Bad Girl Gone Good

When I was in high school, I absolutely loved receiving my report cards and interims. I couldn't wait until my mom got home so that I could show her my A's and B's... and the occasional C, which are all considered to be great in my house. I often made the second honor roll (all A's and B's), and I even made the first honor roll (all A's) once in my senior year. It felt great to get these grades, and make my parents, and myself proud. The money and other treats I received for getting good grades also felt pretty good as well, LOL! But just the overall feeling of accomplishment was a great treat all on its own. It felt amazing to graduate with a 3.8 GPA, and to be in the top 20 of my class. It also felt amazing to not have something to try to hide...

I wasn't always the good student that I was in high school. In fact, in middle school, I was the exact opposite of a good student. I was a teacher's pest, if that's what you want to call it. I was failing most of my classes. In fact, I was actually held back a year in 6th grade, and I was in question to be held back in my second year of 6th grade and in 7th grade. I just didn't care, and at the time, I thought that it made me all big and bad to have such terrible grades. Along with constantly getting detentions (and skipping them at times). I even got suspended in 7th grade. My bad grades, combined with my horrendous behavior, made me feel like some "bad girl". I thought that it made me cool, which was all I really wanted at the time, as I was being bullied in middle school. I was completely different person back then. I was a little brat that thought she was all big and bad, when I most certainly wasn't.

I got a rush off of showing off my detention notifications reports card full of Fs around the middle school. "LOL, look! I got a detention! HAHA I'm failing everything!" I would run around the school saying, thinking I was impressing people by acting like a dumb brat, when really it only gave them something else to laugh at. But while I got a rush out of it at school, it was a whole other story when I got home. I'd often hide my report cards and detention slips in my locker so my mom couldn't find them. I'd avoid letting her know about my grades or my behavior as much as I could. In fact, I'd even make up stories of things she'd want to hear about my life at school so she wouldn't know the truth. I knew she'd find out about my grades eventually, but I still hid it for as long as I could. But I knew that if she found out about how I acted at school, that she would be really upset. 

I'd eventually end up showing my mom my F filled report cards, or just telling her when I couldn't hide it anymore (when the unavoidable parent-teacher conference would pop up). I would receive some form of punishment, such as not being able to watch my favorite shows, earlier bedtime, ect. And my mom was actually kind of lenient on my punishments, as I was still allowed to attend some school activities, play with my DS, and even have my phone (sometimes taken away), and play outside. But I'd NEVER tell her about my behavior, or the fact that I was being bullied. But eventually I could not hide that anymore either. My parents eventually found out how I really acted, and how my situation at school really was through several parent-teacher conferences, and calls from the school. My mom actually cried when she found all of these things out... But I still continued this behavior and flunking every class though my whole time at the middle school. 

It wasn't until 8th grade, when high school started at my school, that I decided to cut this stupid girl act. I was tired of seeing my parents upset all the time, and having to hide my report cards. I was tired of being yelled at by my teachers, and always being in trouble. I was tired of having to wonder.. what privilege am I losing this report card? Being a bad girl was not going to make me popular in high school. And some of the things that I said and did in middle school would have gotten me my butt kicked in high school, especially as a little 8th grader. I decided then that I needed to get my grades up and start to at least do my school work. I needed to stop reacting to bullies by being a bully back and cursing at them or calling them a name back. I needed to do what the teachers told me to do, and not talk back or be a teacher's pest. I needed to change for the better. My bad grades and actions weren't going to get me anywhere but in more trouble. 

It wasn't easy to change my actions at first. For me it wasn't so much a matter of getting my grades up, as all I really had to do was start doing my homework and turning it in, and that alone brought my grades up to A's, B's, and C's. But changing how I acted in class and how I reacted to negative comments was really hard. I really had to bite my lip at times so that I wouldn't cuss at someone or say something to get me in trouble, or punched in the face. To make matters even worse, the fact that I stopped reacting caused people to intensify the bullying. Trying as hard as possible to get a reaction out of me. But I decided to stay strong and just try to ignore it the best I could. And after a while, the rude and  hurtful comments went down a lot. Sure there were still some dumb comments that lasted through graduation, but it was nothing like before, and as high school progressed, I even made a few friends that made it seem a lot less harsh.

