My Happiness Project: July Ending

Dear You,

So if you've been following along with my Happiness Project (inspired by Gretchen Rubin, post here), you'll know I just finished July's resolutions with the theme of productivity!

I finally got moved, I now live in an apartment rather than a house but I genuinely like it so much more. We unpacked almost the entire apartment in a single day and while I still haven't bought any new furniture, everything is pretty much done! Moving was hard but I stayed productive and I'm proud of myself for doing so well. 

Going over some of my resolutions...

Waking Up by 7

My kitty waking up with me

Honestly, I didn't do too well at this. My sister was in town who always wanted me to stay up late and I slept in for awhile. However since she left I've gotten up early everyday, this morning I even went for a run which was really nice. I don't particularly need to but I enjoy waking up this early, the sun was beautiful, the neighborhood was peaceful, I loved it.

Blog posts

I did everyday except for last friday, it was the actual day of the move and while I had every intention of going onto my phone and posting I didn't remember to actually do so until the following morning. However, I have every other weekday this month and it's pretty fun. I love writing on here even if no one ever comments (though I really wish someone would). I'll definitely be continuing to post every weekday morning. 

1+ Hour Writing 

I did really well at this on weekdays until this week, though I'm going to do so later if it's the last thing I do. I've gone a week without writing and I think I'm going insane. 

1+ Hour Guitar

My dream guitar, also $1200, HAHAha...

I was horrible at this in the beginning of the month though I got better later on, I love my guitar and love learning new songs. Playing everyday definitely makes me happier and there's nothing in the world that could make me stop playing. 

Less Netflix

So I was really good at just reading until about a week ago when I started watching Orange is the New Black again. However I'm almost done and then I swear I'm stopping Netflix for awhile. However, I don't know if I'm happier when I'm not watching it. I'm definitely happier when I'm more productive however when I'm in the middle of a show, like right now, forcing myself to abstain just makes me unhappy. I just can't get involved in shows too often. 

Appearances

This is basically like skincare, wearing makeup when appropriate, dressing up (which I love) and paying attention to it has made me happier. I like looking nice and I did really well on it. 

I'm definitely a person who feels like they need to be productive and have something to do. However most of this was just small improvements, I can't tell if I'm actually happy. I'm happy that I live where I do now and that the move is done. I felt really happy this morning while walking back from the gym. I guess I am having more nice moments and while it doesn't seem like much if I learn to stop and smell the flowers I think I am generally happier, at least somewhat. 

What makes you happy? Leave me a comment below!

Have an Amazing Day!
Mia B

Also, if you wanted to be the coolest person in the world, you could take a look at my new Youtube video :)

July Favorites

Dear You,

I've never done a favorites post for this blog before but they're some of my favorite posts. So even though I'm not a beauty blog I'm still going to do one because I feel like it. 

5 Seconds of Summer

If you haven't heard of them, they're a teenage band with an upbeat pop-rock sound and a new album that's kept a place at the top of the charts. I just bought the album and have been loving it, a lot. 

Life of the Party

This new song by Youtube artist Shawn Mendes has been on replay every night for me. It's a very simple yet well written song and perfect to listen to before bed. The song also has a nice message about doing what you want while you still can. 

iTunes Radio

I'm the type of person who needs to multitask so whilst packing and moving I always wanted to do something else and I ended up listening to new music on iTunes radio, usually on the 5 Seconds of Summer radio. I found a lot of good new music and (even though my Wishlist has reached about $80) I was thoroughly entertained while doing such mindless tasks. 

White Chocolate Mochas

I am definitely one of those people who needs a coffee right when they wake up and I usually go for a vanilla latte but I heard a good idea of White Chocolate with Raspberry and tried it in coffee form and it was delicious! I had it in hot and frappacino form and while I might ask for less raspberry syrup in the future, I'll definitely keep ordering it. 

Panera Bread

I finally live near a Panera Bread. It's one of my favorite restaurants and I've never lived near one before but now I have one 2 miles, only 5 minutes, from my house. I've gone 3 times already and it's definitely going to be my new place to go. I also love the fact that I could just bring my laptop in and write for awhile, they have a nice atmosphere for working. 

