Dear Lauren, I Love You

I saw this link up and thought it was just amazing to do especially since it had to do with loving yourself and that is what January is all about over here on Little Lion Gal! Plus, I love writing myself a nice, ole letter.

The link up is a yearly thing where each month you are given a prompt for an activity to do. I read them and they all seem so fun to do! And yes I am adding another yearly challenge to my already busy life. I am going to have to get an assistant to remember everything going on in my life!

Dear Lauren, 

So, like, January is almost over when it feels like just yesterday you were sitting at home waiting to come back to school. It's been one busy month and it isn't even over yet! You are doing great on your yearly and monthly goals. Yeah, maybe you wrote some of your daily journal entires a day or two late or maybe didn't fill in your self love journal one day but it always got done. Life gets busy so don't get down on yourself. 

You are doing amazing at adjusting to being back at school and getting back into class. I know you had some really hard days at the beginning but you pushed through and I am so proud of you for that. Keep your head up and keep moving forward. Things will continue to get better. 

I want you to promise me something. When this month is over I want you to still love yourself like you did this month. You are definitely feeling so much better about yourself this month than ever before. 

And while we are on the topic of promises will you promise me that you will do what makes you happy in 2015. No more doing things because you have to and not because you want to. This year is about you and about making you the happiest person in the world. Life is great when you are happy. 

Until next time,

Me <3 p="">

I'm not sure if I will be doing every month of this challenge but I had fun doing this one so I think I will try to do them. I'll talk to everyone later!

xoxo,

Lauren

There's A Nurse In Me

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I have a confession to make. At about the mid-point of winter break I started to think about coming back to school and coming back to class. I knew this semester was going to be hard and it scared me greatly. Doubt started to fill my mind. Could I do this? Did I even want to be a nurse?

At one point I thought about either leaving college all together or switching majors. I cried on the first day of classes because I wasn't happy at all. The second day of classes was the first time I got to wear scrubs and let's just say I had zero excitement. I cried the third day of classes because I just couldn't do any of the work and was so stressed. Since last week (my first week), things have gotten a little better each day. It's a slow process but I am getting there.

It's extremely hard to have doubts about something that you once loved. It's extremely hard to think you had your life together when you no longer do. Actually, its really scary to think about and to have to work through those emotions.

I allowed myself to suppress to my emotions for a week and only a week. After that first week was up I made myself really thinking about what was going on. I thought about why I was feeling that way and came to some realizations. I was more scared about the class than anything else. I was letting fear take over.

Because of the self love month, I was able to come up with an activity that helped me see things a little more clearly. I feel like this could help other people out there even if they aren't a nursing student.  Maybe you're not sure if you want to be a teacher or if you are doing the right thing.

What I did was make a list of all of the reasons why I would make a good nurse. Why I want to continue with school. Here's my list.

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I enjoy helping people and that's what nurses do. 

The human body and the medical field interest me a whole ton. 

I have a mothering instinct. 

I have a passion for nursing and you need that. 

It's my dream. 

I am selfless and would do anything for anyone. 

I am good at staying in control when there is chaos. 

So I am taking this and carrying it around with me. I need to be reminded why I am doing what I do. If you are having any doubts about your life choices make a list as to why you would be good at that. It will help I promise! 

xoxo,

Lauren 

P.S. If anyone was wondering I am staying on top of my self love journal and writing one thing down every day. 

I Am Loved

As part of my self love month I am taking a look at the people who love me. Sometimes it is hard to love yourself if you do not feel loved by those around you. I know there are times where I have felt so down on myself because I didn't feel like people loved me. It can be hard at times to see that people love you, especially if the things they do are daily and go unnoticed. Today I want my readers to stop and a make a list of the people that love you. Things long and hard about it. If you want to take it a step farther write down how they show it.

1. My parents

They will do anything for me. Just a few examples include my mom driving things to me in the icy rain and my dad giving my money because I can't work while at school. 

2. My siblings

My sister will ask about my dad or send me a simple text. My brother will listen to me rant and watch Tangled with me. 

