and TextbookRush are also all great websites that will buy your old textbooks from you

  Lead walking tours on Viator

  This last one is really only for my city people out there, but if you are a people person and know your city really well this is the perfect job for you. You can start out by just doing free tours, and at the end if the tour was good naturally people are going to tip you. As you build a reputation you’ll be able to start asking for money for the tours, it’s also a great way to network and meet new people

  Thanks for joining in for this quick little read, if you all have any suggestions or ideas about how to make/save money drop them in the comments below. Also, be sure to check out my post on how I travel on a budget, linked here

   

  Posted in lifestyle | 21 Comments | Tagged budget travel, budgeting

• How to Pack With a Backpacker’s Ticket

  Posted at 5:14 pm by Lauren Russell, on July 7, 2018

  

  

  “Backpacker’s tickets” have honestly saved my life. If you don’t already know, they are the cheapest of the cheap when it comes to airline tickets. Yes, you will load the plane last. Yes, you will probably be in the middle. And finally, yes you will not have access to overhead bins. When I first read this while booking a ticket for my first solo trip my over-packing mind thought “how will I bring every thing I need without at least a carry on?” But after extensively going through each item I thought I needed, I found ways to minimize my packing list but still bring my must-have’s.

  One of the most important things in this journey is making sure that your one personal item is a spacious backpack. Now, I’m not talking packed to the ceiling type deal but you can pack your typical day hiking bag to the brim and it will still fit under your seat. Some of my favorite backpacks are High Sierra, and Teton. They are usually light weight, have a water bladder, and built to last. You don’t have to drop tons of money to get a nice bag though. TJ Maxx, Marshall’s, Ebay, and even Facebook market place usually have some great deals on usually very expensive backpacks.

  Next is learning how to pack in a more *minimalist* manner. I know at the time it really feels like you do need all 5 sandals, 12 sundresses, 8 bikinis, and 7 pairs of leggings but I promise you will survive (beautifully.) You can still have all of your essentials, while still managing to get away with not paying the ridiculous fee’s to check a bag. Sort out all the items you want to take, immediately get rid of any of those items you are packing in case you “might need them.” 90% of the time those items sit in the bottom of my bag and never get worn, so why even pack them.

  From there, try to bring pieces that you can wear multiple times, and know what you can sacrifice. So maybe instead of bringing three pairs of black hiking leggings, just bring one. Or bring a skirt that you can wear with multiple tops, things like that! This saves you a lot of room if you can get multiple outfits out of one piece. Lastly, with shoes make sure you are wearing your bulkiest shoes (ex; hiking boots) on the plane so you can save room in your bag. My personal rule for shoes is to bring 1 pair for comfort and 1 or 2 pairs for fashion.

  If you are a blogger like myself, most of us are also packing a camera and a laptop for editing. These things can take up HUGE amounts of space. Try to narrow down what kind of shots you are going to take, and from there decide what lenses you need. I try to bring just one if I’m only bringing my backpack because as I said, lenses can get pretty bulky. Lastly, REMEMBER WHAT YOU CAN BUY. Travel size items are sold nearly every where, why take up space bringing your own travel size items when you could purchase the same ones there?

   

  Thanks so much for reading everyone if you want to check out how I travel on a budget, click here!

   

   

  Posted in lifestyle | 13 Comments | Tagged backpacking, hikers guide, packing, travel guide

• How You Can Help the Environment this Summer

  Posted at 1:41 pm by Lauren Russell, on July 3, 2018

  

  Summer is finally here, which means exploring new places for so many people. So many of our national and state parks reach their peak activity levels in the summer, which unfortunately means there’s a larger number of people acting carelessly in our protected lands. If we don’t treat these places with the respect they deserve, we won’t have them around to enjoy anymore. Be mindful of the spaces you are in. Our environment is begging us to treat it better and we aren’t listening. Here’s a couple of the easiest things you can do this summer that will help out mama earth.