Orange is the New Black

Even though one of my resolutions this month was watching less Netflix, I've gotten tired from working all day and needed to relax somehow. I had to see what all of the fuss over the show was about and now I know, OITNB is a pretty good show. It's definitely only for an older audience but it's interesting, funny, and has a good plot line. 

I really appreciate how the secondary characters in the show have plot lines as interesting and full as the main character does and how the show is set up to introduce stories from everyone's past. It gives an interesting insight onto the reasons behind each character's actions and adds a certain sense of life/person to everyone. It's easy to say we would never do what they did from our comfortable, clean beds and expensive laptops but not everyone is as fortunate.

Anyways, those were some of my favorites, what were yours? Leave me a comment below!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

Also, if you wanted to be the coolest person in the world, you could take a look at my new Youtube video :)

Quote

Dear You,

In my favorite movie, Stuck in Love, one of the characters mentions this quote and it struck me quite a bit.

“Nothing needs to happen to a writer’s life after they are 20. By then they’ve experienced more than enough to last their creative life.” – Flannery O’Connor

I'm only 18 and I'm already running out of stories to tell, I haven't done that much. I've had one, big, bad, long thing happen in my life and it was horribly beautiful inspiration for writing however a writer can't write the same story forever. I've never been able to write that one out exactly how I'd like it but I still know I need more. 

I still have so much left to experience and I'm excited yet completely oblivious to how life goes, I guess. I'm used to playing it safe but if I want inspiration, I'll have to leave my comfort zone. It's so easy to say yet so difficult to carry out, like all great things in life. But, again like all great things in life, the difficulty should lead to happiness. 

Thoughts? Leave me a comment below!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

Also, if you wanted to be the coolest person in the world, you could take a look at my new Youtube video :)

New Discovery

Dear You,

I've been a huge fan of Lorde since Royals topped the chart. Even though she hasn't released many singles, I love her album, it's very well written and creatively varying. I've had the 10 track version for awhile now and never really thought about the deluxe version even though it's really good. 

The deluxe version of her album has 6 extra songs, one is an old one that I have had forever and love dearly but the other five have gone unnoticed and I've loved getting to fall in love with one of my favorite artists music again. 

The extended songs are called:

No Better

Bravado

Million Dollar Bills

The Love Club

Biting Down

Swingin Party

These songs have the same alternative sound and highly metaphorical lyrics that she's known for however she managed to write them in new, exciting ways that make these 6 songs uniquely beautiful from the original 10 songs. 

Sometimes the deluxe version of CDs are just the songs that weren't good enough to make it onto the album however the extra songs on Lorde's album are just as good as the original 10 songs that I know and love. I'm actually sad that I haven't had these songs in my life until now but I'm really excited to start listening to them now. 

That's my exciting new discovery of the week, have you found any good, new music? Leave me a comment below!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

Also, if you wanted to be the coolest person in the world, you could take a look at my new Youtube video :)

Quote

Dear You,

I've been ridiculously busy packing this huge house but I desperately wanted to write for awhile and this quote stood out to me.

I think I've always had trouble accepting reality, in true optimistic form I want the world to be rainbows and unicorns and sometimes I feel like I can trick myself into believing it. But the world catches up to me in the worst of ways and life seems worthless more often than I'd like to admit. 

It's the worst feeling in the world, reality. The realization that one day we'll all be returned to dust and our work might not make one difference and the whole idea of humans surviving and reproducing could be worthless in itself because truly all we've done is destroy the planet we were given. 

However, in this cold realization I find comfort in things like music and reading. I've particularly clung to one of Whitman's poems: Oh me! Oh life! in which he explains purpose as "That life exists and identity, That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse" because while we may be returning to dust, life will always go on and it's what we contribute to the future of the world that matters in the end. Whether we helped or hurt, advanced human thoughts or technology or hindered it. 

