Hello! It's been too long since I have posted something. These last few weeks have been crazy for me! Anyways, it's JUNE!! How is it June already?? That's crazy! That being said, I set up new year resolutions in the beginning of 2017. With it being halfway through the year, it only makes sense to get an update on them!

1.  Save More Money!

This was on top of my new years resolution, and let's just say that it's the bottom of the list right now. I SUCK at saving money. I just can't help myself. I haven't been trying really hard, just because there's so much stuff happening all the time, and I know that's a horrible excuse, so I'm trying to get better!!

2. Write More

Right after trying to save more money, this is the next one on the bottom. If there are any writers out there, you know writer's block is a bitch. And I've been having that for these past six months now (lol). But now that it's summer, I am ready to write! I've set a new goal, and i'm ready to do this! I just got done planning out my plot and characters more, and I'm ready to roll!

3. Blog Twice a Month 

I was doing SO GREAT on this goal until May came. I even had some blog ideas for May, and I just never got around to it. I kind of kick myself for that now. But I promise to to better! I have six months left of the year, I can still achieve this goal!!

4. Think/Say Negative Things in a Positive Way
5. Tell People how Grateful/Thankful I am for Them
6. Be More like Michelle Obama

I've combined these three together because they go hand-in-hand together. They all are about treating each person with respect, and to think about the positives in life. With such negatives in the world, people find it hard to find the good in the world. Although I haven't been doing this well, it's always in the back of my head whenever I read the news, or watch TV. Kindness goes a long way, and I am still trying to strive to be the best I can be.


Reviewing my goals in the middle of the year has been a real eye opener for me. It keeps me grounded to what I want to achieve in the year. It helps me realign my goals again, and after this post, I have a stronger and better visual of what I want to do with these last six months!

I have less than four weeks until I am done with my first year as a college student. It's surreal, and I am incredibly proud of myself. This year has been crazy, and I can't believe I went through the stress and tears of college. That being said, it's not over yet.

Whether you're a college or high school student, you understand the second semester struggle. The cold starts to go away, the sun actually comes out, you can put away your winter jacket, and you can start wearing sandals and dresses and skirts. It's amazing. What's not amazing is the lack of motivation you have. This happens to everyone; you are not alone.

That is why I am here today! Below are some tips to help you gain motivation for that last stretch of second semester.

1. Do not study outside

2. Plan ahead

3. Exercise

4. Get Some Sleep

Dear Younger Selena,

I just want to tell you that I'm doing great. I now attend the University of Minnesota Twin-Cities, which was a college that you never thought I'd go to. I'm also majoring in Communications, with minors in French and Creative Writing (again, something you never thought I'd do).

I really hope you are living up the 7th grade life. I know it's a tough time, but it'll be lots of fun. Right now, I am in my second semester of my Freshmen year, and I love it. I'm in some great clubs (Admission Ambassadors and Plan U), and I also have a great fricken job (marketing intern).

This coming fall, I will be moving in with my boyfriend. What??? Yeah, I know, tell me about it. I thought I'd never find anyone, and here we are! I have a wonderful boyfriend who I love very much. You'll have fun meeting him your junior year of high school.

Sometimes I get homesick. I miss my family and friends. So make sure to unconditionally love everyone around you (even though they may be annoying). We grow up so fast that time cannot be stopped, and by the time we know it, it's too late. So make sure to say "I love you" and "thank you" to as many people as possible.

You'll lose some friends throughout middle school and high school. It'll be hard, and it will hurt like a bitch, but you will survive. You eventually find new friends, who are wonderful and fun to have around. They'll be your support system, so don't take them for granted.

Your family is great. They're thriving and successful in their own ways and talents. You should be proud of them, even though they may be annoying at times. Send them letters and gifts more often. They deserve it. Oh, and they also miss you all the time.

I hope you're learning great things. Just make sure to try a little hard in school. I mean, it's fine the pace your at now, but just try a little harder. Also, don't be shy to make friends. It's scary, but it'll be totally worth it.

Stay strong. You have a great future ahead of you.

Sincerely,

The 2017 Selena

Let's admit it: we work hard all the time, either at school or at work. We are always constantly busy, and if we aren't busy, there's a good chance that we're sleeping. Personally, I have some weeks where I am just burnt out, and I sleep during most of my free time.

Taking mental breaks from a busy schedule is important. Not only does it feel good, but it is healthy for you mentally and physically. Below is a list of why it is important to treat yourself.

