Okay. So the school year ended. And we're more than half way through 2023. When did that happen again?
Hiii y'all!!! It's been a while hasn't it? Sorry we haven't spoken for so long but stuff got STRESSFULLL during exams so I decided that I'd take a break from writing on here so I didn't seem, well...crazy.
But anyway, it's summer now, I'm listening to Speak Now Taylor's Version (HOW AMAZING IS IT BY THE WAY LIKE AHHHHHH) as I write this, I just got back from Greece last night; in other words, life is good. And I just realized that it's Monday and not Saturday, which is when I usually post, but like, I didn't bring my laptop to Greece and I slept the whole plane ride sooo.... sue me for posting two days late on my own blog. But I am so happy to be writing on the here again oh my days, I have missed it so much and completely forgot how incredible it feels to just let loose and write.
So, with all of those pleasantries aside, time to get down to it. I have decided that I would take advantage of this summer and work on myself, which means you guys are gonna get a lot more posts from me fingers crossed, and I was watching this video by Caroline Winkler on YouTube titled 'How to have a summer before it's over.' (linked below)
And after watching this video, my mind was just like, "I have let so many summers pass me by and I have done nothing but sleep and watch TV."
Which honestly isn't that bad but I've never taken full advantage of summer. And that felt to me like such a waste of basically two months with no responsibilities that I could have used to better myself. So this post is basically to show others who want to improve themselves over summer what they can do to achieve that.
GET A JOURNAL BABESSSS
I cannot stress enough how much journaling and planning can help. Okay, I might just be speaking for myself when I say that planning everyday gives me so much motivation to do everything I put on that little grid of hours. Plus...highlighting all of the tasks or ticking them off on that little to-do list just makes me feel like such a boss; like literally it gives me such a hit of serotonin.
And when I say "get a journal" I'm not necessarily saying "Spend 10 bucks on something from Typo" (my fave stationary store if anyone wants to know) or "Spend 30 dollars on The 5-Minute Journal (which is actually worth the money if you are willing to invest in it)." I'm saying, find a way to note down your thoughts on anything. It could literally be a beat-up old notebook from 5th grade with a squishy, bright pink heart on it and a little heart shaped lock binding both covers together. It could even be a post-it note if you're not really one to spend ages journaling. ANYTHING. Then, we're onto the next step.
Journaling 101
Alright, here is how to journal, for everyone who cannot for the life of them sit down and just write about their life. In the morning just write 3 things you're grateful for, 3 things you're looking forward to in the day, 3 things that would make your day great, and an affirmation or a bit of self love. Then, at night, write 3 things that happened that day that made the day nice, and what you believe you could have done to make the day better. That easy.
Then if you're willing to write more, you basically pretend to write a letter to a friend and tell them all about your day; I can't relate because most of the time I take the above path to journaling (I'm a post-it note girly) but I've done some research on famous diaries to make it up to you.
So there's one where someone preserved a memory of their younger self in a diary, then lost all their power because of a one-year-old whose mother sacrificed her life for her son, then possessed an eleven-year-old redheaded girl years after losing power and made her strangle a few chickens, write threatening messages on the wall in the chicken blood then open a secret chamber in her school that was occupied by a gigantic poisonous serpent whose fang happened to destroy the diary in which he preserved a part of his soul in, therefore killing a bit of him. I'm talking about Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets obviously, which I reread yesterday on the plane, and Tom Riddle's diary.
But apart from that, we've all heard about Anne Frank's famous diary, even if we haven't read it. So I thought I'd give you some fun facts about this infamous diary.
(HISTORY TIME!!!!) Okay so the Franks were hidden from German Police during the war by a woman called Miep Gies, and though Otto Frank (Anne's father and the only member of the Frank family who survived the concentration camps) transcribed her diary and sold it, he would have never known about it if Miep hadn't read the diary and given it to Otto and we would have never had this book published. Godzijdank voor Miep! As well as this, in 1983 in a school in Alabama, Anne's diary was nearly banned from their library because it was a "real downer."Which, to be honest, some chapters are. And one that I find particularly funny is that the police officer who captured Anne Frank purchased her book after the war to see if he was featured in it! And this isn't really a fact about the diary but about Anne, if Martin Luther King Jr. and Anne were still alive today, they'd be the same age! Which completely messed up my perception of time so...you're welcome for that.
Then other famous journals include Sylvia Plath's Journals. But because her journal is kind of depressing to talk about, yet again, I'll tell you some facts about Plath. When she was 12, she took an IQ test on which she scored around 160, which is genius-level intelligence. So this woman was incredibly intelligent, needless to say. As well as this, Plath's literary career started before she reached double digits; When she was 8, she submitted a poem to the Boston Herald titled, 'Poem' and it ran in the Sunday paper on August 10th 1941. And Sylvia Plath's father was also named Otto.
Exercise is key
And it doesn't even have to be strenuous exercises (I'm talking about those 40 minute abs videos that we all tried) it can be walking, yoga, Pilates, swimming in the ocean, walking to Starbucks to spend seven dollars on an iced matcha latte with oat milk that you could have technically made at home but you didn't because you just love the little cold cups and the way you feel so aesthetic when you walk down the street with that lil' cup in the street, and yes I am calling myself out if you didn't know already. But yeah, exercise could literally be anything, and it's not just to have a "bikini body." WHICH BY THE WAY. I WOULD LIKE TO TALK ABOUT. Babes. Nuhuh. Alright, if you can say yes to both of these questions; you have a bikini/swimsuit body.
Do you have a bikini/swimsuit?
Do you have a body?
THEN. YOU. HAVE. A. BIKINI. BODY. PERIODT.
Self-care>>>>>>
Alright so self-care does not have to cost you so much. You hear me? I will give you examples of simple ways you can romanticize your life in ways that you won't break the bank.
Home-made face masks: there are literally so many that can do wonders for your skin and plus, they're pretty cheap to make. Here are some from ELLE magazine to get you started.
Romanticize bath-time: Light some candles, turn the lights off in the bathroom and read a book in the bath and if you wanna be really bougie, add some rose petals or bath salts/light a candle, turn the lights off in the bathroom, put a podcast on and take a nice hot shower (or a cold shower if you're into that vibe)
Watch your favorite childhood movie or show: I'm talking Disney, I'm talking Pixar, I'm talking go on Netflix and watch Puffin Rock or on Prime and watch Bluey. It invokes such a feeling of nostalgia that feels so good. Like, I watched Ratatouille a while ago and I felt so happy.
Take a breath and relax
And I know I've been going on and on about how you should do something during your summer and do something and not be lazy but also, like, it's summer holidays. You need to relax about this stuff; yeah you can revise for the next school year or work, but also, you need to relax. Summer is the time to rejuvenate and sleep and catch up on all these things. Spend time with your family, sleep in, make yourself a delicious breakfast, do things which will help you take care of yourself and go back to school ready to absolutely smash the year ahead of you.
That's all for this time loves, see you next time.
-thestudentblogger
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