  Pack Out What You Bring In

  Although this may seem like common knowledge, we all know from experience many people don’t do this. Park rangers have things much important to do than pickup after you. It is so sad to see some of the most beautiful wonders being cluttered with trash from previous visitors. More importantly, animals can eat your leftover trash and become sick or even die from it. Leaving food out attracts animals as well and puts them in danger. Even if it seems like a hassle, respect these places and clean up after yourself.

  Go Strawless

  This is a movement that’s been gaining a lot of traction lately, and for good reason. Straws have a drastic impact on our environment and it’s time we #stopsucking. American’s use around 500 million straws each day, for on average of 20 minutes before they are thrown in the garbage to go to a landfill. The plastic will break down overtime, but never completely biodegrade. Plastic straws are filling up our oceans and causing our marine life to become ill. If you feel like you need a straw, there are PLENTY of biodegradable and inexpensive options available like this one on Amazon.

  Recycle and thrift your clothes

  Did you know textile dying is the second largest contribution to polluting water in the world? Many of the chemicals used to give fun and exciting colors in our clothing comes with a cost. These chemicals are carcinogenic and can disrupt an animals hormones as well. With the fashion industry always trying to keep up with the newest trends that means that there’s tons of clothes just being thrown out because they aren’t “on trend.” Lessen these impacts this summer and start recycling your clothing. Companies like ThredUp allow you to get paid for donating your clothes, then they recycle the ones they don’t accept. This not only gives customers incentive to recycle our clothes, but also allows us to be helping the environment. In addition, by buying second-hand clothes you are keeping more environmental waste from being made (plus thrifting is honestly so fun.)

  Composting

  Summer means fresh fruits and veggies, but that also means there’s a lot of waste when these foods go bad. Instead of throwing them out turn them into compost for your flowers or fruit/veggie garden. There’s so may benefits to composting like protection from diseases in your plants, prevention of pollution, healthy soil, and no more chemical fertilizers! Composting only requires a little extra work, but the benefits are plentiful.

  Below I’ve added a link to some more ways you can be environmentally friendly and also save some money, check it out!U

  Posted in lifestyle | 0 Comments | Tagged eco friendly, environment, environmental costs, recycle, reduce, reuse

• Living With Anxiety, and How to Manage It

  Posted at 5:28 pm by Lauren Russell, on June 30, 2018

  

  For as long as I can remember, I’ve had anxiety and it wasn’t always easy for me to open up about. Anxiety is more than just worrying about things, anxiety effects you both mind and body. Being in such a transitional stage in life is difficult at times. At this age it feels like the people around you are either barely hanging on by a thread, or have the perfect balance and everything figured out.

  What makes it even harder is that no one wants to be transparent about their struggles. People feel like dealing with every day struggles isn’t a normal part of life, so everyone ignore it and pretends it’s not happening until they can’t anymore and just lose it. In addition to that, many of us college age 20 somethings are going through huge transitions. First real job or internship, living on our own, being alone more often, balancing all the things that have to be done, taking care of ourselves, the list goes on. The fact that we have to get thrown into this all at once is extremely overwhelming, and can bring out a lot of anxiety that feels like it’s consuming us.

  Although I know medicine is necessary in some cases, and can be extremely effective, I have found in my case that there’s plenty of natural remedies that help me better than medicine. I am in no way a doctor, but I’ve found these things to be the most effective for me. Check it out below!

  Healthy Diet 

  When we love our body, it loves us back. If you want to feel good, you need to nourish your body. Foods with dyes, artificial sugars, and high fructose corn syrups have been shown to increase anxiety. Now look, I get it. Nearly everything has at least one of these things in it, but you don’t need to cut these things out completely just practice them in moderation. Lessening my consumption of foods with these things in them not only helped my anxiety, but also helped my overall health. I didn’t feel so exhausted after eating, my acne cleared up more, and you could tell my body was reacting positively to eliminating these toxins. Instead of picking up foods with those ingredients, grab something like blueberries, bananas, or cashews which have all been shown to decrease anxiety.

