improving a little

I don’t blog enough. There. I said it. It’s the sad real truth. I love writing even though I’m not that great at it, but there’s that 10,000 hours rule that says if you do something for over 10,000 hours then there’s a high chance that you’ll become good at it. And I want to become good at writing. So in order to do that, I have to write.

And here we are. Here I am…. writing.

I’m challenging myself to write at least one post everyday for the rest of time. It’s something I really want to do, and I’m pretty good at following through with things if I want to do them enough. Some of these posts might be sappy some sad some weird some boring some short some extremely long. I’m not sure, but I want to write more so I’m going to. 

For today’s post I want to share a little detail of my day. 

I had my photography class this morning and we did the first round of critiques for the first draft of our first project. A lot of firsts if you didn’t pick that up. That being said, I didn’t really know what to expect from the feedback or from other people’s projects. I was pretty confident going into the critique but I left feeling pretty defeated. My project was essentially eaten alive in the most respectful way possible. I’ll share the photos below, but what I got out of this critique today is that it’s important to be beaten up. Maybe not physically (definitely not physically), but it’s important to feel destructible, to feel like you're at the bottom, to feel eaten alive. These feelings should push you to move upwards. It’s also important to know that your bottom, your worst possible situation might not be someone else’s. In fact, your worst case scenario might be someone else’s best efforts yet. You have no where else to go but up and that’s amazing. Sure, I felt defeated after class, but I thought about people’s comments and now I’m inspired to create something better, something people will have nothing but great things to say about. And even if other people don’t like it, because they most likely won’t, I’ll have improved my work just a little. 

That little improvement is what we should all strive for in every aspect of our lives. 

So let’s all improve a little together.

Thanks for reading.
xox
Chloe 

My Gals

I can’t put my finger on the reason why, but lately my friends and I have been very sentimental. I think as our junior year of college is winding down and we’re gearing up for senior year, we realize how fast our time together has flown by. 

We all met through college, none of us knew each other before and I think that’s one of the reasons why we truly treasure our friendships with each other. My friend group is small, strong, and very familial. We treat each other like sisters. We love each other endlessly, we bicker often, and we ALWAYS have each other’s backs. 

I was talking with one of my best friends the other day about how much we love our friend group. We were saying how, since we all live together, we’ve come to be more than friends. We’re family. And I know that sounds extremely cheesy, but there’s something special about living in a house with five of your best friends. You learn more about yourself than you ever thought possible, and therefore learn about each other, so much so that we might know each other better than we know ourselves. 

It’s a weird dynamic. I love my friends more than I think possible. We each have our strengths, our weaknesses, and our priorities, but somehow we mesh flawlessly (even on the days we all seem to be fighting). There are the ones of us who chat about anything, always. There are the ones of us that are the silent glue that keep the peace between us. There are the ones of us that can always light up the room when others are down. We’re just, well, us. 

I know I have another year with these gals, but honestly, I want more. The first three years of college have flown by, and I can’t even imagine how fast this next year is going to go. 

Here’s the best friends. Here’s to college memories. Here’s to the future.

Live in the Moment

I think sometimes, we go through life living for the future. In middle school all we want is to be in high school. In high school all we want is the freedom of college. In college we just want to live a life without homework and studying. It’s this dreaming of the future that keeps us from living our best in the moment. 

Sure, I’m guilty of laying in bed waiting for time to pass. I’m guilty of not enjoying the moment because all I can do is dream about how great the next hour or tomorrow or the next day is going to be. But, I’m challenging myself to enjoy every little second and every little moment. For example, last night I was walking to meet a friend. Usually, on my walk all I do is think about how excited I am to get to my destination and see my friend. But this time I changed my mindset. I enjoyed my walk through campus. I took in all the buildings, the people, the stars in the sky. It was one of the best walks I’ve ever been on. It allowed me to feel more peaceful, more content, and more inspired by the moment. 

So next time you find yourself wishing away the present because you’re so involved in focusing on the future I challenge you to pause. Pause your thoughts and become content with the moment. Breathe. Think. Be Mindful.

Be Adventurous

What was your New Years resolution this past year?

Mine was to be more adventurous. To do more things that make me second guess. To do more things that push me outside my comfy little circle of safety. I want to be more spontaneous. To not make goals for tomorrow, but instead make accomplishments for today. 

I want to get out there and do things. 

