My Happiness Project: October

Dear You,

I think I've found a large amount of unhappiness in the fact that I am constantly misdefining myself and while I realize this is a lifelong struggle I think it's important to take the time to figure out who you are along the way even if you know that will probably change. So I've decided to make October the month of Identity. 

Some of my resolutions are...

Define myself

I'll probably have a few posts this month in quote thought form just trying to figure out the type of person I am. It's important to know that. 

Be myself more

With the new job I have, I've been told several times that they "like me" but they're going to "change me". After truly thinking about it, I realized how terrifying that is. 

Of the few things I truly know and enjoy about myself, being kind and courteous is near the top. I have devoted a large part of my life to being kind and I'm not going to let a temporary, meaningless job change that about me. 

Take good care of myself

I have let go of my strict eating and fitness schedule. Which is fine, I'm taking a break, but all breaks need to come to an end so after my getaway this weekend I'm going back to a healthy diet. I also really enjoy things like yoga and tea that I need to remember to enjoy more. 

Put myself out there

I'm very used to sitting in the back seat and letting life happen around me but I think it's important to also be a part of life, which often requires doing uncomfortable things. However I've discovered that uncomfortable situations often bring good things. 

Speak up

A part of putting myself out there is having the courage to speak up (in true Gryffindor style, I'm rereading Harry Potter) and put myself in those uncomfortable situations. Speaking up is definitely something I'm not good at but an extremely important life skill, happiness project or not. 

Anyways, those are some of the things I'll be working on this month. They're definitely not the checkmark kind of thing but hopefully I can change my state of mind enough to make me a better person. I also realize this is more of a selfish month but sometimes you have to be selfish, however there is definitely a fine line between the two. 

Any thoughts? Leave me a comment below!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

If you wanted to be really awesome you could check out my New Youtube Video :)

My Happiness Project: September Ending

Dear you,

Now that September is over I have to talk about how my month of resolutions went!

Find job

I did this! I officially have a job. However it is a job that requires a bit of aggression and that's definitely not who I am so I might try and find a place that's looking for mild tempered people. If it doesn't make you happy, leave it behind :)

Inspire Someone

I don't think I've been able to do this. I definitely want to but I think I'm still stuck on how. I'm going to start performing my songs so maybe I'll find my dream in performance. 

Care Less About What Others Think

I think this will be a lifelong struggle but I have noticed a difference in my state of mind. When someone asks if I'm going to college (like they always do) I gladly tell them I chose to focus on songwriting. And I love it, I love it so very much. 

Make New Friends

I haven't successfully accomplished this, I work at a place that doesn't exactly allow people to talk. Hopefully next month, because what is life without hope?

Contact Old Friends

I have done this and it makes me very happy to hear how everyone's doing even if their life is quite different from mine. I love knowing how everyone's doing at college and life and hearing from them makes my day. 

Work on Social Media

I've been tweeting more!!! Has anyone seen? I consciously think, 'I haven't tweeted today, I need to do it', I'm getting better I swear and if you want to feel free to go click all my social media buttons in the upper right corner, they're so cute and nice :)

Especially my Youtube, which you can click, right there and here 

Overall, my month hasn't been perfect and I didn't accomplish all that I hoped I would but I did some things and that definitely matters. I have had a slight increase in happiness but I don't think I'm just there yet. 

How was your month? Leave me a comment below, I'd love to talk!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

If you wanted to be really awesome you could check out my New Youtube Video :)

My Happiness Project: September Half-Way Mark

Dear You,

It's already the middle of the month! Can you believe the passing of time? I always think I'm witnessing it, the boring days and wasted nights but somehow I'm always astounded by the amount of time that passes. 

This month I've been attempting to work on the social aspect of my life and improve it enough to make me happier. Here are some of my resolutions:

Find a job

I diiiiiiiiiidddddddd itttttt!!! I'm now an employed sales associate. If only I was a waitress, I could fit the stereotype of entertainment industry-hopeful but I get discounts so it's not bad :)

Inspire Someone

I've found this one harder. How do you know if you've inspired anyone? Does a light automatically go off in the world or a billboard sign "THIS PERSON MADE A REAL DIFFERENCE" I've yet to find a way to accomplish this one

Care Less About What Others Think

Now that I think about it, I really have. (Almost) everyone in my life knows what I want to do with my life despite their judgey eyes and I dress the way I want to dress and do the things that I want to do. It's great and feels really good even though it was hard. 