The combination of being on my best behavior, and trying my best in school made my life both in school and at home a lot more pleasant. I no longer felt like my parents and teachers were out to get me or to bring me down. At school I got along much better with my teachers, and even enjoyed being in some of their classes. At home I enjoyed not having my parents all over my back, and the increase in privileges that I had. Getting a computer in my room, and having no parent enforced bedtime was certainly really nice. Not trying to be a bad girl made my life a whole lot easier, especially when I wasn't sitting in detention, in the principal's office, or coming home to see my displeased parents sitting on the couch with some kind of lecture. 

I am not afraid to admit that everything that I did back in middle school, all the excessive cussing, the failing school, the disrespectful things I did, I did for attention. I wanted people to react to this "bad girl." And it certainly drew attention, but not the kind of attention that I wanted. The way I acted gave people a reason to make fun of me. Nobody thought that it was cool, and certainly nobody felt sorry for me. I was taking a bad situation and making it worse. I pity that middle school girl now, and I sometimes have a hard time believing that girl was me.

Changing for the better doesn't mean that you have to be perfect, or a goodie two shoes all time time. I am certainly NOT a goodie two shoes all the time, and I even still break some of the rules and goof off a bit when no one is watching. Gotta have some fun right?! LOL! But I do know when a little rule breaking or goofy-ness crosses the line, and I know not to take it to far. I do the things that I'm supposed to, and thats certainly what matters most. Sure I stayed up past 1:00 am on a school night, and then took a nap in study hall or in my least favorite class sometimes. But I still got the work done. There's no reason that you have to be a perfect angel... because come on, nobody is perfect, even if they may seem like it. Just be careful not to cross the line. You don't need to be straight A student either, just put in the effort and try your best. And if anything.. think of how nice it would be to not have to worry about having your phone or computer taken away. Or getting into even worse trouble... 

I don't know where I would have ended up had I not decided to straighten myself out, but I certainly wouldn't have graduated with a 3.8 GPA, not would I have probably even graduated. I probably wouldn't even be blogging right now. If any of you out there are constantly failing and getting into trouble like I was, pick yourself up. You are much better then what you think. You can go far if you just straighten up, even just a little bit. 

You Are Talented

Whether you believe it or not, you are talented. Everyone is talented in some way, but whether they choose to actually use those skills, or even recognize them as a talent, is up to them. We all have a skill at something, whether it be an athletic, creative, performing, academic, social, or any other skill. Being good at a certain video game or even having great organizational skills can be considered a talent or skill. We may not all have the crazy amazing skills that people that go on shows such as America's Got Talent or other talent related shows on TV, but we all have something we are good at, and we should most certainly be proud of these skills and use them the best we can. Some talents can really benefit ourselves and others in some way. We may even be able to use these skills to land a job or make money. Some skills may be purely for leisure, but that certainly doesn't make them not important, or that they couldn't be productive!

Think about it; think of something that you typically do better in than your friends or family, or something that they don't do at all. Perhaps you do really well with art, and you are really good at drawing or painting. Maybe you do very well in a sport and the team knows that you could lead them to victory. Maybe you do better in a certain subject in school than most of your classmates, and maybe they come to you for help with that class, or with staying organized. You might be a great writer, and you are great with poetry or story telling. Perhaps you find that you get many compliments on you're hair, outfit, or make-up and your good with style. You might even be great with people, public speaking, or with giving advice. You might even be good at signing, acting, or playing a musical instrument. Maybe you have great strategy when playing video games, and your good at finding hidden things within the game. Whatever it may be, when you think of it, you most likely do better in something than most people around you.

I personally find that most my skills are creative type of skills such as writing, story telling, drawing, and even graphic art. I also find that I am pretty good with public speaking, and even a bit of acting. I also found that through playing The Sims 3 that I am good with interior design and creating nice looking homes and rooms. I'm also really good with style related things and putting looks together, and even making cheap products work sometimes. But for the longest time I didn't see these as being all that special, or even as talents or skills. I just saw them as things that I did naturally and liked to do. Just because they weren't a skill I could take on a show like America's Got Talent or even into the school talent show. Nor could I be the star of a high school sports team, I probably couldn't even make the team with my poor athletic skills. LOL! However, over time I found that while there will always be people that are better than me at sports, singing, or stand up comedy, that I have a skill that not everyone has. Sure there will always be people who are even better at what I do than me, but rather then comparing myself to them, it should give me something to strive for.

