5 ways to slow down in college

College is crazy. Take it from someone who has been there. Is there. Admittedly, I’m a senior so this is to be expected, but lately, it has been crazier than crazy. I’m someone who easily gets stressed and I’m pretty sure I don’t deal well with pressure, so right now, I’m feeling way under the weather. Hence this overly delayed post.

I’ve mentioned this a couple of times in my previous posts – I feel like time is passing waaayy too fast. I can’t even comprehend where it’s going. Like one day, it’s Monday, and the next Friday. Seriously, where is all the time going?

To add to the pressure, I have no idea what I’m going to be doing come September. Again, this is inevitable for many college seniors so I know I’m not alone, but sometimes the unplanned future seems like a heavy wet blanket that keeps getting heavier and heavier. In short, I’m not having the best time of my life right now and day in day out, it seems to be worsening.

So by writing this post, I’m hoping to be able to release some of that tension and focus on the next five things for at least the next couple of months.

Five ways to slow down and relax in college:

Perfectionism – Why it’s good for us

I am pretty sure there are a myriad of articles out there going on and on about the negative effects of perfectionism, and for the most part, they might be right. After all, the pursuit of perfection is an endless process and it usually doesn’t bear sweet fruit. But perfectionism is also a powerful motivating source that can push us to break past our self-imposed limitations.

I wasn’t always a perfectionist. And in some areas of life, I’m still not. But sometime within the last 5 years, I became pretty obsessed with perfection. In certain areas of life, I wanted things to be absolutely perfect. Flawless.

At times it really did feel like I was pushing myself to the edge, but before I got to that edge, I discovered something. I can do a lot more than I initially thought I could. I surprised myself by breaking past invisible barriers and doing things I didn’t believe I was capable of, and that was one of the best realizations ever. So yes, while perfectionism might make us feel miserable at times, when utilized correctly, it can also be the single biggest determining factor behind giving it our very best.

Here are three reasons why perfectionism is good for us.

Favorite links of January

A little inspiration for today, wherever you are~

I can’t believe it’s February already! I still occasionally end up with’2015′ whenever I’m writing down dates. Time really is moving way too fast. Sometimes I really wish it’d slow down, but like I’ve mentioned in my previous posts, perhaps the beauty of time is that it doesn’t discriminate against any of us.

Anyway, since it’s the beginning of a new month, I thought I’ll dedicate a post to all the great blog posts and articles I read last month. I’m planning to make this a monthly series, but right now, I’m not sure how that’ll go.

I first read a ‘links I loved’ post at Positively Present, which in itself is a great blog filled with everything positive. And then over the past few months, I’ve discovered many great bloggers who do this as well. I really like the idea of such blog posts because for one, it helps me keep track of all the amazing articles/posts I’ve read, which lets me revisit them easily whenever I feel like I need to. And then it’s also because I have discovered so many great blogs through similar posts written by other bloggers, that I couldn’t help but provide links to the ones I loved as well, so you guys can read them too.

Personal Goals for 2016

Personal goals are something I’ve been making for a while now. Honestly, I’m not sure if I have ever managed to achieve all my personal goals in a year, but nevertheless, it always feels good to make them. Perhaps there’s something nice attached to them, like say, hope. Cheesy as it sounds. It feels good to know that you are working towards something and that the end result will be good regardless of the process.

This year, as part of the BeBold2016 linkup, I’m going to be sharing my personal goals, which is a first because in the past few years, I’ve been making looooong lists of them in my journal, never visible to anyone but myself. I’m no fortune teller and I don’t know, or maybe I do have a vague idea, of how hectic this year will be (very!), but I hope these would remind me of where my focus should be every time I begin to lose perspective.
So here are my personal goals for 2016:

1. Go minimalist
I’m pretty sure if my sisters heard me say this one more time, they would try to shoot me. I’ve been talking about this for the past few months, and while I’ve definitely made progress (haven’t shopped in a while ;)), I don’t think I’m quite there yet. This year, I hope to make minimalism a huge part of my life. I want to implement this in all aspects of my life, not just in how much I purchase, but in what I eat, how I live, etc. I want to focus on creating instead of consuming (there’s a wonderful article on this that I’ll provide a link to soon). I want to spend more time being rather than having. I want less clutter – mental, physical, and digital. Basically, I want to live more simply, creatively, and meaningfully.

