Back to School Guide to Low Stress

Holy moly, do students know a thing or two about stress! Between working, social lives, and our studies, we are some pretty strung out people. Don't let stress bring you down this semester! There are so many ways that I've found to calm down and relax when I'm feeling overloaded.

1. Find your stress reliever. Everyone has something that calms and relaxes them. Some people need to go for a jog (not me lol), some read books, and some watch a television program. I find that I'm calm when I'm baking or playing music. Find anything that relaxes you and helps you forget for a bit what's stressing you out, and stick to it. Let it be your security blanket (cause that's totally okay and necessary.)

2. IT'S OKAY TO NAP. I know some people feel lazy if they get home from classes in the middle of the day and just nap for a few hours. I'm not one of those people. I'm not suggesting you nap the semester away, but every once in a while it's fine to have a little snooze. We are tired people as students and adding the stress of classes and work on top of that is not a good mix. I don't think any good or rational decisions were ever born out of sleep deprivation, but then again, I haven't done the research. If your feeling stressed and anxious, ask yourself when the last good night's rest you had was and go from there.

3. Find songs that relax you. You don't have time to go for a jog or take a nap? Fair enough. We are busy individuals, after all. When you've got house work or homework that just can't wait, put on some soothing jams. I made a Spotify playlist of all the songs that relax me when I find myself in that kind of situation.

4. Drink tea. If you are now like I was three years ago, then you're laughing at this statement and tea's inferiority to coffee. I am a coffee person 100%, but coffee makes you tense and jittery and can contribute to stress. Chamomile tea has many benefits including reducing aches and pains, treating menstrual cramps, and reducing anxiety and tension.  


All of these are steps you can take to reduce the stress in your life. Try a combination of any of these things or find other things that calm and soothe you. Free-diving breathing exercises can physically calm you down, meditation can relax your mind, burning the right scented incense can positively affect your mood. There are literally hundreds of ways to reduce stress, and I implore you to find at least one that works for you. Life is short to be lived with anxiety.

Peace and love. XXX

Back to school!

For many people, school is starting back in just TWO DAYS.  While part of me is excited the other part is dreading this necessary evil. Whether it's college, highschool, or middle school: school itself is  just plain stressful. We, as students have to deal with buying books, meeting deadlines, working with difficult project partners, and just trying to keep our grades up. But that's just the academic side. Then there's keeping a job, making friends, nourishing and taking care of ourselves. People wonder why students all claim to have depression or anxiety, but it's not the least bit surprising.

I don't think I'd go so far as to say I'm an expert at being a student, but I've figured out many ways to keep myself calm, (sort of) cool, and collected during these trying times. It only makes sense for me to write a "Back-to-school survival guide" (of sorts).  I'll break them up into a series of posts starting with:

1. Back to school style guide.
2. Back to school guide to low stress.
3. Back to school study guide.
4. Back to school health and wellness guide.
5. Back to school guide to social lives.

Again, I'm not an expert, but rather an idiot who's made enough mistakes in life to fill a book. The good thing about mistakes is that, more times than not, we learn from them. I've discovered a lot of valuable tips and tricks to surviving school simply by doing the wrong things. Education is an awesome thing, but also can put you through the ringer. On the first day of school, just a take a deep breath and go into the new year with a clear mind!

Peace and LOVE. XXX
(and good luck!)

Mason Jar Salad

I have all day classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so a midday meal is very necessary. At my campus, we have a Chik-Fil-A, Subway, and a cafeteria. First of all, I don't like spending a lot of money on lunch while I'm at school. Second of all, I don't want any of that freshman fifteen! I get a lot of exercise trekking around campus and I feel like I'm sabotaging that by having a huge fried meal in the middle of my day. I've been trying to come up some healthy lunch options to bring with me to school! Today, I had a chickpea and red bell pepper Greek salad.

Makes 2 servings

You will need:
1/2 Red bell pepper
2/3 cup chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
6 leaves of Romaine lettuce
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. of Greek seasoning
Dash of dried mint

To start:
1. Wash and dry the lettuce leaves and chop them into small pieces. Clean the pepper, being sure to remove all the seeds. Dice up the pepper and toss it in a bowl with the drained chickpeas and lettuce.
2. Mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, mint, and seasoning. If you feel like it needs more of a certain ingredient just go for it! Make it how you like.
3. Evenly distribute the dressing in the bottom of two large mason jars or Tupperware containers. Put the vegetable mix in on top of the dressing, but don't mix it. You can shake up the jar when your ready to eat it and the leaves don't get soggy while it sits!

If you don't like chickpeas or red bell peppers you can substitute them for literally anything else. There's more than one way to skin a cat and there's definitely more than one way to make a salad. You could even substitute the lettuce for spinach or kale. I just wanted to show you a fun and healthy lunch option which is good on the go! Greek yogurt is my one true love and it just made sense to pair it with my Greek salad! 

Enjoy coming up with fun alternatives to this! I look forward to sharing some more "clean eats" with you!

Peace and love. XXX.