But the most wonderful part is, I wasn't forcing myself to do it. I would just come out with what I wanted to say without overthinking what everyone thought of it. It's become a state of mind that I am very happy to be in. 

Contact Old Friends

Yesterday, in fact, I was thinking about this resolution and decided to text a friend that I thought was mad at me from her silence. Turns out, she thought I was mad at her and we were both being silly (yes I used silly, I realize I am a grandma/5 year old). But now I have a great friend back in my life, it just took a little bit of courage.

Work On Social Media

I'm still posting on Tumblr plenty (http://miabrielle.tumblr.com seen above) and I have tweeted slightly more (http://twitter.com/miabrielle) but not as much as I meant to and I still haven't posted a Youtube video. I need to but I'm always second guessing myself like if I just practice a few more days I can make it better. This week, I will, promise :)

Yeah, so overall I'm getting there. I got pretty used to being the lonely writer but I think the rest of the month will be a time to change that. I have a random work schedule this week but I'm actually doing something like outside my home. Crazy, I know. Be proud ;)

Do you like being social? Leave any thoughts in the comments below!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

My Happiness Project: September

Dear You,

It's a new month! Can you believe it? August was ridiculously long for me but now that it's over, I can't help but wonder where the time went but don't we all. While I'm nostalgic for the lost time, I am insanely excited for fall! It doesn't feel like it in Southern California yet but I'm hoping it does soon. 

Now that it's the beginning of a new month, I'm starting a new chapter in my Happiness Project! September is officially the month to work on Social aspects in my life.

This has always been a rather weak part of my life and especially is now! I've moved to a new place where I have no friends, no school, and no job but hopefully I can do something about that this month. 

My resolutions are:

Find a Job

I've been filling out applications for the past week and still nothing. While my main focus will be writing songs and focusing on my career, I do need a job in the meantime. 

Inspire Someone

I realized that this is what I want in my life. I want to write songs so I can inspire someone, anyone, to do something or not to give up the way that some of my heroes have. I can't think of anything more I want out of life. 

Make New Friends

I have none, literally none, in this new town. Or really anywhere. I think the whole "not going to college like literally everyone else is" thing makes it a bit difficult. 

Contact Old Friends

I did this once last month and while it was difficult to explain my unique situation, it felt freeing. I still have a few friends from a few thousand miles away that I haven't talked to in months and while I know they might judge me, I trust them to believe in me. Or at least accept my decisions. 

Work On Social Media

I'll mostly be focusing on my Youtube channel but my tumblr is always active and I'll try to start posting more other places as well. Some people discount the advantages of social media but I think it's a perfectly acceptable way to communicate with people we don't get to see everyday. 

Anyways, that's what I'll be up to this month as well as the other ongoing resolutions from July and August. You'd think it would get more difficult with every month but now it's all just habit to wake up early and practice everyday and hopefully by the end of month I'll find some happiness in this month's as I have in others. But you'll have to read the post to find out :)

Comment below with your thoughts!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

My Happiness Project: August Ending

Dear You,

I can't believe August is already over! I spent a large portion of it with family so it feels like it just flew by but I did manage to get through some of my resolutions...

Vision Board

So I kind of did it, I have all the materials and even got some fancy picture frames and all the pictures picked out and sitting in a Vision Board folder on my laptop but guess who's out of ink? This girl. So I will print them out and post about the board when I finally have some ink and do it. Until then the frames will just sit in my closet but look how cool they are!

Signed Up For Lessons

I did this! I found an awesome teacher and had a trial lessons and start permanent lessons this Saturday which I am ridiculously excited for!!! I'm already using some new techniques to better my voice from my first lesson

Talked About Writing

This was definitely more difficult telling old friends because I can hear the disappointment in their voice. "You gave up college to write songs?" doesn't exactly make me feel good about my decisions but I did manage to do it a few times and it felt far more relieving than I anticipated. I'm glad I started doing it more. 