So my "hole" of shelter in this world resides in my capacity to make a difference and leave a powerful, positive impact on those around me through the things I love. For me, that's enough to forget any negative thoughts and while some could call me a naive optimist, I'd rather be that than a mean pessimist. 

Comment with your thoughts or what you find shelter in below!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

P.S. I didn't mean to imply that all pessimists are mean, they're not :)

Also, if you wanted to be the coolest person in the world, you could take a look at my new Youtube video :)

Quote

Dear you,

While I'm not exactly happy with Rowling after just watching Hedwig's death, she is a brilliant storyteller and excellent writer and has written a beautiful quote. I've had this one as my phone wallpaper before...

I've had to learn about failing recently as I've been experiencing it excessively lately. College, jobs, life. It's all been a bit much. But at the end of the day in my pile of failure at least I can say that I had enough ambition and bravery to try. In the long run I know it has to pay off, failures will turn into successes and I'll experience so much more life than if I decided to live without life. 

I want to try every new thing and go places and impact the world and reach my dreams and if that involves a lot of people telling me no before I hear a yes than so be it. 

Rowling submitted Harry Potter to 13 different publishers before one said yes and I hope that I have that much perseverance in my life to be able to believe in my work so strongly. She definitely had a right to considering Harry Potter is the best selling series in history and the movies the highest grossing and the fans the best in the world (though I may be bias on that). 

I just hope to remember in every moment of my day to live and try even if I fail or embarrass myself or my life ends in oblivion because one day I will succeed. 

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

If you wanted to be the coolest person in the world, you could take a look at my new Youtube video :)

New Discoveries

Dear You,

Recently I've been listening to iTunes Radio quite a bit, it's a lot like Pandora but it lets you do more skips if you're willing to listen to more ads. I felt like I was in a music rut, listening to the same artists over and over and wanted to find new music and my iTunes Wishlist has gotten pretty long, I found some really good new music.

Life of the Party by Shawn Mendes

Shawn started out on Youtube a year ago (at least that's his oldest video on there) and it's so amazing to see how far he's come. This song was #1 on iTunes for several days because it's a very well written, feel good, inspiring song about not caring about what everyone else thinks or says in a sweet way. 

Burn With You by Lea Michele

Lea Michele has been a huge inspiration since I started watching Glee in my freshman year and she continues to be so today with her very own album. This song is definitely my favorite.

Everybody by Ingrid Michaelson

I'd already fallen in love with her newest CD, Lights Out, but this song came on the radio and I fell in love with her older CD, Everybody. The title track is definitely my favorite, it's a great feel-good song.

Not Your Birthday by All Star Weekend

I've noticed myself enjoying a lot of boy-band pop-rock songs in this 5SOS radio, not all of them though. This one is one of my favorites, definitely a party-sounding song that I may or may not have random alone dance parties to.

God Only Knows by MKTO

I've loved MKTO since they came out with their first single last winter, they finally came out with the album and it's just as good as I hoped. It took me awhile to decide on my favorite but I think this one is. Their songs are well written and very danceable.

Stuck In Love: A Writer's Playlist

Stuck in Love is without a doubt my favorite movie, it's a love story (or 3) with interesting, relatable interconnected twists and the soundtrack lives up to the movies greatness. It's mostly the songs in the movie that the characters were listening to and I'm completely obsessed with it like I am the movie.

Anyways, those are some of the songs on my wish list. What have you been listening to lately? Tell me in the comments below!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

If you wanted to be the coolest person in the world, you could take a look at my new Youtube video :)

Seriously... I'm Kidding Review

Dear You,

I fell behind in my book reading among all of this packing but I finally finished Ellen Degeneres' new book, Seriously... I'm Kidding. 

Overall, I did like the book. I laughed several times, she's without a doubt my favorite talk show host as I'm sure most of America would agree. The entire book was basically her kidding about different events in her life and really the most random things you could think of. 

I feel bad saying this because she is genuinely funny and I did overall enjoy the book but there were some slow parts where I was really just skimming over what was written. I was skipping because it was just rambling about random, untrue things that she was kidding about but at a point it just got a little boring. 

