Youthful Life: X

" Happiness doesn't depend on any external conditions, it is governed by our mental attitude." Dale Carnegie I'm learning how to be happy . I have seen it depicted in so many ways, but all of those never seemed to quite be the right fit for me. People all around me seem happy - seem being the operative word there - but I know happiness can oftentimes be a rarity, or at least a fleeting feeling. Is it supposed to last or be sustained? Is happiness a normal state of being? I don't really know yet. I have found happiness to be a soft smile or a smirk. Happiness for me is a deep breath in that fills my lungs followed by a big exhale. It's being in awe of the world around me for this moment of existential surrealism. It feels like warmth - like wafting aroma of freshly baked bread, the fizz of ginger ale leaping over ice cubes, a gentle breeze billowing through leaves, and the two-tone notes of starting a Netflix binge. Happiness to me is not necessarily ...

"A friend is one who knows you and love you just the same." Elbert Hubbard Our ability to recall some version of our most devastating life moments is one of the hallmarks of the human experience. The speed with which I can be transported back to all the awkwardness, embarrassment, and rejection is uncanny. I always feel like I have moved past things that have long happened, and yet all it takes is a reminder from someone in the present. I have come to realize that much of my life has been dictated by this incessant need to be perfect, to show up perfectly, to be perfect for other people. Even in my friendships perfectionism has reared its ugly head. I feel like I have to win. I have to be the best - friend who ever did live. I have to be amazing - to go above and beyond. I have to be everything, and good at it all. Why do I still feel like I am constantly trying to prove my worth to my friends? Why do I see myself still as the awkward social outcast that didn't qui...

The 20s are all about challenging yourself. Experience can go a long way. There are some things you don't need to try to know that you won't like them while there are others you could do to dabble with before writing them off. College is all about experimentation. All those alleged "phases" and "benders" people go on come with good reason, simply that it's time to decide for yourself what you want to include in your life. It's good to push yourself outside your comfort zone every once in while to remind yourself you're alive. Play it self and you might just end up stranded in a cabin in the woods (figuratively and literally). Serving as a peer advisor for the bridge program I'm taking part in has definitely been a formative experience for me. The students are may share some similar identities but how they exemplify them speaks volumes about how we are intersections of not only the identities we hold but our experiences. They are such indi...

The 20s are all about choosing your attitude. There's nothing more powerful than you deciding that you want something or that you're going to make something happen. We're a generation of stubborn ass game-changers. When we commit to something, we see it all the way through and go above and beyond what is asked of us. It's unreal the kinds of things we're capable of when we set our minds to it. We were raised by a generation of dreamers that changed the world (and effectively repopulated it) and it's just about our time. The best thing the baby boomers gave us (other than the benefits of contraception #toomuchshade - *sidenote, newborn babies are literally my favorite so I have no idea why I'm flaming my parents' generation so hard) was the encouragement to chase our dreams and the gumption to achieve them. It's time to make good on that gift and get brand new.   *S/O to 5SOS because they're debut album is perfect, shows range, and finally brok...