3. My aunts and uncles

They always give me tons of advice, ask about how school is, and general just listen to me. 

4. All of my cousins

I have had some drive me back to school and take me out for a girls day. 

5. My grandmother

She always believed in me, listen to me, and gave me all the motivation I needed. 

6. My best friend, Bridget

Even though at times I don't think she is listening to me she always is. She will do random things for me. And if those aren't enough she tells me she loves me. 

7. My best friend, Jill

This girl tells me she loves me, listens to me rant, always helps me through my problems, and doesn't get mad at me when I am mean to her. 

8. My roommate, Erika 

Let's just say I'm not the easiest person to live with. I can be crazy and loud. Erika has spent many nights singing and dancing with me. She has helped me so much, like when I'm too lazy to get up. 

9. My Big, Carolina

She surprises me with her love. She ask how I've been, and puts up with me. She crafted so much me and had me to a point. She has made me a random cake because I just wanted one. 

10. My Big Big, Tori

She's so sweet to me. She has offered to help me with school and actually apologized for breaking a promise because she was sick. 

11. My Spir, Sami

God I love this girl! Sami will tell me how much she loves the crafts I've made for her. She listens to me and laughs with me. 

12. My sorority in general

They do little things like say hi and talk to me about my day and life. Little things that make me feel loved. 

13. My friends, Jeannie, Joann, and Anya

They will listen to me and give me advice. They want to hang out with me and we can just lay around and they won't care. 

In the past few days I have just felt the love. I have felt how much I mean to some people. They show it and don't even now it. It's nice to know that their are people out there that. 

xoxo,

Lauren 

Loving Your Appearance

School hasn't gotten busy yet but I know it will come next week. While I have time I am sitting down to write a little. It's still self love month over here on Little Lion Gal so I thought I would do another post about loving yourself. I am going strong with my journal and always writing down one things I love about myself each day. Watch now I'll jinks myself because I said that. 

Today I want everyone to make a list of all of the things they love about their physical appearance. It is completely ok to love the way you look. I don't find it conceded at all. You have to be happy with yourself for other people to like you. 

1. My short, healthy hair
2. The color of my hair. It catches the light so well. 

3. The shape of my face

4. The color of my eyes

5. My little hands

6. The shape of my legs. Yes this is weird but I love the different the curves in my legs.

7. The way my hips stick out

8. My big butt

9. My skin and all its flaws. It amy not always be clear and that ok. 

10. My chubby toes

11. The size of my breast 

12. My freckles

13. My smile
14. My straight teeth.
15. My weight 

Honestly, I felt so good about myself after writing that list. There was a huge smile on my face and I thought it was such a great idea. My whole attitude changed after that. If you make a list let me know. I would love to see what other people wrote! 

xoxo,

Lauren 

Spring 2015 Goals

I start the Spring semester tomorrow and I am both nervous and happy about this. This is going to be a hard semester for me and it makes me super scared. I like to start each semester with a set of goals for the next coming months. The goals are about both my school work and my life in general.

I’m not one to make New Year’s Resolutions so this is what I do instead. I make resolutions for the semester.

1. Call mom less

I have a tendency to call my mom multiple times a day for no reason. I’ve decided that I will only call her once a day at the end of the day. It will be good for me not to talk to her as much.

2. Go to the library at least once a week.

I only went to the library 4 times and those times were during finals week. Really, I didn’t need to sit at the library because I was able to get my work done in my room. In this semester I think I will go to the library at least once a week to get me into the habit of doing work there and to hopefully get done more work than in my room.

3. Put my phone away when I am doing work

I always have my phone put when I am doing work or studying. It than causes me to not put 100% into my work and be distracted. I plan to have my phone with me but away and on silent. If that doesn’t work I will start to either leave it in my room while I am at the library or turned off and in a drawer while I am in my room.

4. Become more private

I have a problem where I tell everyone everything about my life. It can be good, at times, to be so open but than again you have to have a line that shouldn’t be crossed. Next semester I hope to keep everything to myself and only share some things with close friends.