Also, it was quite difficult to discern the difference between truth and jokes and I devoted quite a bit of thought into doing so while reading the book. 

It was only around 250 pages and some parts were really good and hilarious like I knew Ellen would be however there were just some drier parts where she'd talk about absolutely nothing for awhile and I knew she was kidding, it just got boring for awhile. 

However, throughout the book there were really funny parts like literally laugh out loud chapters. I appreciated her view in certain chapters when she wasn't kidding because I usually agreed with her. I also truly loved her advocation for individuality and being yourself as a common theme throughout the book and found a few quotes about other important topics.

For example:

"To me, beauty is about being comfortable in your own skin. It's about knowing and accepting who you are"

She has a lot of wisdom and I loved and agreed with all of her serious chapters, I just wish there had been a few more serious parts a couple less tangents about nothing. 

Like I said, overall, I really did love the book even if I had a few criticisms about it and that was just my view. I bet there are people who just wanted the entire book to be her kidding about random things. And I will always love Ellen, she's a great author.

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

If you wanted to be the coolest person in the world, you could take a look at my new Youtube video :)

Five Favorite Musicals

Dear You,

Ever since I was a little girl I have been in love with music and I've always loved musicals, expertly combining 2 forms of storytelling into masterpieces. So I thought I'd talk about some of my favorite musicals of all time today because they have always meant a lot to me and I hold these 5 very close to my heart. 

1. Wicked

I haven't actually seen this musical but no judging! I've read the book at least ten times and know the soundtrack by heart. I've just never had the money to buy theatre tickets but it is definitely on my bucket list. 

2. Annie

I watched this movie at least 50 times when I was a kid and still rock out to You're Never Fully Dressed when my smile is missing. Annie was my idol because she was cunning, brave, and strong. She had been through a lot without getting messed up by it and that's all we really want in the end, right? To make it through this crazy world and still be alright in the end.

3. The Sound of Music

Again, I watched this a lot more as a kid than I do now however I still have Do Re Mi and So Long, Farewell on my phone and no one can say anything about it because I don't care. I love that song and I'm not afraid to love something because other people may discredit it. 

4. Funny Girl

This musical made me fall in love with Barbara Streisand the way I'm sure a million others have. Her voice is magical and she is hilarious. I have Don't Rain On My Parade and My Man still on my phone... I'm really consistent with this 2 songs from every musical thing. 

5. Rent

I just recently watched this one on Netflix despite the fact that I've had the soundtrack for 3 years. My favorite songs from this one were Take Me or Leave Me and Seasons of Love (but I also keep Light My Candle on my phone, HA 3 songs, I'm proud of myself). It is more of a teenagers movie, definitely would have missed the whole story if I watched it as a kid. However I loved the whole 5 different people's stories interconnecting and things (like Love, Actually, though not 1/10th as happy)

These are some of my favorites out of the musicals I have seen thus far and I still haven't watched some amazing ones like Les Mis or Christmas Carol which I should probably watch soon. I always avoid movies that I don't think I'll like, then end up falling in love with them when I finally force myself to watch them, I don't know why I do this to myself

What are your favorite musicals? Leave them in the comments below, I'd love to read your comments, and talk, and maybe watch what you suggest!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B



If you wanted to be the coolest person in the world, you could take a look at my new Youtube video :)

Quote

Dear You,

During the time that I'm moving you may see an increasing frequency of quote analyzations because I'm getting busy and really tired, packing is hard. However I will post everyday no matter what. So today's quote is one that I wrote on my awesome quote board (a big whiteboard that I keep on my nightstand and change every week)!

"Throughout all of the changes that have happened in my life, one of the priorities I've had is to never change the way I write songs and the reasons I write songs. 

I write songs to help me understand life a little more. 

I write songs to get past things that cause me pain. 

And I write songs because sometimes life makes more sense to me 

when it's being sung in a chorus, and when I can write it in a verse"

-Taylor Swift

I really enjoy this one because I've never wanted to waste my life doing something that made me unhappy. And I feel like I could get caught up in the whole writing-just-to-hope-someone-heard-it and-wanted-to-pay-me-for-it hype. It's really important, at least for me, to remember the message behind this quote.