Whatever your skill is, or what your good at, I suggest trying to find a way to put your talents to good use. Whether it be in a way to benefit others, or to benefit yourself through making money or pure enjoyment. If you are good at art, use your art skills as much as you can and use it as a way to express yourself, and even decorate your room with your own artwork. You could even sell your work if you wish and make a little extra cash, or enter it in an art show, but that is completely optional. If you like art I may also suggest taking an art class. If your school has any classes or activities that relate to your skills or interests, I would suggest signing up for them so that you could use your skills in new ways, and meet people who have the same interests. This is a great way to make potential new friends, while working on your special skills. Or if you prefer, you can choose to these things just for yourself and take it up as a hobby and a pass time. As long as you are using your skills in a way that doesn't harm yourself or others, then go for it! If you enjoy doing something, you may even want to consider going to school for it and trying to make it into a career. 

The internet is a great place to put your talents and skills to use. If you like to write, you could start a blog and post anything you wish whether it be a beauty and lifestyle blog like mine, your take on news stories, or even your own fictional stories or poetry. Blogs are a great, free way, of publishing your work. You can also use blogs to show off your artwork or photography! YouTube is also a great way of sharing your talents, skills, and creativity with the world. Make tutorials on something you like to do whether it be beauty, DIY's, computer stuff, or anything you like. If you are a gamer you could make Let's Plays and show people new ways to play the game. If you're into science you could post videos of your experiments. If you like to sing you could post singing videos. If you like to create story lines or act, you could act on skits and put them on YouTube. You never know how far posting something online could take you. And even if you don't make it big time, your blogs or videos may just help someone out, inspire others, or really make someone's day. Plus it gives you a way to express yourself!

NEVER let ANYONE tell you that your talents are talents, or that your skills aren't important. If it makes you happy, and it's important to you, that's all that should matter. I personally have been told by some members of my family, that writing and blogging aren't important or that it's not an important skill. They feel that if I'm not making money off of it, it's not certified by a degree, or something like what you can find on the talent shows on TV, that it's not important or relevant. That is most certainly not true, but it can be a major let down when people don't support you. There will also always be people who will try to bring you down in any way by trying to tell you that you aren't good at what you do, or that anyone could do that. I find that a lot of times that hate comments come from jealousy. Or people who say that what you do is really easy or irrelevant typically don't do it themselves, so who are they to judge on it? If it's important to you, and you believe in yourself, than that's all that matters. If it makes you happy, go for it!

Believe in yourself. Never let anyone tell you are anything less then what you are, or that you aren't capable of the best. If you are dedicated to something, and you have passion, you will find joy in what you are doing. Just whatever you do.. never let a great skill that you have go to waste. 

What are you talented at? 

Spring Into A Healthier Lifestyle

As the weather starts to warm up (well, hopefully anyways, it's still cold here) and we move into spring, I feel it's time to start setting a few new goals for myself, and also revisit some of the ones I've made before but have never really worked much towards. Perhaps even revisit some of the New Year's Resolutions that I pushed to the wayside. Spring is a time for new beginnings and fresh starts, and a perfect time to start working towards your goals. One of my biggest goals this spring is to start living a healthier lifestyle and get fit for summer. Not only to look better, but to feel better and live a healthier life as well. I admittedly eat primarily junk food, and a lot of it, on top of not getting much exercise. I'll eat because I'm bored or upset, and for other reasons other then actual hunger. I go for the packaged snacks and sweet treats because they are the most convenient, just because I'm to lazy to actually cook something. This is certainly not at all a healthy way of eating, and it needs to change. But I know that I need to have a good plan and motivation if I plan on going about this and actually sticking to it.

The first step is to think of your motivation. Why do you want to start eating healthier and exercise more? If you are only doing it to lose weight, you are much more likely to slip back into your old habits. When all you want is to look better, it can be very discouraging when the weight doesn't come off the way you thought it would... Or if you gain a  few pounds. Trust me, I've been there before, and I went right back into my old habits because I didn't even think of doing it for anything other then weight loss. Certainly losing some weight can be a part of or your motivation, but it shouldn't be your only motivation. Improving and preserving your health, living longer, and feeling better should be the real motivation to changing your eating and exercise habits. It's a known fact that better nutrition can help to reduce your risk of developing serious health problems down the road, it can even help to improve some existing medical conditions.

