Category: Misc.

Hey, guys – welcome back to TNTH.

As we hit these final days of Spring Break, it’s also the last post of TNTH until after the semester work is done and complete. It does suck, but I feel like once I get everything I need to get done for my classes, I’ll be able to completely focus on the blog as well as coming up with new content to talk about on days like this.

Lately, it’s been really hard for me to relax my thoughts and my mind when there’s a million and one things to be on top of. I currently use a bullet journal (which you can read about here) to help me organize the many things I have on my never-ending list of things to focus on in my mind. Even then it could be difficult to space out time for yourself when you really don’t have it, and I hate to break it to you and to myself even, it’s just going to get a lot more intense when we get older. It’s always good to know that you have to take necessary breaks to ease your mind and relax from completing that mental to-do list.

While it is important to relax your mind, we sometimes think that relaxing your mind means ignoring everything going on in your mind. I am guilty of this. Sometimes, we just have so much to worry about that we tend to drop everything and ignore everything we are feeling in order to “relax” and while it does help, it only does temporarily. As a result, not only are you choosing to ignore your mind, you are also choosing to ignore your mental health. Every time you feel severely anxious or overwhelmed and ignore it just so it could go away, the next time it will happen even worse than the last time. Take it from a person who’s had frequent anxiety attacks within the last couple of weeks.

No one should ignore their mind to the point where you’re ignoring your mental health. Taking breaks to wind down is one thing, but continuously ignoring your feelings and emotions and classifying it as “just some unwanted thoughts”, you’re not doing yourself a favor. The more you try to seclude your feelings and thoughts out of your mind in order to “make your day better”, you’re just making the next episode worse.

Personally, I deal with a lot of anxiety that I know is very silly and dramatic, but I sometimes tend to categorize major anxiety issues with those ridiculous ones. I tell myself that I’m being over the top and I just need to calm down and forget about it. That helps my minor anxiety, but when it comes to the things that need more fixing, I completely shut down and ignore it in hopes that I’ll just feel better afterward. My problem is by doing that is like bottling up emotions; once it explodes, everything comes out. I recently had an episode where everything came exploding out during an anxiety attack and after sleeping on it and resting my mind the proper way, I realize just how much I try to ignore thinking about.

In recap, it’s good to take a breather every now and then. Relax a bit so that you can come back stronger and more clear-minded. With mental health, it’s not so easy and shouldn’t be taken too lightly. Just because you ignored how you were feeling and drowned yourself in some Netflix shows and suddenly feel better, it doesn’t mean that the anxiety or the depression or the whatever you were experiencing is now all of a sudden gone. Accept the fact that you are going through more than just a stressful day. You are going through a time in your life that will eventually go away, and it’s time to be more aware of it.

I am speaking my experience and my awareness into existence. You should too.

-Liz. (:

Hey, guys – welcome back to TNTH!

I’m not one to classify myself as a reader. You will never find me sitting down and grabbing a book to read during my time-off; I literally have to force myself to even read my school books whenever I have to do so. When I do sit down and read a book (and mostly it’s for school), I find myself really enjoying the stories that were told and end up adding them to my (now growing) book collection. Today, I wanted to share at least five of the books that currently sit on my shelf, both old and new!

1.) Sweat by Lynn Nottage

One of the more recent additions to the collection is Lynn Nottage’s play, Sweat. Sweat takes place mainly in a bar in Reading, Pennsylvania and in this setting, people in the neighborhood (whom all work in the same factory) do there after work, talk, and grab a drink. The time period jumps back from 2000 and 2008; the former focuses on the issue that many of these people who work at the factory are losing their jobs due to the factory secretly hiring immigrants for lower pay while the company begins to transition into going overseas. Many of these characters depend on the money they make at the factory to survive, and after the issue causing tension within these group of people (and even between best friends), there’s no solution to what’s happened and the factory is gone by 2008. Many issues surround the fact that many of these workers were there for generations and that working at the factory is the only skill they have. So, when they’re forced out of their jobs and are simply clapped on the back and told to find new jobs, they are literally starting from scratch, and life waits for no one to make money. I learned a lot about the financial issues of America and even how the 2008 Economic Crisis came to be. I currently had to read this in one of my classes and I’m glad that we did!

