How to Keep a Journal

As someone who has tried countless times to keep an up-to-date journal and failed up until a few months ago, I decided to give out some suggestions to those who would like to keep a journal but just can't keep up with it.

My current journal has been up-to-date since March which would make it the longest running journal I've owned so far. I would have loved a post like this before because I desperately wanted a journal but I struggled to know what to write in it and how to remember to write in it.

If you haven't thought about keeping a journal, you should definitely consider it. A journal is just like a blog but for yourself (or close friends and family if you choose to share it) and I personally love to look back at my previous entries. One day, you might like to revisit some of the memories that you kept in your journal.

Here are some tips I collected (through a lot of trial and error) and used to keep this journal updated and engaging:

1) Get a cute journal/notebook/steno:

If you're a stationary fanatic like me, the cuter and better quality journal you get, the more likely you are to use it. You can get cute journals from almost anywhere: dollar stores, office supply stores, or bookstores. I'm sure etsy has some great options for journals too. The one below is from Papyrus.

2) Choose what to write about:

Possible topics include: dreams, fitness, nutrition, everyday life, events, to-do lists, and blog posts. My journal is a bit of all of these but primarily revolves around day-to-day events.

3) Carry it around with you:

I have often thought "I should write about that" then completely forgotten about it the second I came home and pulled out my journal. Also, this way, you can write in your journal when you're waiting around instead of going on your phone. Just don't lost it. The one below is from ModCloth.

4) Know your writing goals and stick with them:

Know how much you want to write, how often you want to write, and for how long you want to write. My goal is at least a page twice a week for at least fifteen minutes per sitting (not including lists). Set aside time for journaling! Don't wait for time to come to you because you know you'll probably get caught up in a book or show if you don't strictly set aside enough time (I certainly have).

5) Make it like a scrapbook:

As a journalist, I like to incorporate newspaper clippings of recent events into my journal. I also include fortunes from fortune cookies and pressed flowers. I hate looking at a text dump (although I know quite a few people who love it). If filling up your journal with meaningful mementos makes it more fun to look back on, go for it!

6) It is never too late to keep journaling:

Whenever I forget to write in my former journals for more than a week, I say that it's too late to go back to it and dismiss it. I admit that there were times with my current journal that I went without writing for a week but instead of feeling ashamed and disheartened, I made up to it but writing extra long entries. Doing for large periods of time without writing can be good and reflects how busy your life was during that period of time. The below journal is from Forever 21.

I hope those tips helped you! Tell me about your journals and if you were able to keep up with them.

Going Vegetarian Can Save the Environment

I apologize in advance, this post includes pictures of adorable baby animals. Who would want to eat them?

For the past year and a half, I've been adapting my diet to become less and less dependent on meat. I gave up red meat over a year ago which was easy for me since I never liked it and ate it once every two months as it was. Currently, I am a pescetarian (only meat eaten is seafood) for the past year. Giving up chicken was more difficult than the red meat; however, I never usually ate meat much to begin with (once a week) so this transition went more easily for me than it might go for people who eat meat once a day. In the future, I hope to give up seafood and might consider going vegan. The main reason I decided to go for a pescetarian diet was to keep myself healthy from early on. But recently, it came to my attention how becoming a vegetarian/vegan reduce stress on the environment, something I didn't previously bother to consider.

The common meats eaten in the world include that of: goats, fish, cows, sheep, chicken and pigs. It might come as no surprise that it takes a lot of resources to feed and grow livestock as every animal we eat needs to be properly nourished. As almost every living thing, livestock needs water. A single pound of beef is the product of over two thousand gallons of water while a pound of wheat takes up less than 200. Therefore, vegetarianism can also lead to ending world hunger.

Recently, I drove by a factory farm that produced beef. You would not imagine how much space that farm took up. It goes without surprise that, just like land is being bulldozed for cities and buildings, the need for farmland is causing the destruction of acres upon acres of land along with its natural resources. Deforestation not only hurts the environment but also the animals that were living in it.

Factory farms give off ridiculous amounts of greenhouse gases. They pollute the atmosphere more than cars. For every person that becomes a vegetarian, one hundred animals per year are saved.

Can you believe that the world's population has passed 7 billion? If it continues to grow at the rate that it is, there might not be enough resources (or land to grow them on) in the future. A diet that regularly consists of meat requires up to three times more resources than one without meat. Getting rid of factory farms would open up more land to grow crops that would be able to feed more people.