5. Stop using phone in class

This is a huge one and if I only follow one of these resolutions I hope it is this one. I have a problem of using my phone in class and not paying attention. It causes my grades to not be as high. I will be putting my phone in my bag, on silent, and if that doesn’t work I will start to leave it in my room.

Let me know what your resolutions are whether it is for the New Year or the semester and if you have any tips for completing mine.

xoxo,

Lauren

First "Dive" of 2014

If you read my post a few days ago than you know my word for 2015 is dive. I want to stop overthinking things and just do them. Well, yesterday I took my first "dive" of 2015. I cut all my hair off!

This is something I have been thinking about for almost 5 years now. I have always wanted to cut and donate my hair but never had the courage to do it. For the past few months I have been talking about cutting it and wanting to cut it a whole lot more. To be honest if I had scissors I would have had my hair cut months ago.

December 26 I told myself I was cutting my hair before I went back to school. There was no way I was backing out of it. All I needed was a hair appointment and I'd be set. I thought about it every single day. Like is this the last time I will have a braid? Is this the last bun?

I didn't tell a single soul. Not my friends. Not even my mom who went with me to get it cut. I was afraid of telling people and than changing my mind or feeling like I had to cut my hair after I told people. It took so much pressure off of me.

I love my new hair cut. It makes me look so much more mature and it looks amazingly healthy. Everyone has been loving it so much. Some many people were shocked because I haven't had short hair since pre-highschool but it was a happy shocked.

I'm glad I did it. It makes me so happy that I did something different and went for it.

New Year, New Me

xoxo,
Lauren

Staying Organized In Class

In order to do well in school you really need to be organized. If you have a mess desk or school bag it's hard to find things. If you just have papers thrown everywhere you will lose things, sometimes important things.

With the new semester starting I thought I would give my readers a few tips on how to stay organized throughout the semester. Staying organized is the key to success.

1. Use a planner

Planners are my life. I write everything down in them from school work to sorority events to daily reminders. My planner with this year is one from Target and my planner from last year was a Lilly Pulitzer planner. I will probably switch over to a Lilly Pulitzer planner in August.

2. Write all your assignments down in your planner right away

As soon as I print out my syllabus I write down every assignment, test, paper, and quiz for the whole semester on the day it is due. I never forget anything or have to worry about going back and looking at my syllabus.

3. Have one binder to keep all your general class information in

I have a binder where I put the syllabus for each class along with a grade tracker and an overview sheet of each class. Its easy for me to see my grades in one place and for me to be able to take out the binder if I need to look up say a professors office hours.

4. Have one copybook and one folder for each class

I don't like to mix my papers from multiple classes in the same folder. It gets confusing and mess. If you have one for each you can stay organized.

5. Color code each class

At the beginning of the semester I pick one color for each class. I then get a folder and copybook for that class. I also write all of assignments in my planner in the matching color. at the beginning it can be hard to remember but class is what color but within a week I have it down.

6. Make a weekly to do list

I like to make a list on Sunday night of all of the assignments I have due that week. It makes me less overwhelmed because I am only looking at a weeks worth of assignments and if I need to I can look just at one day. Some weeks I make the list on Wednesday or Thursday that way I can work on it over the weekend.

These are just the main things that keep me organized throughout the semester. When you have a busy schedule and a lot on your mind it is key to stay organized. Tell me any tips you have to stay organized throughout the semester. I am always open to new ideas!

xoxo,
Lauren

How To Do Well In College

For many people the spring semester starts in the week to come. I know I will be back to hitting the books come 9 am Monday morning! Last semester I did extremely well and I also did extremely well in my summer classes. My grades really improved since my first year of college and I think that has to do, in part, with the changes I made to my study and life habits. I'm here to share some of my tips for doing well this semester.

1. Stay organized

A messy room leaves for a messy life. It's that simply. In order for me to stay on top of things I need to stay organized. Tomorrow I will tell you my detailed tips on how to stay organized for class. Look out for that.