When I was 13 years old I tried to write a song because "Taylor Swift does it", it was horrible because it was my first song and because I wasn't writing it for the right reasons. A little after I turned 14 my family went through something that specifically caused me a lot of pain and I remember feeling so horrible and picking up a notebook and writing it all down, all my haunting thoughts, all of my tears, all of my pain into words, conceivable rhyming words. This one was still really horrible but it made me feel better and I figured out how to write and I always think back to this specific situation and how it felt after I finished writing and the little girl who finally stopped crying.

I always want to be as innocent a songwriter as I was back then, writing because life hurts or because I really don't understand people and relationships and life most of the time. Sometimes I don't even know how I feel until I write it down and I never want to let those good intentions turn sour. 

Any thoughts? Leave them in the comments below!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

If you wanted to be the coolest person in the world, you could take a look at my new Youtube video :)

My Happiness Project: July Half Way Mark

Dear You,

I remembered yesterday (technically this morning at like midnight but I count that as yesterday as I hadn't gone to sleep yet) that I was exactly halfway through the first month in my Happiness Project and wanted to write about it! I think it's important to check in with yourself to see how you're doing, whether you're working on happiness or not, and evaluate things to improve. I have to do it in writing because sometimes I genuinely do not know what I'm thinking or I'm going to write until I write it.

So… the month of productivity. Does productivity make one happy? I think it can contribute. My specific parts of productivity haven’t specifically made me happy but I do notice an effect. 

I’ve found that when I wake up early I have time to enjoy a nice, drawn out, relaxing breakfast to read or watch a TV show that no one else in my family watches. Then I spend a couple hours writing, usually one hour on the blog, one writing songs, and one writing on my computer, stories or thoughts, really anything. This is some of my favorite times of the day because while I love my family I truly enjoy my alone time, my writing time. Writing is my joy in life and having a few quiet, undisturbed hours in the morning to work on it makes me feel really accomplished. 

When I don’t write I feel like my life is just a cycle of errands and work that really won’t lead anywhere for me in the future but when I write I feel like I’ve invested in myself and in my future. A future (hopefully) full of writing. And when I get all of my thoughts out and use up all of my creativity and writing power I think I’m much more willing and looking forward to getting through my chores and boring daily things. It doesn’t bother me half as much. This could all be accomplished in the middle of the night (It’s actually 12:23 AM right now, I almost forgot I wanted to write half way marks) but sometimes I get tired at night and give up. However sometimes I sleep in (like this morning, probably why I’m writing in the middle of the night) so I think either time really works to do this, I just have to commit to actually doing one or the other.

I wasn’t very good at finding reasonable times in the afternoon, when no one is asleep and I’m not busy packing, to play guitar but have gotten much better in the past week or so. And I definitely think this has contributed to overall happiness. I love playing guitar and I’ve recently learned 2 new songs that I really love and were really hard to play. I was really excited about this accomplishment however I feel a bit empty, maybe a feeling of unimportance or lack of purpose? Not sure yet but I hope to figure it out soon, it’s a horrible feeling. 

Cutting down Netflix has gotten progressively easier. I always watch Netflix shows like Doctor Who by myself and felt rather guilty doing so. I’ve gotten used to spending my relaxation time reading and watching movies with my family. One’s good for my writing and the other for my life, family time is important and this way I’m not killing myself but I’m still being a little productive even while watching movies. Spending time with family and friends will always be a worthy endeavor. I’ve actually gotten really busy with packing so I haven’t watched a single episode in the past few days (not to mention ABC family just played all the Harry Potter movies!). 

Keeping up appearances is going really well, I’ve only missed two days so far. This doesn’t mean putting on makeup everyday because most weekdays if I even manage to leave the house it’s probably to pick up milk or pizza or a small errand like that. It just means that I keep up on painting my nails and nourishing my skin and other beauty things that make me feel good. And I have to say that I rather enjoy it, it’s just a really nice feeling. 

