Letter To My 2018 Self

Dear Caroline,

It’s crunch time. I know you always get your tasks done, but there could be some speed bumps ahead. Don’t let anyone pull you away from your passions. No one else can tell you if your ambitions are wrong. If people have something to say, ignore them.

You have one semester left of school. This semester is about enjoying yourself, learning, and having fun. Think of how well you’ve done the past three years. There were moments when things got tough with your first major, but that helped you find your passion – the environment. There were moments of betrayal, but you learned to let those people go. You made new friends and strengthened old friendships. No matter the up or down, you came out the other side a better person.

Don’t put so much pressure on yourself this year. 2018 is about loving others, yourself, and the world around you. It’s okay say no sometimes (please remember that). Take time to be with yourself, but also spend quality time with friends. Don’t compare yourself to people on social media. Keep your New Years resolution in the front of your mind. There will be some hard weeks of classes, but they’ll pass. Some friends might let you down, but people make mistakes, just like you. Don’t hold onto hard feelings – it isn’t worth the effort.

You will crush this year. Learn from last year’s mistakes and use them to your advantage.

Enjoy every minute you have left of college. Work hard towards an internship or job opportunity. Continue your journal entries. Eat well. Get enough sleep. Take more walks. Meditate more. Blog more. Call your family often. Take lots of photos. Explore new places. Don’t hold back. Everything should fall into place.  You know you can do it.

Read this letter throughout the New Year to remind yourself of how determined you were at the beginning of January to kick 2018’s butt.

Have a great year.

Stay rad,

Caroline Abigail

Fall Back But Don’t Fall Behind!

As you all know, we recently turned our clocks back one hour. In the past, I would fully embrace the extra hour of sleep and start my day later. I’ve read many articles that claim Daylight Savings Time (DST), either gaining or losing an hour, can reduce your wellness, which will impact your day-to-day activities. I decided that I wasn’t going to let this fall back affect me. This year, I decided to adjust my sleeping schedule and use this early morning energy to my advantage.

Waking up to the sunlight in my face is my main motivator. My bed is next to my window and I leave my blinds open slightly to let the rays pour in at 6:30am. I set my alarm for 6:45 am, snooze it once or twice, and then I’m ready to get up out of bed by 7:15 am. My roommate and I have been motivating one another to stick to this routine so we can get a head start on our day. Waking up early also means that I’ve been trying to go to bed earlier too, which has been a bit more difficult with homework and other life obstacles, but I’m trying!

So far it has felt really good taking advantage of the early sunrises and the early sunsets. It’s even more helpful when I can start getting work done earlier so I can then focus on my exam week coming up. It’s has been a rewarding trade-off.

How have you been feeling with DST?

Thanks for reading!

Stay rad,

Caroline Abigail

Check-In : A Day at College!

Here I am, back at college! It’s my senior year and I can already tell it will be a lot of work. From past blog posts, you may know I’m an Environmental Conservation major. The classes about the environment are the coolest and most interesting ones I’ve ever taken. What you might not know is that I’m working towards my Math minor and those classes are a different story. Math has always been one of my favorite subjects but as the years go on, the classes get harder, and the more time I have to spend on the material. I can’t complain, but it definitely has already taken its toll on my free time. I just have to remind myself to work hard and stay focused; it will all be worth it in the end.

Setting Goals & Sticking To Them!

This summer flew by and senior year is only a few weeks away! As I spend more and more time thinking about how exciting and sentimental this next year will be, I’ve been trying to set goals for myself. I want to make sure I create a positive atmosphere for myself and everyone I spend my time with!

Destination : Yosemite!

This past week I traveled to California with my best friend and her family! We went to Yosemite National Park from the 21st to the 26th. I wanted to share a collection of photos to show what we did each day. The photos don’t properly show how beautiful Yosemite was in person, but get ready, I have lots to share! Make sure you click the photos to get the full view!

Stressed? Here’s What To Do

The days where I’m not feeling myself have been consuming me the past month. I always try to stay focused on the positive, but sometimes I get easily overwhelmed. The stress can be caused by the smallest thing, which can be the most frustrating part. It can be triggered when I think about money, school, work, or anything in between. The stress doesn’t last all day, but it’s exhausting. During moments like these, I tend to stay in my own personal bubble to prevent involving others into my personal stress. It really bothers me when I get this way because that’s not how I truly feel. I would never want to project my stress onto other people. It has taken a lot of practice (and I’m still learning) to find ways to control my stress. This week, I wanted to share a few tips that I’ve been trying to use to ease my stress.

February 26th

A year ago on February 26th, I woke up and purchased The 1975’s sophomore album, “I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It.” I had a full day of classes but yet I was more than excited to hear what this album was going to sound like.

Confliction

Sitting down to write has been a real challenge this week. I have been waking up inspired and motivated but by mid day, all I want to do is shut off my phone and lay in bed. I catch myself feeling overwhelmed at tasks that aren’t even that hard. I start at a peak of high energy and then end with a tired, cluttered brain. Days like these frustrate me to no end. I can’t even pinpoint a reason to why I feel this way. I know I’m capable of achieving much more that accepting mental defeat.