  Exercise 

  I am not a gym girl, I’ve never been one to enjoy a morning run or going on the elliptical for hours. That doesn’t mean I can’t be active though! It’s all about finding what exercise is right for you. For me, I love hiking. Being outdoors has been shown to decrease anxiety, and it’s definitely my biggest stress reliever. Even if it’s just going on a 30 minute walk each day, staying active is extremely important. When we exercise, our brain releases chemicals that help make us feel happy and relaxed.

  Meditation

  This is a huge one for me. Taking time to reflect and be honest with yourself about your struggles can do wonders for you. Many people thing meditation needs to be some full on session with a gong and a monk leading you, but it doesn’t have to be like that AT ALL. Finding a quiet place each day to be alone and mindful about your thoughts can be amazing. I love to light some candles, hit the lights, and meditate while I’m in the bath each night. Meditation is as simple as closing your eyes, focusing on your breathing, and allowing your mind to wander. I try to do this for at least 30 minutes a day because I’ve found it really clears my mind and especially makes the physical symptoms of anxiety go away.

  Let things go 

  We are only in charge of ourselves and our emotions. We can’t change how people feel, or think, or react. Anxiety tells us to hyper-focus on everything, and constantly replay how things could’ve gone differently over and over. However, we must learn to let things go, not for other people but for ourselves. We are all still growing and learning, and at some level we have to let things go and forgive ourselves for the mistakes we have made.

  These are just a few things, but I would love to hear about what everyone else does to manage their anxiety and stress. Having an open conversation about this is key to helping ourselves and helping our eachother. Have a great day!

  Posted in lifestyle | 0 Comments | Tagged anxiety, managing stress, mental health, wellness

• What You Do and Don’t Need For Your Dorm

  Posted at 8:34 pm by Lauren Russell, on June 28, 2018

  

  Ahh, dorm shopping. Nothing feels quite as anxiety provoking, but also exciting as buying things for your first college dorm. I remember reading so many different blogs, and by the end of it I felt 1) overwhelmed, 2) like I needed to buy every single item in Target’s home section. However as the year went on, I realized there were so many things I had bought that were completely useless. Below I’ve included a list of the things I found to be most useful and essential for your dorm and the things that really aren’t worth it.

  Don’t buy a drying rack

  I know, your mom is insisting your sweaters and delicate clothes will shrink if you put them in the dryer and then they will be ruined! Here’s the thing though, I promise you that you will NEVER use it. I saw so many people claiming this as a must have, but for me it just took up space in my dorm. If you feel like you really have to wash your sweaters just lay them flat over the air conditioning, promise it works the same.

  Do buy a quality mattress pads

  While shopping for your things you may think, “oh, i’ll just pick up this cheap mattress pad, the beds can’t be that bad.” But they can, and they are that bad. Imagine prison quality with a fireproof cover and that’s exactly how your bed will feel. When you get there, you will thank yourself so much for investing in a thick and quality mattress cover because now you can actually sleep.

  Don’t buy 30 different towels 

  Seriously just don’t. I get the vibes you feel right now. You want to be independent, you want to spread your wings and feel grown. Buying so many towels though is going to just take up space. My roomie and I both came with 5 towels each and it was by far too many. Stick to two and maximum three, that’s seriously more than enough.

  Do buy an electric tea kettle

  You guys…. I seriously can’t stress enough how much this thing saved my life. Even if you aren’t a tea drinker these things have SO much use to them. If you don’t know what they are, they basically are an appliance that boils water super fast. Not only can you use this for coffee and tea, but you can also use it to make things like oatmeal, ramen noodles, mac and cheese, and a bunch of other really easy meals. This was super helpful for me especially in the mornings when I didn’t want to walk to the dining hall before class.