Once you have the proper motivation in place, it's time to start thinking of the actual plan. This is another area that you need to be careful with, as it's very easy to set something really unrealistic and hard to stick to. It's always best to start small and take baby steps. Certainly there should be a little bit of a challenge to it, but it shouldn't be nearly impossible to stick to. Take baby steps to the lifestyle you want, and once you get there, don't forget to keep at it, no matter what, keep the healthy lifestyle going. But if you are anything like me, it would be highly unrealistic to say that you're going to get an hour of vigorous exercises a day and cut out all junk food right away. I know I wouldn't be able to stick to this and I would slip out of it rather quickly. I will share with you my own plan to start living healthier to give you a few ideas. But remember, everyone is different and has different habits, so you should adjust based on whats best for you. 

My Plan To Start A Healthier Lifestyle

-Watch when and why I'm eating. I tend to eat when I'm bored, when I'm in a bad mood, or because someone mentions food to me. Not always just because I'm hungry. I often find myself venturing into the kitchen late into the night to grab a snack simply because I'm just bored or maybe feel a little hungry... even if I should be going to bed soon. I need to pay more attention to whether I'm actually hungry or if I'm just bored before I go get something to eat.

-Drink more water rather then eating. Often times when we confuse hunger with thirst. So if I start to feel a bit hungry (or bored), I'm going to go for a glass of water rather then going for a snack. Not only will water often settle the hungry feeling, but there are also many health and beauty benefits to drinking water as well. Drinking water helps to flush toxins out of your body and keeps you from getting dehydrated. Drinking water can even help your skin! 

-Watch what I eat and how much I eat. Because there is generally nobody home to cook dinner after school, I'll eat anything, primarily sweets and snacks for dinner. I know I could never cut out these yummy treats completely, but I need to eat less of them. For now I plan to cut down my sweets intake to one or two things a day. I also plan on actually cooking something for dinner at least twice a week, and watching my portion sizes when I cook. I need to pay attention to serving sizes rather then eating until I'm full. 

-Go for healthier options at school. My school serves some pretty awesome tasting lunches sometimes. And while they aren't the worst thing for you, they aren't the best either. A school lunch can have over 1000 calories in it, that's half a day's calories in one meal. My school does however, have healthier options rather then the regular lunch. I tend to go for their salad tray when I don't like the lunch they are serving. Which is rarely... Even though some lunches aren't my favorite, I still kind of like them so I get them anyways. I now plan on getting the salad tray a lot more often, almost daily. I know there's some lunches I can't give up, and I will still buy the regular lunch on those days, and on days when salad trays aren't available. 

-Start doing some short, moderate workouts. I am not very active at all, and I know I can't jump right into doing daily long, vigorous workouts. While I do plan on eventually getting to the point where I'm doing longer and harder workouts, for now I'm going to start small. To start off I'm going to try to get in a 10 minute workout everyday, and just do some things to get moving such as dancing like a weirdo to my favorite songs, or going for a walk or maybe even a jog when then weather gets a little nicer. Even simply walking the dog a bit is a great work out. I want to make my workouts fun and enjoyable. Play music while you get active, it makes it a lot more fun! Play songs that make you happy, or pump you up and get you moving. When I feel that I'm ready for it, I'll increase my exercise time in 5 minute increments.

What are some of the ways you stay healthy and stay in shape?

*Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or a dietitian. This will not replace any professional or medical advice. This is only my plan to work towards a healthier lifestyle, and may not work for everyone. My ideas have come from prior knowledge as well as things I have learned in a class or have researched. 

*WARNING: If you have or suspect you may have any current medical conditions, see a doctor before starting any exercise or dieting regimen. If you start to feel sick or start feeling pain stop what you are doing. If it persists seek medical attention. 

Jump Start Your Morning Routine At Night

I would say I have a pretty good morning routine. I get through everything that I need to get done, and still have plenty of time to relax before I leave for school. But I know that there are ways that I can make my morning run even smoother, and get everything done faster. And waking up on time and not hitting snooze is just the start of it. In fact, speeding up your morning routine starts before you even go to bed the night before. 

A Weird Fact About Me: I like to coordinate every part of my outfit everyday. I like my hair to go with the look and feel of the outfit, and I like my eye shadow to match, or go with what I'm wearing. What I mean by that is, I like to use more casual hairstyles for more casual outfits, and I love to go with curls, straight hair, or an up-do for dressier outfits. And if I'm wearing a blue dress or top, I like to be daring and go for blue eye shadow. 

