I’m Human. Moving On.

Yeah, I didn’t complete my goal again. But I’m human, a sleepy human who prefers to fall asleep reading her Bible because then I fall asleep thinking about the things I’m reading rather than trying to write down “important things” after. The few nights I started to brain dump, all I wanted to do was lay there and let my mind wander.

So I did.

There’s not much else to say other than I’m human and I don’t like to brain dump before bed. Maybe I’ll try it in the morning sometime…

In other news: College. It finally doesn’t suck.

I’ve been able to hang out with a bunch of different friends recently, my new jobs are going well, my classes are intellectually engaging but not drowning me, and I’m slowly getting back to working out regularly. Yay!

Every once in awhile it hits me that I’m graduating at the end of April, and I start to freak out a little, but then I remember that 1) it’s in God’s hands and 2) I’m not just sitting on my butt all the time doing nothing. I have skills, I have references, and I have the motivation and know-how to get a more grown-up job after I graduate.

So, this week I start my goal of dressing nice every day and just generally trying a little harder on my appearance.

No, I’m not doing it so guys will think I’m hot. No, I’m not doing it because I think women should always look super put-together.

I’m practicing.

There’s things I’ve always wanted to put in the effort to do to my hair, and to try with makeup and clothes because it makes me feel good. In the past, I’ve regretted not trying a little harder for presentations and job-related things and even weddings. Some of my friends and random people would tell me that’s fine because it doesn’t matter. And as much as I want to agree with those people, I think appearance does matter. It’s part of how we communicate and sometimes I wish I had communicated how I feel about myself better. I do feel super attractive some days, as I should, because God made me and everything he makes is beautiful. Other days, I feel really tired or sick, but I don’t want employers or clients to know that, so I want to communicate the right message.

So, yes, I’ll be wearing a dress for at least five hours at some point this week. And yes, I’m going to attempt to curl my hair (which will probably end up in a terrible pony tail, but that’s okay). And, hopefully by the end of the week, I’ll feel a little more comfortable doing that more often – especially with potential job interviews coming up over the next several months.

I hope you guys all have a lovely summery week (Michigan decided summer makes more sense in September now) and maybe you’ll see me around campus in some fancy digs.

 

Last week: End each day with a brain dump free-write for at least 15 minutes.

This week: Dress really nice each day. That doesn’t mean you have to wear a dress, but you might consider it.

Next week: Make your bed each morning, right after waking up. No excuses. Your roommate will stay asleep while you move a freaking blanket.

I’m a Terrible Student

So I didn’t rewrite my notes… But I did take them in class…

I wasn’t really feeling this goal last week. Every time I sat down to look over my notes and rewrite them, I got stuck. Why would I rewrite them? I did it just fine the first time. I know studies (which I have not found for this blog since I’m lazy) have shown that rewriting notes is good for review, but I feel like my study system works since I’ve never failed a class. I get my work done, I review before exams, and I ask questions when I don’t get something right or can’t figure it out.

Yes, I copped out of my goal. But my time wasn’t wasted. I completed all of my assignments last week and I feel great about it! And I had a little free time to relax and take a breath throughout the week.

I might try to rewrite my notes closer to exams as review, but who knows.

 

 

If you’d like to see the complete list of 52 things I’m accomplishing this year, click here to check out my first blog! For now, here’s what I’ve done and what’s to come in the next few weeks:

Last week: Actually go over notes or rewrite them after each class. Supposedly it will help you retain more information.

This week: End each day with a brain dump free-write for at least 15 minutes.

Next week: Dress really nice each day. That doesn’t mean you have to wear a dress, but you might consider it.

In Which I Talk To Myself

Guys, I really wanted to listen to music all week… And I did for some of it.

Earlier in the week, I was driving around a lot because of Labor Day weekend, so I bent the rules of this goal so that I could have a little fun. The two hour drive to school is no fun if I can’t sing along to my favorite songs while making ridiculous faces.

I also broke the rules Saturday morning because it’s my tradition to listen to oldies radio stations for Saturday morning grocery shopping. A great decision was made because two Tom Petty songs played and you basically can’t beat that.

So the actual affirmation stuff…

Some days it was kind of nice, actually. After a stressful day it was nice to tell myself I am smart and patient and my hair was good that day.

I don’t think I’ll ban music in my car and only talk to myself as car ride entertainment, but I’ve already caught myself whispering encouraging things without realizing it in the past few days, so.

Anywho, I hope everyone is having a great day! Enjoy the onset of layering weather!

 

If you’d like to see the complete list of 52 things I’m accomplishing this year, click here to check out my first blog! For now, here’s what I’ve done and what’s to come in the next few weeks:

Last week: Recite affirmations to yourself whenever you’re alone in the car. Yes, you’ll feel really stupid, but maybe you’ll start to feel better by the end of the week.

This week: Actually go over notes or rewrite them after each class. Supposedly it will help you retain more information.

Next week: End each day with a brain dump free-write for at least 15 minutes.

Lol. No.

Classes officially started at Grand Valley last week.

And so did my inclination for procrastination.

I purposely chose my goal of not watching tv or movies for the first week of classes so that I would get ahead of things and feel great about the semester. I planned to read or just sit and enjoy some downtime listening to music. So, did it work?

Lol. No.

Okay, so actually, it worked a little bit. I was much more conscious about how I was spending my time, so I only watched about 4 hours worth of tv/movies throughout the whole week. That is way less considering I sometimes watch that much tv in one day if I’m particularly lazy. Most of my time spent watching tv/movies was while I was eating, working on a puzzle, or, one night, cooking. Even though I can’t say I’d count this week as a completed goal, I will say it was a success!

I think part of my success came from watching a movie, rather than tv shows. I’m not the type of person that has to finish a movie in one sitting, so I spent about 20 minutes at a time watching the movie while eating my meal. I really liked how this worked for me! I might start picking one or two movies each week to watch and make it last several days. That way, I don’t get hooked on the plot of a television show, and if I am intrigued enough by the movie, it’s not like I binged and wasted nearly 8 hours over two days.

So, let’s see if I keep up with this little idea of mine…

 

 

If you’d like to see the complete list of 52 things I’m accomplishing this year, click here to check out my first blog! For now, here’s what I’ve done and what’s to come in the next few weeks:

Last week: No watching tv or movies. At all. I’m serious. Just sit there and eat your soup, Gwen.

This week: Recite affirmations to yourself whenever you’re alone in the car. Yes, you’ll feel really stupid, but maybe you’ll start to feel better by the end of the week.

Next week: Actually go over notes or rewrite them after each class. Supposedly it will help you retain more information.