Mind, Body, & Soul – Health goals for 2016

It’s getting really cold here.. And it’s finally beginning to feel like winter. Here in Hong Kong, winter is slowly getting shorter and shorter each year. So it feels good to be so cold (weird?) although I’m not actually a huge fan of cold weather.

One of the best parts of this season is drinking lots of delicious hot drinks. I love the smell of hot chocolate, milk tea, coffee, … the list goes on. Of course, being a huge fan of sugar that I am, most of my hot drinks end up being unhealthy. And since today is the week to focus on health goals of the #BeBold2016 linkup, what better time than now to rid myself of unhealthy habits once and for all? Okay, I’m kidding. I’m not giving up hot chocolate. Or over-sweetened tea. Or sugar. But I am going to really start focusing on my health. It’s about time.

Blogging goals for 2016 – #BeBold2016

And we’re on to the second Friday of the #BeBold2016 Link-up! I’m really stoked to share my blogging goals today, because as it happens, this is my first time making blogging goals. I started my blog last month after thinking about launching it for God knows how long, and now that it has finally come alive (okay, maybe I’m getting carried away here…), I cannot wait to plan ahead for it.

This Link-up is the perfect push I needed to start thinking ahead for my little online venture. My word of the year is ‘Being’, and in relation to that, here are my blogging goals for 2016:

Word of the Year for 2016

Happy new year everyone! It’s another new start to another year. There’s this quote that I really love which fits so perfectly with the whole ‘new year’ theme. It goes like:

“And suddenly you know it’s time to start something new & trust the magic of new beginnings.”

I love the way it makes me feel all excited about the start of something new and the possibilities that come along with it. This year, I’ve been thinking about a new ‘word’ to guide me in 2016. Don’t get me wrong, I love making new year resolutions and I attempt to follow through them every year, but if I’m being completely honest, I usually don’t succeed (really have to work on that this year).

I first read about the concept of word of the year a couple of years ago from seventeen magazine and really liked it, but never really got round to choosing a word as my focus for the year. This year, however, I have chosen a word and will hopefully stick to it. All thanks to the amazing hosts of the #BeBold2016 link up!

My word of the year for 2016 is ‘being’.

2015 in Review

And we’ve reached the end of yet another year. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by how fast time is passing, but then I remind myself that that makes it even more pertinent to really live in every moment. To breathe, exist, and observe everything around me because life itself is a fleeting moment.

There is something so beautiful and tragic about year-ends, as oxymoronic as that sounds. It feels like saying good-bye to a friend who has shared so many memories with you, while at the same time welcoming another one who will share even more beautiful memories with you. Because with each passing year, we learn more, experience more, and grow more. 2015 has come to an end, but here’s to hoping that 2016 would be an even better friend.

Toward the end of each year, I write a post in my journal titled “Year in Review”. This year, I decided to write it on my blog as an end-of-year post because the timing is just so right.

2015 in Review:

21 Lessons I’ve Learned in 21 Years

I turned 21 a couple of weeks ago so this post is a little past due, but I felt like writing it anyway as this year, like all the others behind it, is coming to an end. There is something really nice about an year ending, as sad as it might be to let it go (especially if it was wonderful). I love the smell of new beginnings, a chance to start all over again. Not that we need to wait for new years for fresh beginnings, but regardless, a new year brings with it a clean slate, like an empty sketchbook waiting to be filled in. So before this year ends, here’s a list of 21 life lessons I learned in 21 years.

5 things to do to cheer yourself up on a bad day

Bad days are an inevitability of life. No matter how hard we try, we just can’t escape them, and I’m pretty sure many of us have definitely tried very hard. But somehow, they still pay us a visit every now and then. Totally uninvited.

I know there are countless articles all over the internet stating the necessity of bad days in order to truly enjoy the good ones, but we still hope that they would visit less often. Hopefully once in a very long while. The sad reality, though, is that they are too attached to us to leave us alone for too long.

As a college senior, I often feel overwhelmed looking at my endlessly long to-do lists, and on bad days, those lists feel a lot longer than they are, further adding to my misery. But here’s what we fail to realize on bad days: life goes on.