With that said, if I don't know what I want to wear that day, I have to spend extra time picking out an outfit before I start getting ready. Along with figuring out what exactly I want to do with my hair and make-up. I tend to run into this issue a lot, and given the fact that I just woke up, it makes making a decision even harder. The time I spent picking through my closet and thinking of what to do with my hair and what make-up products to use. Sometimes I'll also run into the issue of not being able to find what I wanted and having to pick something else. Sure I'm still left with plenty of free time, and a nice outfit, but the extra time I took to pick an outfit and look for a product could have been additional free time after I finished getting ready. 

If you pick out your outfit at night, along with deciding how to do your hair and make-up, it'll save you on the decision time the next morning. Look through your closet before you go to bed at night, as you start your nightly routine. Take out the outfit you want, and put it somewhere that you can find it easily. Don't forget to pick out some accessories and set them by your outfit. Then decide on your hair and make-up. Get out any tools you may need to style your hair, or you could even use overnight styling methods to speed on the process in the morning even more. Decide on what make-up style you want to use, what products you want to use, and what brushes you want to use and set them out. I like to put my make-up products in a basket so I can carry them right to the bathroom. Also it wouldn't be a bad idea to choose which purse you want to use and put all of your purse items in it, along with packing all of your school things into your school bag. I also like to pick out a different perfume everyday.

Don't stop with just planning your outfit. Planning out your breakfast at night is also a great way to make deciding on breakfast easier, or to add eating breakfast to your morning routine. I tend to not eat breakfast simply because I don't know what I'm going to eat. But if I knew what I was going to eat, I would make eating breakfast a part of my free time in the morning! Planning your breakfast will also help you to make better breakfast decisions, rather then just grabbing a cookie for breakfast. You don't have to plan a huge pancake breakfast, just as long as it's decently healthy. A bowl of cereal and toast would do just fine. :) 

What do you do to keep help your morning go smoothly? 

Rise and Shine, Stop Hitting Snooze!

One of my New Year's resolutions was to stop procrastinating, and I often seem to procrastinate at getting out of bed in the morning. My alarm is set to go off at 4:30 a.m but I just keep hitting snooze until 5:00, sometimes a little later. Sure, I still have 2 hours to get ready for school, which is plenty of time. But what is the sense in having my alarm set for 4:30 when I know I won't be waking up until 5:00? I'm sure that I'm not the only one that does this, some people may keep hitting snooze for even longer than I do, it may have even made them late for school a few times. 

If there's one thing that many of us can agree on, it's that waking up early in the morning for school or work sucks. Nobody wants to leave the comfort of their nice warm bed, especially not to go to school. But like most of the things we procrastinate on, it has to be done. And as with trying to break any bad habit, you have to have some kind of a strategy to beat the wake-up procrastination. 

If you're like me and you typically get out of bed the same time every morning, as long as it isn't making you late, set your alarm for that time. Honestly, it would be much nicer to have 30 extra minutes of uninterrupted sleep, rather then having to reach for the snooze button every 9 minutes. It can also be very easy to lose track of how many times you've hit snooze, 30 minutes can turn into an hour or more if you're not careful! If you don't like getting out of bed with your first alarm, you may allow yourself ONE snooze, and one only. Do not use this time as a nap, turn on a light and sit up so that you don't fall back asleep. Use this time to collect your thoughts and wake-up a little more. It's best if you keep your eyes open and your mind active during this time. Reading a little bit, or even checking Facebook or Twitter will keep you from falling back asleep. Use your one snooze simply to keep track of time, and begin your morning routine once it goes off again.

If you feel that you're going to fall back asleep if you stay in bed, but you still need some time to wake-up before you start your day, get out of bed and go sit somewhere else. You may also want to consider having your alarm away from your bed where you can't reach over and shut it off. Use your "snooze" time to watch a little TV, read a little, or sit on the computer for a few minutes. Do not go and lay back down! If you still feel a little groggy, you can try gently patting cold water into your tear ducts. Not only does this help to wake you up a little, but it also helps to clean out that icky goo that forms in your tear ducts overnight. 

Keep in mind that how you feel in the morning, and throughout the day, also depends on how well you sleep at night. It's recommended that you get at least 7-8 hours of sleep at night, which I know that I, and many others, do not. That's another thing I need to change this year. You may want to consider moving back your bedtime to an earlier time. 

How do you get yourself out of bed in the morning?