But what about protein? I admit, meat is an amazing source of protein but so are nuts, beans, fruits and even certain grains. I personally hate the taste of nuts but I have found clever ways to incorporate them into my diet. I drink almond milk and sometimes crush nuts and put them into muffins.

I'm not a complete vegetarian yet but I am trying to slowly adjust to it by giving up certain meats at the same rate that I'm obtaining substitutes. Tell me what you think about going vegetarian.

Trying New Teas | Mint, Chamomile, Black Tea

As a big chai drinker, up until recently, I didn't even bother thinking to try herbal/brewed teas. But then I started reading about the health benefits of drinking herbal tea so I decided to give it a try.

The first tea that I tried was a Mello Black Tea. And I hated it. I could barely taste the orange tangy taste and it barely tasted like anything. Keep in mind that this was my first time drinking herbal tea and I could not have been disappointed. Although it didn't taste terrible, it didn't have a taste at all. Once I finished drinking, It didn't feel like I'd just drank tea but rather just plain water. I was really surprised that it tasted as plain as it did even though I let it brew for longer than the recommended time. But I have heard that black tea is a bit of an acquired taste and the more you try, the better it tastes. If I had to give it a rate out of 10 (10 being the bestt) I would give it a 2 out of 10 because although it didn't taste good, it didn't taste awful. If you are still interested in try it, I put the link here.

The second tea I tried was Egyptian Chamomile and it tasted much better than the black tea. It wasn't great but it didn't taste as tasteless as the black tea. I feel like it would have tasted much better if I had added honey to sweeten it a little bit. But regardless, it was pretty good but I wasn't happy with it either. After trying the chamomile tea, I gave trying tea a small break because I had a tough time finding it appealing. I would give the chamomile tea a rating of 5 out of 10 because it was okay and much better than the black tea. If you would like to try it, here is the link.

Most recently, I have been drinking Tazo's Refresh Mint (see what they did there) and I fell in love with it. I was initially was beginning to hate tea after my first two adventures with it but I am so happy I found this tea. I have always liked the taste and smell of mint so I gave this one a shot and I was beyond happy. Look at the amazing packaging! I would give it a 9 out of 10 because it was so unexpectedly amazing and I finally understood why everyone seems to love tea. If you would like to check it out (and I highly suggest that you do), the link is here.

Let me know what you think of teas and which you would recommend. 

Junonia by Kevin Henkes

Very recently, I decided to revisit one the authors that I used to read when I was younger, Kevin Henkes. I remember reading his mice books, like A Weekend with Wendell and Owen, back in elementary school. Right before middle school, I read his Olive's Ocean and it became one of my favorite books for a month. When I came in possession of Kevin Henkes's Junonia I figured that it was worth a read while I secretly hoped that I could take a nice nostalgic walk down my childhood memories. But more than that, I wanted to answer the question: Can you outgrow your favorite childhood authors?

General summary:
A young girl, Alice Rice, goes to her summer house where she visits every year to celebrate her birthday. There, she learns more about her friends and family.

The storyline of the book was simple and not unlike that of many other elementary reads. And I ended up liking the main character's voice (even though I often found it annoying) because her thought process wasn't that different from mine at the time. The strangest and most unsettling thing about this book was the fact that I found myself connecting more to the older and more adult characters than I did to the main character. I felt myself nodding more at her parents' reasoning rather than her temper tantrums.

Aside from spending the entire book trying to figure out how to say the title, it was more complex than I had initially expected. Some of the parts that I thoroughly enjoyed included:

Alice's relatable child-like moods:
     "Alice felt misunderstood. How could they discuss traffic on the island and the weather at a time like this?" -page 16
     "Alice thought it would be nice if everyone's heads - expect her own - had small windows built into them and she could see what was going on inside their brains." -page 23
     "Alice was angry at her father, Kate, the world. She felt the pull of something beyond her control, something unseen and unfair." -page 33

Her imagination:
     "She was thinking that she was a butterfly. She was wiggling her fingers and toes - fluttering her wings - when she heard a sharp rapping at the front door." -page 19

Her approach to serious issues:
     "Alice decided her perfect, personal god was female. She would live in the ocean because water covered most of the earth, and her name would be Junonia." -page 26

Her interpretation of adults:
     "Alice's parents exchanged a look, and Alice could tell that they were speaking in the secret, silent language of parents." -pages 30-31

By reading this book, I have found an answer to the question "Can you outgrow your favorite childhood authors?" I can concluded that: Yes, you most certainly can outgrow the writing styles of authors you used to read. Although I found the book entertaining, I don't think I would read Kevin Henkes's other books. But I don't think it's because they aren't mature enough but mainly because my reading style has evolved and no longer can truly understand and appreciate this book's style.