And you know what? This past weekend I did just that. I have lived in Colorado for about three years and have so many things that I want to do here. I have a little bucket list for Colorado itself and hope to accomplish just half of it during my time during college.

I have always seen photos of the Sand Dunes and I have always wanted to go, but it’s kind of far, out of the way, and inconvenient to get to. 

This past weekend I stopped saying I want to go to the Sand Dunes and actually made it there. 

It was seriously one of the most amazing experiences. Two friends and I woke up at 4 in the morning and made it to the dunes. We spent a few hours just taking in the beauty and feeling alive. We all had things (aka homework) we needed to get done but getting out of our little college bubble and experiencing life made me realize how sometimes homework can be forgotten (like really really forgotten) and life can be enjoyed. 

We were out in the sun and sand for a few hours and we were all a little nervous of getting sun burnt so we made sure to pack my Hawaiian Tropic® Silk Hydration® Weightless Face Lotion  so that we’d all stay hydrated and protected. Seriously, if you’re in the market for a new sunscreen you have try Hawaiian Tropic® Silk Hydration® Weightless Face Lotion . It literally has Shea Butter in the formula so it leaves you feeling hydrated and pampered — and we all know other sunscreens leave you feeling the opposite. You can find it in mass grocery and drug retailers and also online! 

So next time you feel like you’re in a slump of responsibilities and repetitiveness get out there and do something. I know for a fact that you all have something that you’ve been dying to do — whether it be something as small as trying a new restaurant or exploring your state — GO FOR IT. 

I’m sharing Hawaiian Tropic in my life as part of a sponsored series for Socialstars™
Thanks for reading! 
xox
chloe

FAILING

Let’s talk about failure. 

FAILURE.

The word kind of makes my heart beat faster, my palms clammy, and my head feel a little fuzzy. It’s not something I enjoy talking about, let alone feeling.

I hate failing. I mean it’s not like I know anyone who actually enjoys failing, but it’s the worst feeling in the world. And the weird thing is that everyone’s definition of failure is a little different. 

I just failed a test. Like failed failed. The second I got out of my class I ran to the nearest empty place on campus, called my mom, and cried. I didn’t even know I needed to cry but the second I told my mom I failed I just lost it. 

photo scan taken by my amazing amazing amazing mom 

And you know what she said? She said life goes on. She told me that there are ups and downs and everything in between. She said that currently, I’m having a down but it’s not the end of the world. Life. Goes. On. 

I might have to drop the class but I’m not a failure. One test, one class, one semester doesn’t define who I am as a person. I still have so many gains in front of me — maybe failures too, but those only make the good things seem even better.  

So if you’re ever feeling down or like you’re a failure, know that you’re not. It might seem terrible and irreversible in the moment, but even a day later life can seem so much better. You are amazing, and your grades don’t and shouldn’t determine your self worth.

Thanks for reading! 
xox
chloe

false facade

I was talking with my friend the other day and we decided that we live in the peak of human existence.

We’re living in a time where the climate is changing, but it’s still livable.
We’re living in a time where education on any given topic is, quite literally, at our fingertips. 
We’re living in a time where people get along, peace is essentially widespread (for the most part). 

The human species is thriving, surviving, and grasping on. 

However, we live in a time of false facades. We edit our photos to perfection, from which these photos were hand selected from a batch of twenty “identical” ones. 

It’s easy to make a bad smoothie from a hole in the wall smoothie shop look like the most tropical, exquisite, delectable purchase. 

It’s easy to make a less than stellar day spent moping around in your pajamas thinking about how awful everything is look like a cute lazy day spent with your more than perfect and snuggly cat. 

Our social media accounts are higlight reels. The best of the best. The hand picked perfect pictures. 

I was pretty bored yesterday and decided to photoshop my face onto an overweight girl from the internet to depict my break just to send to my best friend. She thought it was hilarious so I posted it to my Facebook just for the heck of it. 

And you know what? It has more likes than my profile picture. I’m not saying likes are everything — they’re quite far from it, actually — but I thought it was interesting. I shared a relatable and funny picture and it was noticed because no one else really posts pictures that are less than perfect of themselves. 

Why? Because of the facade of perfection that has been mindlessly placed on our generation. Your life doesn’t have to LOOK perfect to FEEL perfect. Push yourself outside of your comfort zone and live for more than the perfect picture. FEEL happy don’t just LOOK happy. 

We might be living in the peak of existence, but maybe it just looks that way? 

Thanks for reading! 
xox
Chloe