2. Stop procrastinating  

I know everyone says this but its true! I started doing my assignments a few days before they were due and the difference it made was amazing. For one, I was less stressed and two, things were done faster and they were also done better because I wasn't rushing to finish them.

3. Read the textbook! 

I never read the textbook because it was always boring and took so much time. Than I started reading the textbook and I understood things better. I was able to keep it up for more than half the semester and I would that my grades were better when I read the textbooks than when I didn't.

4. Find a place to study 

Some people can only study or do homework in the library. Others can sit at their desk in their room and do homework just fine. I didn't really have a problem doing homework this semester in my room but last year I could only get work done at the library. Find that one place that works for you and go there the whole semester!

5. Cut out distractions

This was probably my biggest change from last year to this year. I got rid of things and people that distracted me from my work. If your friends are distracted to you don't do your work with them. If you are distracted by your phone but it away in a place you can't see it and won't hear it.

I hope everyone has a good semester. If you have any tips on how to do well this semester that I missed tell me in the comments below!

xoxo,
Lauren

I Am...

In January I am looking at myself and really seeing what I love about myself. I am going deep down to really see every aspect of my life. This activity is a combination of a project from grade school and a pin on pinterest of positive words.    

What you do is start by writing I am at the top of your blog post or piece of paper. Than write down everything you are after that. Are you smart? Are you positive? Are you an artist? Are you a good writer? Think of all the things you are. It really makes you think positively and think about all of your good traits.

I am…

Smart

Positive

Hardworking

Caring

Loving

Forgiving

Funny

Courageous

Selfless

Worthy

Creative

Thoughtful

Brave

Sacrificial

Open-minded

Talented

Strong

Interesting

Beautiful

Perfect

Wonderful

Keep the list going. Write down as much as you can think of making sure you look at every aspect of your life. If you write this on a piece of paper you can add to it whenever you think of something. I am going to write this on paper and add every time I think of something.

xoxo,

Lauren

Self Love Journal

I made this simple, quick journey to go along with my self-love month. One thing I am doing every day this month is to write down something that I love about myself that day. Instead of writing it on a piece of paper I made this little book with a  page for each day.

Supplies

Paper (construction, computer, scrapbook, etc.)

Ribbon

Markers/Pens/Crayons

Hole Punch

Optional

Stickers

Pictures

First cut the paper into smaller sizes. The book can be whatever you want it to be. My paper was already cut so I skipped this step. I wanted mine to be almost like a pocket book. You are going to need 17 pages.

Than hole punch a hole in the top and the bottom of each piece of paper. Make sure that the hole is in the same spot on all of the pages.

Next write the date at the top of each page (January 1, January 2, etc.) You can write Thursday, January 1 or just write January 1. It’s up to you. If you want you can use stickers too.

Decorate your cover however you want using stickers or drawings and than tie the pages together with ribbon.

It will take you almost no time to make this. It is also really cheap if you already have the supplies like I did. If you make a journal I would love to see them.

xoxo,
Lauren

P.S. Leave the book in view so you remember to write down one thing you love about yourself each day.

2015 Word of The Year: Dive

I am all for setting goals and bettering yourself. Since it’s the beginning of the year its time to set some goals and aspirations for the next 365 days. I really don’t make resolutions for the year. For me, it is all too intimidating to try and stick to something for a whole year.

Instead I am going to do a word for 2015. I see this all the time and have put so much thought into the word I am choosing. The 2015 word of the year is…

Yes, dive. Sometimes I like to be unique. I tell my friends all the time to just dive. To just go for it. Stop thinking and just do. Say yes more often and not no. Stop being afraid of what could happen or giving into the fears. Your friends want to go on a daytrip somewhere? Go! You’re not sure if you should talk tot hat boy? Do it! Should you stand up for yourself and state your opinion? Yes! Stand up!

By diving I will hopefully accomplish more this year. I will throw my fears out the door. I hope 2015 is filled with adventure and fun. I am going to need it with college being halfway over and the stresses of hard classes.

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Xoxo,

Lauren

*Some other word possibilities were change, positivity, and goodbye. *