I’m sure you remember my simple living class last year and “how much it changed my life” and you probably thought I was exaggerating just a little bit, but this past Friday, Dr. Koz invited me to come back! She sent me a text asking if I could come and talk about my blog and help out with an activity they were doing.
Of course, I said yes and within my busy schedule of five meetings that day, her class fit right in. I was super excited to share about my blog and see how easy it was to talk in front of strangers about my blog and the thing I love most… happiness. I had a wonderful time sharing about my blog and helping out with their activity. Everyone wrote a small encouraging quote and rolled it up and put it in a jar. The jars were hidden around campus for other students to find some encouragement. I even got to write a jar with a quote I remembered from when I was in that class last year. If you're an Elizabethtown College student or you stop by, make sure to keep an eye out and maybe find a jar to read what's inside! During class, Dr. Koz, also gave out an assignment to focus on having a healthy attitude during the Thanksgiving weekend. Their assignment was to choose one activity to complete and reflect on it and I wanted to share it with you. If you want, take on the challenge to do one (or more) of these things!
Please feel free to share your experiences by commenting below! As you go into the Thanksgiving week, remember to think of the things you are grateful for and express it to people you know. Encourage a friend or your family to do the same and together you can think of the different things you are grateful for this week. Keep an eye out for a special blog post this Thanksgiving as well!
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When is the last time you really had me time? And I don’t mean the last time you stood in the shower just thinking about what you have to do or when you laid in bed just a little bit longer to get that quiet sleep you missed out on last night or if you’re a Christian, not just when you did your devotions? I mean when is the last time you just sat down. Like there was nothing around you, no phone, no work, no people and it was just you for at least an hour. Can you even remember that long ago?
Me time is surprisingly one of the things that can make you the happiest person alive. Being around people 24/7 will make it difficult to remain happy and enjoy the little things in life. Me time is actually something we should do every day for at least an hour. It is necessary for our brains to process what we’ve learned throughout the day. Although, if your schedule is anywhere near as busy as mine, I’m sure you’re thinking that a whole hour is nearly impossible. It’s not though if you make time for you! YOU are so important and if you don’t give yourself those times, you will wear yourself down and being happy is going to be really hard… believe me. Even though me time is so important it isn’t just something you can plan into your schedule right away every day for forever (I mean if you are, please tell me how you do it!!) Start off small. Maybe do an hour a week or 5-10 minutes a day. Eventually you can work yourself up to that full hour every day and most likely you’ll look forward to it. Big goals are accomplished doing little things. If you go into your day thinking you can do everything you missed last week and everything you hope to do this week AND add an hour of me time every day, I hate to break it to you but that probably won’t happen. But that’s okay!! It’s not supposed to happen like that which is why we can reward ourselves and refuel during me time. With that being said, there is a healthy amount of me time. An hour to two hours a day is all you should need depending on you. You don’t want to overdo it and make sure you still have time where you talk to your friends and share your feelings with others. Now, if you’re an extrovert you might be thinking “well I get my energy from people, so I don’t need this so called me time.” In some cases that could be true, you might not need as much but if anyone has ever met me, they would know that I am an extrovert and living off of no me time for too long is not the best thing in the world. Two years ago, I would have told you that I don’t need me time (no matter how much my mom told me) and I would make plans every weekend, some weeknights as I got older. I would book myself up for weeks to the point where my one friend always said she’d like to be put on my schedule to hang out and I would have to say “Sure! How is 3 weeks from now?” I’ll tell you first-hand that is not the way to do it. When I needed that break it wasn’t there and I had to keep going, making my time with friends less enjoyable. Since college I’ve had some me times, but with a full year of college, a full summer of work and another full semester of college again it slipped my mind of how important this me time is. I ended up taking “me half week” this week and have been refueled to a whole new level. Me time doesn’t necessarily mean not doing anything at all, you can read a book, go on your computer, dance to a song in your room by yourself, or play with your cat, but the important thing to remember is its ME time and you can’t do that with anyone else. If you’re feeling tired and exhausted or even you just haven’t had any downtime lately, you might need some me time. Give it a try, 5 minutes a day or 1 hour a week. You might be surprised with what me time can do for you and your happiness. This is the month last year that I started writing this blog!! I am so so happy that I did and so grateful for all of the opportunities that came with it. I still think simple living changed my life and I couldn't be more grateful for my professor, Dr. Koz, who inspired me to start. Here are the top 6 facts for the year:
Thank YOU for following along on my blog. I really love sharing about happiness and getting to meet people through this. I hope to possibly be a public speaker one day for happiness and this is my start and I’m so happy you are a part of it. This year I was able to make memories of sticking pieces of happiness on walls, ringing a bell for the salvation army, helping out at local homeless shelters and so much more. It did come with its ups and downs. Not everyone appreciated what I did. I have offered free candy for a holiday or popcorn and gotten laughed at, but that didn't mean I stopped. I do it for those people who tell me a week later that the candy I gave them last week turned their day around from a bad one to a great one. Making people happy isn’t always as easy as people say it could be, but there is those big reasons of those few people who tell you how much it really means to them that makes me remember why I am doing this. Happiness is something that can be shared and learned, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be able to do this and I can’t wait to see what next year has in store, especially with the run across America! (which I just reached $3,000 this month and have hopes for my goal of $10,000 – please feel free to donate today in honor of 1 year to help me reach my goal and help young adults with cancer!) Thank you again for being with me every step of the way. I honestly couldn’t have done it without you and your support. Even a click and a read of my blog helps me go a long way and I truly appreciate it and YOU. Please, please comment below your favorite things about the blog or some things you hope to see for next year! Some of my biggest supporters at college this year!
“Always smile” is something that is engraved on a ring I wear every day and the words of this amazing girl and foundation I discovered. A few months ago, I watched a movie called Kiss and Cry on Netflix and learned an inspirational story about a girl named Carley. Carley was a young adult who bravely fought cancer and passed away in 2015. Her story of how she smiled and showed her positivity left an amazing impact for people not only then, but now.
After watching this movie and losing a few tears (I rarely cry with movies!), I wanted to dedicate a day to Carley and her reminder to “always smile.” On day 5, I will run for Carley and will share more about what her story has done for me. I was so excited to be able to get in contact with someone within the foundation and not only learn about her experience through it but share what I am doing as well. They decided to post about my journey on their blog and I am so excited to share them with you. Through the post, I was able to talk to a friend of Carley’s who reached out and learn more about her impact on others and it is truly amazing. Please check out this wonderful foundation and read my blog, “49 Days on Foot” with the button below! You can also get an “always smile” ring or maybe something else you like to support them!! Thank you, Carley’s Angels Foundation, for giving me the opportunity to learn from Carley and for sharing her story so others can see the strong fight she fought. |
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