2. ) A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

“STELLA!” Funny story about this play: During a Renaissance class I’m taking this semester, we were reading Sir Philip Syndey’s Astrophil and Stella, and my professor made the joke of yelling Stella. I was the only one who laughed. Anyone who has read this play knows that line yelled by Stanley is possibly the most famous line in the whole play, but this play has been one of my favorites since my freshman year of high-school. It’s been awhile since I read it, but from what I remembered: Blanche DuBois moves in with her sister and her sister’s husband Stella, and Stanley. Blanche is a very flashy and high-maintenance woman who only moves in because she lost the estate that was once in the DuBois name. In a series of events happening in the household, we see Stanley and Stella’s abusive relationship, and it leaves a bad taste in Blanche’s mouth and she and Stanley continuously bump heads until the climax of the play. By the end of the play, readers (and viewers) are left wondering if we should feel sorry for what happens to Blanche. In one hand, we are left to analyze Blanche and judge her for her character, yet morally we sympathize with her and what ultimately happens to her. I don’t know why this play has been a favorite of mine all these years, but the overall story of the play depicts a time in history where things like this were happening in everyday homes. The play tells a tragic, yet a great story about an overall broken dynamic in a family, and in people.

3.) The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

With its bright colored cover with a slice of cake on it, I knew when I purchased this book to read for my literature class last year that I was going to like it. This story follows the story of Rose, a 9-year-old girl who has her mother bake a lemon cake for her birthday. When she takes a bite out of her slice of cake, she begins to taste somberness and sadness; in other words, she begins to taste her mother’s emotions through the food that she makes. This family on the outside comes across as the “picture perfect” family, but through the food her family makes, we find out that her mother begins to have an affair, her brother is anti-social (and possibly autistic if analyzed that way), and her father is simply just a shadow in the family. This book follows the life of Rose as she learns how to live with her “skill”, and by the end of the book, there is a major twist that nobody in my class saw coming. It tells a unique story that deals with real-life families and situations and I feel like the “magical skill” she obtains is something that is normal in their society (or possibly a mask of a real-life one). Either way, I enjoyed this book and put it in my book collection.

4.) Vertigo by Louise DeSalvo

I read this in my sophomore year of undergrad in a memoir literature class and when I read it the first time, I was hooked. This story is about Louise and her Italian-American family. Although I don’t remember the details of it, I know that we, as readers, go through Louise’s life as a child, going through puberty, and when the stage in her life where she was experiencing her sexuality by sleeping with different boys in her high-school. To me, the memoir was really realistic and honest without any regrets regarding her life choices. Also, a lot of her Italian-American tradition reminds me of my own family, since I’m half Italian. But yeah! This memoir was one of the best ones I’ve read.

5.) Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

This book was one of my favorites I’ve read while being in grad school. I had to read it for one of my classes last semester and it was another one that I couldn’t put down. The story is told my generations and generations of people within the same family, yet never knew about each other because of how history played out. The beginning of the story takes place during the Atlantic Slave Trade. This book, in general, tells both sides of history: one side that was forcefully removed from Africa, and the other side that stays in Africa. The story does a really good job of letting the readers know that history does repeat itself and that things in life do have a butterfly effect. There’s so much to talk about in this book and I’m so glad to be reading it for a second time in one of my classes this semester because it’ll be one of the very few books I get to read a second time. I say definitely read this book if you’re into African-American Literature.

 

That’s it for now! Of course, there are so many other books on my shelf that I will love to talk about, so lemme know if you’re interested to read another one of these book posts! 😀

 

-Liz. (:

Hey, guys – welcome back to TNTH!

I’m aware it’s April 3rd and I’m talking about March things. Looking back at the past month, I realize that with the time I spent away from the blog and social media, I spent it learning new things and finding things that I really enjoyed throughout the month. So, without further ado: here are some of the things I found interesting/unique/awesome in the last month.