  Don’t get boxes of plastic forks and spoons

  Although it feels easier to buy these, use them once, and throw them away, it’s super harmful for the environment. If you don’t want to have tons of different silverware either, invest in some of the eco-friendly utensils like these  they can be thrown away and don’t cause the damage that plastic does! This not only saves the environment, but also keeps you from the hassle of having to do dishes

  Do buy an essential oil diffuser

  Many dorms don’t allow candles, and buying the plug-in’s can get really pricey. I opt’d to buy an essential oil diffuser for my room and it’s worked wonders. Essential oils are relatively inexpensive (I found a set of 4 at tj maxx for $10,) but the diffusers themselves are usually under $20. Plus essential oils have been shown to have positive effects on your mood depending on the oil you diffuse.

  Don’t buy extras of everything 

  I know at the time your parents are stressing, and you’re stressing and it feels like you should buy 2 sets of extra light bulbs, batteries, sheets, link rollers, ect. For me though, I found at the end of the year that over half of the things I got extras of didn’t even get used. Save yourself the space and the money, even if you do run out of something dorms are very communal and there’s a good chance someone down the hall has an extra of what you need.

  Do buy a Brita Water Filter

  Even if you don’t mind tap water, most of the time the faucet in your bathroom (if you even have that) isn’t going to be big enough to fit your water bottle in and fill it up. Rather than spending money on plastic water bottles every month, invest in a Brita. My roommate and I alternated filling it up every morning and it saved us so many trips to the water fountain downstairs to fill up our bottles.

  THINGS I FOUND MOST NECESSARY 

  • Command hooks for towels
  • String lights to make the place more home-y
  • Re-usable bags ($1 at TJ Maxx)
  • Ethernet cord (wifi is unreliable in college kids)
  • Amazon Fire Stick (you need this)
  • Cozy throw blankets
  • Bathroom bag
  • Slides (shoes)

   

   

   

  Posted in lifestyle | 0 Comments | Tagged chicago, college girl, college student, college tips, dorm, dorm essentials, dorm life, dorm needs, first dorm, freshman, must have, school

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  Lauren Russell is a travel and lifestyle blogger based in Phoenix, Arizona. Lauren is a student at Arizona State University studying Communication and Digital Media. When she’s not chasing the next adventure, you can find her working on her blog, taking photos, or being outdoors.

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  I've spent the past couple weekends just chilling around Phoenix (it's been too cold for this gal up north) plus I just needed a mental break from being in my car 24/7 but this weekend I'm finally headed back out! Off to explore a new part of Arizona that I've never seen before, any guesses??

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  here's an awesome story: when I was in 8th grade I remember I was literally so exhausted for like the first month and a half or so of school. My parents were convinced it was because I was just staying up on my phone late, def not a medical issue. Welllll....a year later I'm getting blood work done for something and the doctor says "why didn't you mention you had mono recently, I can tell from the blood work." So awesomely enough it turns out that I had mono and never did anything for it so because of that my immune system stays weak af!!! I've been sipping on @healthade kombucha because it helps boost my immunity so I'm not sick 24/7. I'm actually thinking about making my own kombucha just bc I think the process is so cool. Are you all fans of kombucha or nah? #hbthealthade

  NEW POST: Not sure of the question, but love is always the answer! Lately I've been super focused on time management and productivity. Although I still feel this way, in the past especially it always felt like I never had enough time for the things I wanted. The problem however wasn't time, it was me! I wasn't managing my time as effectively as I could've been and it was seriously stifling my creativity. I've thrown together a post of some of my favorite time management skills. Link is in my bio!

  I like big bends and I cannot lie!! I usually stay away from posting landscape photos but this one was too good not to. Happy saturday loves today I have about a million things planned and I hope I get to at least 6 of them! Headed to Scottsdale in a bit to shoot some photos, then back here for editing and finishing a lifestyle post on something you guys have been talking about a TON to me! What's everyone's plans for the day?

  v-day behavior🖤 I don't have a valentine this year but I have myself and that's enough because I mean...look at me. lmao but on a real note Valentine's Day puts such a push on us to have these "perfect" bodies that fit societies beauty standards. Well that's honestly just bullshit!! All bodies are sexy, all bodies are lovable, all bodies are worthy!! YOU BETTA WORK BITCH🖤👏🏼

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