Tell me if you have ever revisited the books of your childhood and your experiences!

The Emotional Roller Coaster Known as Binge Watching

In the month of my vacation, I have so far binge watched three and a half shows so, I think I'm pretty qualified to talk about this. As probably know, most shows (in America) release their episodes weekly but, when you binge watch, you watch it in one sitting or in a few long sittings (depends on the show).

Every since I started binge watching, I noticed this weird emotional roller coaster I would experience. I went through so many emotions, sometimes including the five stages of grief. But the most fascinating thing that I discovered was that you take this roller coaster for EVERY SINGLE TV SHOW you binge watch.

Here is how the emotional roller coaster known as binge watching usually goes (for those who binge watch regularly but don't know or those who never binge watched):

1) When someone recommends this "amazing show that you just got to see":

Your mind: It sounds pretty innocent and 24 episodes is very doable. I'll just space it out so I watch no more than 3 episodes - unless something like REALLY dramatic happens, which in that case, maybe I'll watch 4 or 5. 

2)You realize you have the afternoon free so you sit on the couch/bed and turn to your only best friend, Netflix/Hulu.

Your mind: I'm going to get comfortable but not TOO comfortable because I can only watch 3 episodes today. Bring in the cuddly memory foam pillows and diet coke!

3) The Pilot episode is the most incredible thing you've ever seen and you just know that its only going to get better.

Your mind: No series can be touched until I finish this one. Speaking of finishing, I have an hour until I need to leave which is *definitely* enough time to watch another episode AND still take a shower, fix my hair and get dressed. *Definitely*

4) The second episode is not as amazing as the first episode but it leaves you at a heart-breaking cliffhanger and you're starting to develop friendships with some of the characters. Not to mention the romantic relationships that are beginning to form (both between you and the characters and the characters themselves.)

Your mind: I have to neglect my real life in order to foster this newer better one. I don't have friends, THESE (aggressively points at the television) are my friends and I need to give them more time. Just don't die on me please or disappear when the writers don't think you're relevant. 

5) You realize you're on the fifth episode and counting but the remote keeps clicking the next show so you learn to accept that this isn't the show that you won't be able to binge watch.

Your mind: I mean at this point, there's no going back. 5/24, that's less than 19 episodes left. That's like nothing and then my life will go back to normal. 

6) You lost track of time but it's probably the sometime between 6 pm and 6 am. And you're about halfway though.

Your mind: That diet coke is catching up to me. At this point its too late to turn back now. And plus, I heard that it gets even more intense soon. I hope the forums didn't lie. Online fan forums never lie.

7) You tried to break away but it's just not happening so you're back and you're going to finish this TV show even if its the last thing you do.

Your mind: Forget that, I'm never getting up again. I have only a few more episodes left until the end. If I ever want to see my family again, I need to finish. But I need more snacks *clearly*.

8) It's the season finale and you're a jumble of nerves.

Your mind: This is it! This is what I've been waiting for! The conclusion of so many story lines and questions. I'm free after this! My life is never going to be the same after this. 

9) The season didn't end to your standards but you've finished all the available episodes.

Your mind: They did everything I told them not to. I felt like they would do that but I believed in the writers not to let this happen. Did they think this was a good idea or something? Wait! They just want me to watch the next season *sigh*, those sly writers.

10) When you try to go back to you're real life but it's just not possible.

Your mind: I'm starting to talk like them. I'm starting to walk like them. Why do I have the urge to investigate crimes? Why is everyone staring at me? Can they see that I'm a changed person?

11) When you give up on adapting to your real life and go back to the online forums/fanfiction:

Your mind (on cloud 9): These are my brothers. They get me.

12) Months have passed and you get word that the series has cancelled:

Your mind: I'll never know what happened. My body is covered in chills and my heart hurts. Didn't the producers see how much my life *depended* on this show. The pain is unbearable. This is what the end feels like.

13) You go to the forums and someone has created one of those petitions that you know won't work:

Your mind: This is really it. Thanks for changing my life *TV show*! I enjoyed the time we spent together even though it was only for a season. I have some family I need to see and maybe some friends. I promise I'll still like your Facebook page.

14) Then the same friend recommends this other "amazing show that you just got to see":

Your mind: *Fuming* But I might as well cause I have nothing else to do today.

I hope you enjoyed this post and please recommend more shows for me to binge watch!