1. Treating yourself after a long day is a great way to rest your brain

Your brain has been working all day at school and work. It's burnt out, and you just want to sleep. Make sure to set aside at least 30 minutes a day to relax and breath. If you don't want to spend any money, this is a great way to treat yourself. It's a simpler and faster way to treat yourself. Read a book, or do some meditation or yoga. Relax your body and mind. Take your mind off of your busy schedule for 30 minutes. This will help you regain focus and reach your goals faster!

2. You'll become stressed with too much on your mind

If you don't treat yourself, you're mind will overload, and you'll start to panic. Write down a list of what you need to do. This will help your mind calm down. Also, writing down a list of things that need to be done could potentially help because in your mind, it seems like a million things need to be done, but on paper, it's actually only three things. After, take a mental break! Watch a comedy - laugh a little! This will not only de-stress you, but it will make you happy too!

3. You'll be more happy!

In connection with the second point, if you treat yourself, you'll find yourself in a happy and positive mood. I don't know about you, but when I'm in a positive mood, I get a lot of things done. By taking breaks, you allow your brain to rest, and have a little fun.

4. You'll be more motivated.

Lastly, the one main reason you should treat yourself is because you will gain more motivation. If you regularly give yourself breaks, you will be more efficient in your work. You won't be overwhelmed, and you will be in a better mood!


There you have it folks! Every day, I always make sure to take mental and physical breaks, even if it's watching a 20 minutes episode of a comedy show, or playing a game on my iPhone for 10 minutes. All in all, just make sure to treat yourself and give yourself mental breaks! But don't go too overboard with those breaks.

I am incredibly blessed with wonderful brothers and sisters who I can fully rely on. They are funny and supportive, and we have so much fun together. Although we know how to joke and have fun, we do run into struggles every so often. Below are the pros and cons of a big family.

Pros:

You Will Always Have Someone to Turn to

I have three sisters and two brothers. That is an endless amount of people I can go to to get help or advice. If one sister doesn't agree with you, you can move onto the next sister, and hopefully, that sister will share the same perspective with you.

Each person in the family is for a designated topic in your life

Going right along with the first one, I find that each of my siblings have a specific topic that I go to to get help for. For example, I go to my older sister if I need life advice, or need to deal with serious situations in my life. I also go to her if I want to have fun and party. If I need advice on photography or blogs, I go to my younger sisters for that. If I find myself talking about video games and action movies, I go to my younger brothers to discuss that (and eventually play the game, or watch the movie).

It's super convenient for me, and they seem to enjoy the conversation (even if they don't know what topic they fall into, but they probably know now after reading this).

You get to share clothing

I have three sisters. Thankfully, we are all about the same size. That being said, we get to share clothing. When we were younger, we use to go "shopping" in each other's closets and find something we wanted to wear (of course, we needed the approval of the sister first). It was super convenient because we didn't have to buy two of everything; instead, we could just borrow, and maybe the clothing article wouldn't be returned back to the right closet (though I was already really good at keeping track of my clothing).

Because some of us don't live at home anymore, it's difficult to share clothing, though we are sure to provide advice about fashion and makeup when it comes to big events like family dinners and holidays. Having sisters to help with that is awesome, because out of the four, I am the worst at fashion and makeup, and I am not ashamed to admit it. Having them is a wonderful support system as well.

Cons:

Sharing a bathroom with too many people can get chaotic (can't keep it clean either)

In our house, we had two bathrooms. That being said, three of us were in each bathroom. I remember on school mornings, my sister would be taking a shower while I would be doing my makeup and hair. It's things like that that make you thankful for not only how close you are, but also the sibling themselves. It was hard to share, but it made experiences funny to look back at. Thankfully, most of us had school at different time, so we woke up and used the bathroom at staggered times.

Lastly, one con about a big family is keeping the bathroom clean. We were pretty good at keeping it clean, but having four girls share one bathroom got pretty crazy. We had our little designated space for our makeup, but that sometimes classified as the entire bathroom counter. Let's not forget about our straighteners and blow dyers and curlers. It made getting ready super interesting.

Sharing rooms suck

Our house was pretty small, and that resulted us in sharing bedrooms. I've shared bedrooms with multiple sisters, and let's just say they were pretty rough. It was a great experience, but I would rather have my own space, and not clean up their mess every week.

You can't get peace and quiet

This probably has to be the number one con there is to having a big family. With me being one of the older siblings, I find that peace and quiet is something I need in order to unravel from a long day, or to do homework. That being said, it's hard to have younger siblings that are always constantly loud and won't shut up (I'm talking about my younger brothers). I've learned to tune it out, or to turn up my music. I also find that when I do have peace and quiet back home, it's hard to adjust because I'm always so use to the loud screaming.


There you have it! Although there were some struggles, I love my family and wouldn't trade them for the world.