There are some failures like a day where I watched 5 Doctor Who episodes and 3 days straight that I didn’t practice guitar and a rather sparse “wake up early” column. I’m not perfect and I let myself skip a day or two on some of my resolutions however I’ve noticed some amazing changes. I’m just generally happier, no specific reason. I love playing my guitar everyday and I’m writing more than I ever have before and have learned so much about myself and my writing that I think I’m just generally happier. 

I’ve noticed that I’m catching myself when I’m doing things I don’t like in myself and I’m less high-strung. I don’t know if I was above average stressed before but for example I spilled acetone all over my comforter while trying to do my nails an hour ago but I was so happy after watching a good movie with my family, doing a nice, long skin routine, and making a plan to paint my nails and write this tidbit that I really didn’t care. A month ago I can imagine getting all stressed over it but now it seems like such a petty problem. I just threw it in my laundry basket, resolved to do my (already full) laundry in the morning, and grabbed a blanket from downstairs. And I’m genuinely proud of myself for doing so much better. 

When I thought of this writing idea yesterday I thought I would end up writing about how I really didn’t feel any happier but I guess after thinking it through I am genuinely, generally happier and I’ve done really good with my resolutions chart with a million tiny stars all over it. I’ve had some shortcomings but I’m happy about how this chance project is coming along and excited about how it will continue to do. 

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

Fandoms

Dear You,

I know I never really talk about it but I am a geek which, according to John Green, is really just someone who likes something a lot. I have several fandoms (groups of geeks for specific interest) and I felt like writing about them today. I'm not that hardcore, like I haven't been to any cool conventions and dressed up like the characters and I don't have any posters up around my room but I still really, really like them.

Harry Potter

I'm not very good at being a geek because I don't even have these movies, BUT I am recording ABC Family's Potterhead weekend and will probably spend all of my free time next week trying to get through them before we move. I'm really upset because then they'll be deleted and I'll have to wait until another HP weekend to watch them again, but maybe that's the kick I need to finally buy myself a set.

 I've been wanting to get a Hogwarts Alumni sweatshirt for the longest time, because no one gets cooler than that. 

Doctor Who

I love the Doctor so much (post here). I watched all 7 seasons for the first time last summer, watched 8 throughout the year and have missed the Doctor so much I decided to rewatch the first 7 seasons on Netflix, again. I'm on episode 6 of season 7 so almost done but I'm very excited for the show to start again in August with a new Doctor!

Sherlock

I admire Sherlock's deductive powers so much, I've been meaning to read Doyle's original books for awhile but in the meantime I love watching Benedict Cumberbatch bring such a complex character to life on the BBC show. 

Star Wars

I've been in love with this series since I was a really little kid, I'm talking like 9 year old kid bouncing up and down begging to go watch the last episode (well the third, depending how you think of it). I even made my dad take me to meet Peter Mayhew at the Seattle ComicCon. It was amazing, and he was tall.

Frozen

I say as I sit here typing in my Olaf t-shirt. It's my favorite kid's movie and yes my favorite character is Olaf. I really want an Olaf stuffed animal too... Anyways, yeah I'm an adult, like 18 and I do really adult things like bust out singing In Summer in the middle of the street, so grown up and things. 

John Green

Is John Green a fandom? I feel like he is, I like all of his books so he is a fandom in my mind. I just got Paper Towns for my birthday and I'm really excited to have the time to sit down and highlight and annotate it. I already read a library copy but I only buy books that I loved so I can reread them and mark them all up. 

His books are amazing and while many people argue they are unrelateable for the general teenager, there are a lot of irregular teenagers who would disagree. His writing is deeper than most other young adult books one would pick up however there is this new generation of teenagers who feel the same way. Normal isn't the only way anymore and his characters are some of the only relatable characters for a large group of overlooked kids in YA fiction.

Anyways, those are some of my favorite stories that I happen to occasionally obsess over however if you include musical artists in fandoms then I haven't even scratched the surface. 

Are you in any fandoms/obsess over anything really cool? Tell me in the comments below!

Have an Amazing Day!
Mia B