Worked on Videos

I wanted to wait until I started voice lessons so I could do better videos than if I just played what I already know. I really want to focus on quality over quantity but next month I'll post new videos with what I learn in lessons, also very exciting. 

1 Line Journal

So, this journal is $20 and I am cheap so I never really bought it... But I did start writing a line in the notebook about what made me happy that day, something I learned from Tyler Oakley and I enjoyed it. Sometimes it helped me realize that my life isn't as bright as I pretend it is and other times it made me realize how blessed I am with a nice home and amenities that I need to pay attention to. 

Taking Care of Body

Late night tea with my kitty and AMAZING mug

I went back and forth on this. When I get stressed out, I eat whatever I want, someone bought a huge box of froot loops and one morning I ate 3 full bowls, not my brightest moment. But other days I stuck to salads even with the worst foods set before me and I'm proud of myself for that. I started running a ton and I've been treating my body much healthier. 

I went on a lot of walks despite the crazy summer weather

One challenge I did face was having someone who was anorexic around me which brought back some old feelings but I managed to remember how important being healthy is rather than skinny. Even when I had to remind myself over and over, it was entirely worth it.

Practicing Guitar

I don't have pictures of myself playing so here's one of my vision board pics

This was my easiest task because it was also in last month's and it's one of my favorite things to do! It was difficult to find places to practice where I wouldn't bother anyone else (in a 2 bedroom apartment) but I got quite a bit in and learned a few new songs :)

Overall, there were 2 weeks with family that I didn't record my resolutions but I still remembered them and stuck pretty closely to them and I'm proud of myself for that. When I was depressed I still wrote more and when I wanted to stop running I remembered how much more badly I wanted to achieve my dreams. I would say that August was a success. 

How was your month? Let's talk in the comments 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 :)

My Happiness Project: August Half-Way Mark

Dear You,

So I took a week off because I had some family come into town and honestly I felt no urge to write and the only reason I write is because I feel that familiar desire to jot all of my thoughts down. Without that overwhelming want, writing is just a job, something I have to do and I never want it to become that so every once in awhile I need a break. However, now that my break is over I am back and ready to write my heart out. 

We passed the mid-month checkmark! So today is the halfway check in on the Happiness Project. 

This month's theme was Ambition!

Some things to do were signing up for singing lessons and making a vision board

I have, in fact, signed up for lessons. I had my first one last Saturday and it was really good, I loved hearing what I could fix and to have my voice stretched, it helped me realize just how much I love singing and music in general. 

My vision board only exists in digital form thus far. I have the supplies but I need to print the pictures and my printer is out of ink! Look out for a post for that soon because I will finish it before August ends if its the last thing I do. (The picture is going on my board)

Some of my everyday goals were: talk about writing more, make videos, practicing, write a one line journal, and take care of my body. 

I've found that talking about writing is really easy with strangers and highly difficult with the people that I've known since I was a kid and hid it from out of embarrassment. It makes me feel like that little kid, as I'm writing this I have a text from yesterday on my phone explaining my situation that I haven't sent yet, because I'm scared. *HUGE SIGH*

I haven't made another video after the first, I'm not that confident in my singing yet, but maybe I'll just make that a one time thing. By the end of August I will put up another cover video, promise!

Practicing guitar and singing is really easy, I already did it from last month and I love doing it. I miss a day here and there because I can only play certain hours in an apartment complex but during the week it's pretty normal for me and makes me very happy. 

I haven't gotten the one line journal yet. It was $20 at Barnes and Noble! However I have been writing a few things that made me happy everyday on the side of my resolution chart. It's not always huge things just small accomplishments or writing a good song.

Taking care of my body was definitely difficult. I did a 5 day cleanse that I actually stuck to and made me feel wonderful. I've had good days and not so good days but in the end I've gained a new appreciation for begin healthy. One thing I have struggled with is comparing myself to other people. I'm definitely working on trying to change my mind set on that one, it's incredibly unhealthy but I'm slowly getting better. :)

This month was definitely more difficult because my resolutions weren't as clear cut as last month but I've been getting through them, everyday gets better. I've definitely learned things and I'm still happy that I started this project. 

Comment below one thing that made you happy recently!

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 :)

My Happiness Project: August

Dear You,

I can't believe a month has already gone by, I guess life tends to do that. I'm really excited to start month #2 of My Happiness Project and wanted to update you on what I'm doing!