1.) Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad

This book has recently been added to my collection of books on my bookshelf so this isn’t included in next week’s post, but one of my classes this semester required us to read this book and when I say it’s so good, it’s amazing. The story follows 17-year-old Cora, a runaway slave who decides to escape her plantation by taking a literal train called the Underground Railroad. When she finds herself in each city destination, she comes face-to-face with a horrific time in history that historically wasn’t possible in 1850. Of course, Whitehead’s purpose of doing so explains more than it being a storyline; it portrays how American history is told and how the ideology of America really is just this big ole delusion that we still believe isn’t really there to this day. It’s a great book that will teach you a lot of history you weren’t taught in grade school during social studies. I recommend this book to everyone. Seriously.

2.) Original Gummy Factory Sour Gummy Worms

Okay, I don’t know where these gummy worms came from, but my campus started selling them in their vending machines and I’ve been hooked on them ever since. They’re super sour which I’m not even a big fan of! These gummies just taste really good and since I started getting them, I’ve been eating them on the way home from class at night and they always hit the spot. Haribo who?

3.) Fat Boy

I swear I’m not a cat person! Ever since we brought home Babygirl, I began to gain a liking for cats, and when I saw this cutie at my job a couple of weeks ago, I instantly fell in love. (p.s: he’s my screensaver). Fat Boy is a 6-year-old black cat that lives at my mother’s workplace. He’s the sweetest and friendliest cat I’ve ever met in my life, no joke. He loves attention, he loves people, and he loves to be petted. It’s crazy to see how different he and Babygirl are; she’s a bit more introverted and skittish and doesn’t trust people until you show her you can be trusted while Fat Boy is friendly to literally everyone. It was really hard to leave and go home that day because I just wanted to spend more time with him!

4.) Chloe x Halle’s album The Kids Are Alright 

You might know them from their YouTube covers or you might know them as Beyonce’s prodigies, or you might know them as Jazz and Sky on Freeform’s Grown-ish. Wherever you heard them from, you know them from somewhere, and they are a force to be wrecking with. Chloe x Halle, both sisters but not twins, debuted their first studio album two weeks ago and I could confidently say this is one of the best debut albums I’ve heard in a really long time. Almost every song on the album could be on the radio and their sound is so unique and grown. Plus, you can definitely tell they get their inspiration from Beyonce herself. At the moment, I am highkey obsessed with “Hi Lo”, “Everywhere”, and “Happy Without Me” and I know once I begin to play their songs out I’ll be back on their album on Spotify to gather some new favorites. It’s definitely an album people should give a chance and listen to.

5.) “Dumpster Diving” YouTube Videos

One night, I was surfing through the suggestions section of YouTube and came across this. Now I don’t know what the fascination is with these videos, but I think it’s the fact that I didn’t know people actually went to department stores to “dive” in their dumpsters and pick up thrown away products. I was even more shocked that many of these products were perfectly fine and untouched yet thrown away in the garbage. I’ve seen a couple of these videos and it’s insane how many things people find within these dumpsters. It seems like many dumpster divers target Ulta Beauty stores the most, but it’s crazy to see how many other department stores really just throw out perfectly good products. I mean, have you ever heard of donations? Like an entire box of flip-flops would’ve been beneficial to those who can’t afford shows in the first place. These videos are just intriguing to watch and for a straight week, I was hooked. I still am; who am I kidding?

That’s all for now! Hopefully, April introduces me to a lot of more favorites!

 

-Liz. (:

 

 

Hey, guys – welcome back to TNTH!

First of all, Happy Easter to those who celebrate it, happy first day of April, and (sadly), happy April Fools Day.

This is just a quick reminder that not everyone is going to find your jokes funny. Be careful with the type of jokes you decide to make on this day. So, that means the following:

• Ladies, do not tell your man that you are pregnant as a joke. There are women out there who would love to tell their S/O that they are pregnant for real but can’t because of medical reasons.
• Do not tell someone you got any sort of medical illness or disease. These things are not made out to be jokes and millions of people live with said-disease-or-illness you said and tried to make into a joke.
• Do not try to fight with someone and declare it a joke. You are putting the trust that person has for you in jeopardy by really scaring the shit out of them because you decided it was funny to fuck with them for a joke.
• Men AND women: do not tell your S/O that you cheated on them as a joke. Again, you are putting the trust they have for you in jeopardy and in all honesty, you’re just giving them something you be worried about in the future.
• Do not try to pull a prank on someone in public that will humiliate that person: i.e a fake marriage proposal, a stunt that makes them the center of attention, harass them, pretty much anything that will make that person uncomfortable. Joke or not, you’re being an absolute jerk who doesn’t respect or care about that person’s feelings.
• Do not try and mock people’s phobias by putting them in situations where they are scared for their fucking lives. Do not put a fake mouse or spider on someone’s floor, do not pretend to be drowning in any body of water, do not lock people in small rooms, just don’t fucking do anything to trigger people’s stress and anxiety.

