Life Updates: A Fresh Perspective

Hello, hello. April has had its rocky start for me, despite it being one of my favorite months. Once again, this is not the post that I had intended on putting up today, but things have been so crazy lately that I just didn’t have the heart, much less the motivation to write the review I had planned. So, if you all don’t mind I’d rather write a Life Update and get you all caught up, than a halfhearted review. Don’t worry, though. The review will eventually come, just not today.

Life is busy and it moves fast. It’s very easy to get overwhelmed, especially for me. I’m one of those people who are constantly overcommitting themselves. I get very excited when I find causes I care about and likeminded people, so I like to get involved where I can which means I join clubs, take on projects at work, collaborate with other bloggers and on social media, and continuously challenge myself. However, it’s a delicate balance and although I love all the things that I put my energies towards, it doesn’t take much to throw that balance off.

That being said, when I found out that my aunt had passed earlier this week it kind of threw me for a loop. Losing someone in your family is never fun, and if your family is anything like mine, it becomes especially hard when you are all tight knit. I grew up in an environment where family always comes first, no matter how distantly related you are. My very large extended family is more of a tribe and community than just a bunch of people you see on Christmas. You know that saying, “It takes a village to raise a child”? Yeah, that’s basically about my family and growing up, my aunt was one of those who helped raise me.

Losing someone you love often puts things into perspective. You take a step back and begin to reevaluate things. Although losing my aunt (may she rest in peace) has brought me sadness and grief and a plethora of other emotions, it has also helped me to look at the bigger picture.

Lately, the constant juggling of work, school, club, and blog have all become stressors to me. I’ve been feeling like I’m being pulled in a million different directions and that at any moment, everything could fall apart. Stress has almost become a buzzword lately, like “kale” and “antioxidants”. “Stress” has been so buzzed about that it has almost lost its meaning; we’ve become desensitized. However, the fact of the matter is that stress is a big deal and often overlooked. Maybe it’s just a cultural thing as Americans, but we live a very fast paced lifestyle that even glorifies stress.

We brag about the number of cups of coffee we drink or the very little hours of sleep we get. I fear sometimes we forget we’re not invincible, myself included. Our bodies, and more importantly our minds need some downtime to function properly yet we constantly overwork ourselves and celebrate it. For example, I’ve been called a badass many a time for taking on way more than I should have at once. It’s no wonder our country is faced with its fair share of mental health issues.

I digress, but the point is stress isn’t something I want to associate with all the things I love to do— I’d rather them bring me joy and a sense of accomplishment. It’s sad that it took a death in my family to realize that. Life is too short to be spent worrying about the small things. That is what it had become for me: constant stress about my never ending To Do list. However, with a little help from my friends (Beatles reference?) and family, they’ve helped me to take things one step at a time and see the positive side of things instead.

Although there’s been a lot on my plate lately (and even more to come), I wanted to share with you all the crazy and wonderful things that I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of these past few months. Instead of worrying about all the upkeep and constant things to be done, I wanted to take a moment instead to count my blessings and celebrate what life has had to offer to me so far. So without further ado, here are the updates:

I’m going to Disneyland! I made a small mention on Instagram that I’ll be going to Disneyland later this month to celebrate my 21st birthday. It’s something small, but at least positive to look forward to. I’m going to try to vlog my day so be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel to keep up!
I published a few articles in Moda Chic Magazine!I collaborated with bloggers from around the world to put together the second issue of the online magazine Moda Chic. I contributed 3 articles (and unfortunately nothing to the design):
- 💋 My Top 5 Makeup Picks”- Pg 16
- 💋 “For the Love of Makeup” (On my relationship with makeup & positivity)- Pg 20
- 💋 “The Ultimate Spring Skincare Routine”- Pg 26
I started an Etsy store! I collaborated with the day job company I work for to gain more traction on their Pinterest account by creating some beautiful styled images. We decided that they were cute enough to sell them on Etsy so be sure to check it out! They’re perfect for branding, marketing, and social media for your blog or business!
I’m going to NCCWSL! After an interview that I’ve been stressing over all week, I found out that in June I’ll be attending the National Conference For College Women Student Leaders in DC. It was such an honor to be picked by the local AAUW chapter to attend this conference and it’s something I look forward to attending!
I started the social media campaign The Self Love Selfie! For one of my classes, I am required to take action and create a project around a women’s health issue and I chose body image. I put together this campaign based off of the NikkieTutorials “Power of Makeup” video and my 1 Year Blogiversary post where you post a picture of yourself with half of your face done up in makeup and half of it bare. I’m still looking for participants and would love for my followers to join in! Post your picture, use the hashtag #TheSelfLoveSelfie, and write a caption about what makeup and self-love mean to you. Tag me on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook and share with your friends (make sure your account is public so we can all see it)! I’m going to compile all of the Self Love Selfies in a blog post by the end of the month, so keep your eyes out for it!

Alright, that’s it for today. As always, thanks for giving this a read and I promise I’ll be back to regularly scheduled content soon once I finish sorting things out. Until then—

All my love,

Megan

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Dedicated to Auntie Virgie RIP 4/7/16