For August I wanted to focus on Ambitions

While I have no aspirations towards basketball I still have huge dreams in the world of music and I want to actually pursue them because I know I find happiness in them. If I haven't said it a million times yet, I'm a songwriter and I genuinely hope to find a career in my passion. And if not in that, in other mediums of writing. Like this blog that I write everyday or the short stories I keep to myself on my laptop. 

Whatever I end up doing I want to push myself to try harder at them than I have been before. This is another one of those long term happiness things where it will probably suck doing it but the reward will be worth it a million times over. 

My specific resolutions for this month are 

Make a vision board

Make an adventure jar

These are one time goals rather than everyday things but I need to commit to actually making them, just for inspiration

1 line journal for Career

Rubin (author of Happiness Project) uses a journal where you write one line a day to keep track of the little moments. I want to keep one to remind myself of all the things I did that day to reach my ambitions

Talk about writing more

I've gotten used to being ashamed of my love for writing because of the general societal preconceived notion that things like writing are so unlikely that all writers who haven't already been successful should be looked down upon. 

I also decided to take a gap year between high school and college because songwriters don't typically go to college and while I think it'd be a great experience I decided to try life without it and I am constantly looked down upon for it. 

However this month I want to embrace my dreams and tell the world about them. 

I AM A WRITER AND I LOVE IT

Make more Youtube videos

I made a cover of Treacherous by Taylor Swift (here... ;) and while the views haven't been wildly successful I have to believe in myself and keep making them and practicing and hopefully someday people will start watching them :)

This one is unrelated to the theme of the month but...

Take Care of Self

I have always worked so hard to get a perfect body, extreme diets then pigging out because cake and ice cream are delicious but this month I want to actually take care of myself. Eat fruits and vegetables because they're good for me, not because of looks. I want to change my perspective and start making healthier choices in my food and life in general :)

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

ALL THE SMILEY FACES

Anyways, those are my goals for the month, I'm hoping to stick to them, here's my resolution chart for August...

I added a bit about what made me happy today separate from the one line a day journal for career-stuff, it was inspired by Tyler Oakley and I'm excited to see what I write down by the end of the month :)

What are your goals for the month? 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 :)

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 :)

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

My Happiness Project: July

Dear You,

Yesterday I wrote this post about the start of my own, personal Happiness Project! So now on the first day of every month I'll be writing a post with my resolutions for that month starting with today!

So, I'm a writer and musician and I spend my days working on such things. But I also take my little brother and dog for an hour walk everyday, do chores, learn French, I'm moving August 1st, my little sister who lives far away is in town for the month, I workout everyday, my birthday is in 3 days, and I live in Southern California and still want to enjoy my summer. You could say it's a bit of a busy month.

Going for a walk

Running for 35 min straight is hard and annoying and stupid

After school ended I got somewhat lazy and watched more Netflix than I'm willing to admit but now is time to really buckle down and get PRODUCTIVE, which is the theme for this month.

My resolutions are:

Waking up early (7-7:30)

Spend 1 hour per day on guitar, writing, reading, and this blog each

Watch less Netflix

Keep Up Appearances

I somewhat already started a week or two ago just because I was so excited to start this project and it's never too early, right?

I made my own resolutions chart like the author did though it's for July so today will be the first time I get to mark it :)

Waking up early has been really easy, I'm still getting more sleep now than I was during the school year. My 1 hours are easiest accomplished in the morning when everything is still quiet and little errands don't rise up and get in my way. This is with the exception of guitar practice, which because of it's volume I tend to put off until the afternoon. 

2 of my favorite things in the world 

(well things slash people, my cat is people, well at least she acts like it)

Netflix was easy to cut down (no more than 1 episode/day) and I've gotten much more reading done which is better for writing than TV. The appearances was due to the fact that I was not going through the same beauty regimens as earlier in the year and my skin was complaining quite a bit but it's finally back to normal, thankfully, and I feel much better for it.

I have a feeling accomplishing everything I normally do in a day is going to get more difficult, especially with a whole house to pack up and a million other things to do but I'm looking forward to the challenge ;) 

Leave me a comment with your thoughts below!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B