All in all, don’t try to prank or make jokes out of things that will ultimately hurt or emotionally scar a person. Yeah, it’s hard to prank someone on April Fool’s Day with an old-fashioned prank without them suspecting anything, but there are tons of unique ways you can do so without hurting anyone in the process. Making completely serious things a mockery is never going to be funny, even on April Fools Day.

So prank safely, be respectful to others, and have a great day, everyone!

 

-Liz (:

Hey, guys – welcome back to TNTH!

I hope those who are on Spring break get as much rest as they need, and I hope those who celebrate Passover or Easter have a great holiday weekend!

It’s been a hot minute since a Self-Appreciation Saturday came out, and half of that reason was that I simply had nothing to discuss. It wasn’t until I went to school this past week and found some inspiration.

This past week, I bumped into an old friend of mine who I had a couple of classes with during my undergrad years. It’s never common for me to bump into anyone while I’m on campus because 85% of the people who go to CSI are out for the day by the time my class starts at 6:30pm. This day, I was on campus earlier than usual for a thesis meeting, and I was surrounded by the majority of students who attend CSI, so it wasn’t a surprise that I was going to see someone I know. So whatever, we had a brief conversation and when I asked this person if they keep in touch with anyone else from our old classes and she simply said no. I pretty much said the same thing with the exception of my college best friend who I keep in contact with frequently. Although it was very sweet to see this old friend, it made me think about my life during the time where I had friends that I thought were going to be my friends forever. Some of these people were the legit reasons why that particular year was amazing. I sometimes have to tell myself that life happens and that people got lives to live, and I can totally respect that. So, I don’t hold anything against that group of people I was once friends with. What we all had was great, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

This is where the inspiration for this post comes in…

Continue reading “SAS: Friends Who “Ghost”. (3/31/18)” →

Hey, guys – welcome back to TNTH!

Let’s jump right into it: I bought a blank journal at the beginning of May 2017 and decided that with that journal, I would start bullet journaling. Bullet journaling– in a nutshell– is pretty much a decorative planner that you create yourself. Depending on the type of person you are, the pages in your bullet journal are made according to relevance for you and only you. In other words, it’s a planner that is unique to you and you only.

After sharing the many decorative mini to-do lists and monthly goals poster on my social media platforms, many people suggested that I look into bullet journaling. I knew just the concept of it by seeing artists create them and posting theirs online, but I never knew that after watching a couple of girls with their bullet journals that it would make me want to be about the bullet journaling life.

I’ve been an active bullet journal user and I now feel like bullet journaling keeps the order in my current hectic life.

Continue reading “SAS: How Bullet Journaling Helps Me Balance my “Controlling” Habit. (2/24/18)” →

Hey, guys – welcome back to TNTH.

I’ve always been a firm believer that no matter what in life, you should always be yourself. Sometimes, you’ll find yourself being someone completely different in order to feel accepted or you’ll believe the environment you’re in isn’t going to accept you for who you are. I still believe, in any circumstance, you should tend to always be yourself.

Even if you don’t know who you are exactly (I mean, who really does?), at this age, you should have a decent idea on who you are and the things that make you, you.

But, what happens if you change? What happens if the band you liked a couple of years ago isn’t your cup of tea anymore? What happens if your beliefs as a teenager change when you become a young adult? Are you considered fake or dishonest? People often think that those who “change” is always for the worse, and never the better. Like, everyone’s favorite negative thing to say to another person is “you changed.”

What’s so wrong about maturing, growing up, and changing?

Continue reading “SAS: People *do* & *can* Change, Despite Popular Disbelief. (2/17/18)” →