Find your inner confidence

Confidence is essential if you want to be happy and healthy. Confidence helps you meet new people, be yourself, and stick up for what you believe. A lot of people, including myself don't have very much confidence. This effects my confidence when i speak to people and when I'm around people I may not know very well. The feeling that you get when you are insecure and you are around people you don't know is a horrible feeling, take it from me. Luckily, confidence issues can be improved. You can read self-love and self-help books. These will help you get started and give you tips on what to do. You also NEED to stop being so hard on yourself. You are beautiful and no one in this world is just like you. Everyone is special and significant and you must tell yourself that everyday throughout the day. If you tell yourself positive things about yourself over and over again, eventually it will stick. When you love yourself, you will be surprised how much more confident you are. You can also exercise, this helps you to feel good and opens up your mind. You feel good and less stressed after you're done. You only have one life and it is this life. So enjoy yourself, love yourself, and be comfortable in your skin. You will never get these years back and spending them shy and nervous is not the way i want to live my life. So Im taking steps to a more confident me. I hope you are too!

heart break

I have recently gotten my heart broken. This is probably one of the hardest things I have ever been through. A three and a half year relationship brought to an end. You miss that comfort and you miss the feeling you got when you were together. I have my good days and I have my bad days. Something that really helps me is that I am nineteen years old and I have so much life ahead of me. I have so much I want to do and so much I want to see. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. So who knows maybe this tough time is just something i have to go through to finally be on the path i was meant to be. Maybe I will end up with him again when we are more mature and know exactly what we want. Anything could happen and I have to teach myself to be patient. I've always been so impatient and I want to know everything right now, but that's not always possible and I need to find myself and love myself before I can share that love with someone else. I understand why it had to happen, but it doesn't make all the hurt disappear. I miss him every day and I hope one day we are both happy whether that is with each other or with someone else. I shared a lot of memories with that kid and I will never regret them. He will always be one of my best friends, even if it has to be different now. So for anyone who is going through something like this, I'm sorry and I know it is hard, but things do happen for a reason and everything gets better with time. Trust, me it may not feel like it now, but soon enough you'll get a glimpse of why this happened to you.

Read a ton of books!

I know what you're thinking, read books? What does that have to do with anything and how on earth could I find the time to read when I hardly have time to sleep? Well make time! Reading is a great way to open your mind and find a sort of peace within yourself. Read anything and everything! Read about different religions and cultures. Read fiction books and books that make you think. Exercise is amazing, not only for your body, but for you mind! Reading helps your mind grow and also by reading certain things, you can open your mind to a place you never thought was possible for you. I used to hate reading, it took up so much time and I eventually would quit reading a book when i was only half way done because I let myself think that other things were more Important, like napping. Learning about different things is fun and it also brings out a new sense of confidence in yourself. Join a book club and you will be able to talk about the books and what you thought about them with other people just like yourself. Its fun being able to have similar interests and thoroughly talk things out with other people. It could also help your understanding of what you read. Reading and learning from what you read makes you feel powerful and it's definitely an amazing feeling. I personally love fiction stories, Buddhism books, and self-love books. Find out what you love and also find out what you may not love as much. Its okay to read something and not really like it, its about growing and finding yourself, but its always beneficial to keep an open mind to anything and everything out there.

Get a Hobby

Keep yourself busy! Of course every now and then its good for you to take a break and rest, but it's not healthy to make a routine of it. Find something you are really interested in and have fun with it! You could get into scrapbooking, photography, painting, running, really anything that makes you happy. It definitely depends on your personality. For example, I love soccer and hiking. I play soccer almost every day and hike all the time when the weather is good enough. Having a hobby keeps you busy and keeps your mind alert when you have some down time. It also brings out your creative side and is a reward after working or going to school all day. It's good to reward yourself with a little time to yourself, doing something that makes you the most happy. Hobbies relieve stress and honestly keep you sane! So try it, what could it hurt? Time to do what you actually want to do doesn't sound so bad does it? I know when I play soccer, its like my life's problems just melt away and I don't think about what i have to do for school or all the laundry I have to do. Its a time for me to enjoy myself and enjoy life all together! Hobbies are kind of like taking a step back and taking a deep breathe, so you won't be so irritable and moody. So pick a hobby, anything that you enjoy and go with it! I promise you won't regret it.

Seasonal Depression?

Does anyone else think they have seasonal depression? I really think that I am a victim to this. I hate being cold, so when winter rolls around, I have NO motivation to do anything, but cuddle in my bed wrapped up with several blankets. When summer finally comes, I instantly feel happier and I want to work out and I want to go on hikes and I want to interact with people. It's an amazing feeling that I wish I had all year. To help with seasonal depression, you have to know it is all in your mind. When you can control your mind, you can control how you think and feel all the time. I haven't yet mastered how to control my mind, but I have been making baby steps to eventually get to that point. If you can continue to focus on good thoughts and positive attitudes, eventually it will come naturally and you can be happy even in the coldest months of winer. When you let yourself be negative and lazy, you are telling your mind that its okay, when it actually isn't. So every day think to yourself positive thoughts and after you do that long enough, those good thoughts will push out the negative thoughts in your mind. It can change your life. I've read many books on how this can be very effective and its a proven fact that it will work if you put in a little extra effort. I mean it isn't like working out or doing something exhausting, all you have to do is think and think happy thoughts. See? It doesn't sound very hard and you can do it anywhere you go. Im going to keep training my mind until I have full control over my thoughts and feelings, I suggest you do the same!

Friends are Key

Friends and family are a key part to a happy and healthy lifestyle. Especially when you are younger, having a significant other is nice, but its not whats important. Friends are there for you to be yourself and they help you grow as a person. You get to be the individual that you are meant to be and they accept you for who you are. Being in a relationship when your young can hurt the person that you are growing into because you still don't know your purpose in the world or what you want to do. You need to go through this journey alone, without someone making decisions for you. Being able to make decisions for yourself and do things that you are interested in, shape who you are and what you will do career wise. Friends are there for you throughout the whole journey, but they don't criticize or critique the way you do things. They build you up when you are down and make you laugh when you are sad. Friends keep life fun and interesting and I know I wouldn't trade my friends for anything in this world. Its not the amount of friends you have, having a lot of friends isn't ideal. It's about having those one or two friends that know exactly who you are and appreciate you. It's about having those one or two friends that you can trust with your life and the ones who would never deceive you. Those friends who you can joke around with, but still have serious conversations that you wouldn't be comfortable talking about with anyone else. Good friends are much needed throughout your whole life and without them life would be almost too hard to handle.

Get Motivated!

Getting motivated is easier said than done, but once you get it nothing can bring you down. I would know, I mean I am in college and there are a lot of times where school takes over and after classes I don't want to do anything, but sleep. Those days when I give into the comfort of my bed are the worst days and I always regret it. Laying in bed all day sounds nice but it does something negative to your body and your mind. You get used to it and before you know it, you won't have motivation to do anything that was once important to you. I say go out and take a walk or a hike, the weather is starting to get nice and just that makes your mood a hundred times better! When you are motivated, you have a routine and having a routine is very healthy for your body and your soul. I have been slacking a little with this, i'm not going to lie. School has a large impact on everyone's lives. Now that it is getting nice out, there is such a bigger incentive to go outside and interact with friends and family. Summer is almost here and I can't wait to get back into working out and relaxing with my family. That is a little motivation for me to get through these last weeks of school. Getting motivated when you haven't been in a while seems nearly impossible, but once you set your mind to it, its definitely possible. Believe in yourself and get your mind right! Good things will follow.