I finished a doctoral program in December, which marked an exciting moment in my life. I’m no longer in school for the first time since I was six. After each degree, I jumped into the next one, the only break being certifications. It was a blessing to work towards my education, knowing that so many… Continue reading
In ‘the old days’, politics, social issues, and religion were all avoided topics of conversation. The result was that friendships could only be surface-level and discuss the weather. Any societal issues were also left unattended and unresolved. As is typical, society has over-corrected itself with the introduction of social media (not that social media was designed to remedy this problem). While the world of social media is a fairly new addition to society, the collective seems to struggle with the same character flaws as myself.
My first memory of having heard of the concept “white privilege” happened after a wealthy, white politician was blatantly guilty of having committed a crime, but rubbed elbows with the right person and was barely slapped on the wrist. I couldn’t tell you who it was or what he had done (a white politician doing… Continue reading
In today’s world, it seems that we are all surrounded by dilemmas– having to choose between different values. It’s everywhere we turn–it can be difficult to navigate the competing values and even more so when it seems to be pervasive in your field. International Psychology I have just spent a little over a week in… Continue reading
After half a year after my trip to Peru, I find myself losing connection with my experiences. While I would love to share, there were too many aspects to do it justice in a single post. In this first post, I will be sharing the reasons for my travel to Peru and what it was… Continue reading
As a social studies teacher, I can appreciate historical literature. Unfortunately, most historians don’t present the story as a narrative, but as a slew of dates with difficult-to-follow information. They read like a dull textbook and I can begin to understand what my students mean when they say they hate history. All of that to… Continue reading
It’s that glorious time of year when people pack the gym and try to go vegan for the first time in their lives. The New Year rings in a list of items to improve in our lives. This is the year to lose the weight. This is the year to pay off our remaining debt.… Continue reading
Mental health stigma holds a strong presence, despite how common the symptoms. Even for those who walk through without having a mental illness, we all struggle with depression or anxiety, eventually. While I believe this to be unavoidable, I believe we can better our situation. Perhaps hard times will come, but perhaps we can lessen… Continue reading
As Christmas winds to a close, we start distributing the leftovers and putting our new gifts away. We know we should take down the decorations, but the tree will be dead before it finds the curb. The end of Christmas marks the time for us to think about our New Year’s resolutions. Every social media… Continue reading
If you read my post on Monday, you know that I literally just told you to take a mental break. While I do think you should hold off on any major planning, I am not telling you to dawdle. Realistically, many of us have to be productive over the holidays. We can approach the months… Continue reading
Well, it’s that glorious time of year when we start to get reminders to plan the next year. We get taunts from New Year’s Eve Resolutions and what we want to see in the next season. This would be great, if we could get the energy to finish just this day out strong. But this… Continue reading
It is inescapable in recent years to be aware of the celebrity deaths involving suicide. In past decades, the expectation was for drug/alcohol overdose and plane crashes. One the consequence of the lifestyle choice and the other a freak accident. But recently, it seems that suicides have afflicted the rich and famous and not always… Continue reading
As I begin to tackle this new challenge in my life, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. I’m sure this is something we all face. We decide to pursue a goal, knowing it will be difficult. Before we even begin, we’re faced with a problem that has kept us from goals before. We have issues and those… Continue reading
For those of you who don’t know, I begin my PhD program next week. This is a goal I’ve had since my undergrad days (let’s not calculate that number). There is a lot of anxiety and stress attached to this endeavor. It’s been a few years since I’ve last been in school and I already… Continue reading
Knowing that you should develop a new habit and knowing where to begin are never the same thing. If you haven’t yet, be sure to read the previous post, Journaling: A Mini-Series. Now that you know it is vital to journal, you might sit down with a pencil in your hand and a notebook on… Continue reading
Journaling– it’s what you may have done in high school when you were filled with oh so much angst on that crush and hopefully, you’ve had the joy of moving past that phase of your life. And now, I’m going to suggest that you take up the habit once again. Let me share with you… Continue reading
Quite possibly the worst thing that can happen to my day is when I’m denied my morning coffee. There are few things that can make me more groggy and irritable. But after finally getting over my caffeine addiction (3 1/2 pots of coffee a day– that’s right…. POTS), I want to wake up before I… Continue reading
Dominoes pizza, those skinny jeans that seem to be shrinking all on their own and that to-do list that keeps growing in length. We all have enemies who seem to have a personal vendetta against us ever getting healthier. Those are my enemies, although they aren’t nearly as dangerous as the most powerful enemy to… Continue reading
Welcome to exhaustion. You have most likely been here quite a while and have not enjoyed your stay. Hopefully, you’ve had at least a little rest during your Thanksgiving break, but so often, that week fill up for us all. We end up hosting family or staying with family and as great as it is… Continue reading
All cards on the table, I’m the worst at keeping my life together when I get home from work. I manage my time from 6:30 in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon…. like a BOSS. Then, I get home and something about the couch beckons my booty to sit down and make a home… Continue reading
