So~Bee~Love

Photo by  Aarón Blanco Tejedor  on  Unsplash The novel coronavirus has seemingly shut down the world. Everyone has been staying inside whether it be with family, friends, a partner, or alone. These past few months have been challenging for all of us, no matter how comfortable you are with being at home. Over these last few weeks of quarantine, I have developed somewhat of a social regimen that has allowed me to stay sane. Netflix with Friends For those that don't know there is a chrome extension that allows people to watch Netflix at the same time. Since discovering this I have since downloaded the extension had had had weekly movie nights with my friends. This has been great because there is a chat feature that allows all the viewers to comment in real-time. My friends and I have used this feature to the fullest when watching movies. Zoom Parties At this point, if you haven't heard of Zoom you might be living under a rock! Zoom has been a great vid...

New Year, New Beginnings Happy New Year! During the first few weeks of every new year, everyone has all these resolutions, all these things they want to change or 'fix' about themselves. My theory about this is that people are obsessed with new year resolutions every year is that people are intrigued by the chance at a fresh start.  Don't get me wrong, I am one of those the people. But instead of resolutions, I like to say the word goals. I think of things that are reasonable and easy to achieve. Like popular things that people often list is that they want to go to the gym, lose, weight, eat healthier. All these things are great but by no means are realistic for me.  Going into this year I definitely want to be more mindful of my eating habits but I'm not going to change them completely just to fulfill some goal or fit into the norm. In addition to mindful eating, I also want to take one big trip this year. I am someone that has never really been on a va...

A Year in Review It is officially the first full week of 2020 and it already seems like 2019 was a distant moment in time. Although the year is young, so much has happened from social movements to political situations but aside from that, 2019 was a year of growth and self-discovery. I want to list my top moments of 2019 and their impact on me as a person. These are in no particular order but they will be loosely chronological, being that the first on the list happened earlier in the year. One of my first memorable moments of the year was turning 21. In the United States, this is the legal drinking age. Being in college it seems like a certain right of passage, you upgrade from house parties to going to the bars. This by far was one of my favorite birthdays, not because there was drinking involved (it definitely created an interesting atmosphere)  but because of all the people that were involved in my celebration. I celebrated my actual day of birth at college wi...

Lately, I've been feeling very unmotivated to write posts for this blog. I feel like there is a subconscious thought that keeps telling me that no one will read anything that I have to write and that there is no point in writing anything on this silly little blog. Honestly, it sucks having so many ideas build up in my head over time that when I finally have the courage to type out the words, it doesn't seem like its good enough to publish. As an aspiring journalist, it is very hard to self-publish quality content. In the internet world, it seems like there are so many voices to be heard and I am just being engulfed by all of them and not making enough of a statement to have mine stand out. Granted I don't put too much time and effort into my blog but that doesn't mean I don't care about it. It just means that I'm scared and don't know what to do. Since living at home after taking a semester off of school I've theoretically had more than ...

Have you ever felt invisible in a room full of people? I'm not talking about in a room full of strangers. I'm referring to a gathering of friends or family. A place that isn't foreign but you don't feel like you belong. For a while now, I have felt that I am an invisible friend. I am the friend that no one sees or hears about but I am there for you most of the time. I am your helping hand or your shoulder to cry on. I sit in silence as you pour out your soul, I am supportive and generous and invest so much time into our friendship.  But - in the world of social media, I usually am not the friend that you go on fun trips with or that you put on your story. I am not the friend that you post about or tag in photos. I am not ungrateful to be your friend but I can't to help but feel unwanted or unappreciated when I am helping you through all of your rough times but there are other people you choose to highlight in your life. The...

I've recently noticed that I am not the same person I was when I was in high school. I'm not the person I was last year and I'm not even the same person I was yesterday. Every day I experience something new and I grow as a person. Good or bad, the way I walk through life has an effect on how I live and interact with people. Taking time off from school, I've realized that I don't talk to the same people. I've grown apart from some and others I've lost touch. But I'm not mourning the loss of the friendship because I realize that I no longer need those people in my life, I outgrew them. Although like plants there are certain things that help to make us grow. Whether it's sunlight or water we need both to survive but it's about finding the right balance that makes a plant flourish and bloom. Right now I feel like I'm still in the balancing stage. Each day I'm testing out different levels of water and sunlight trying to find...

I have a confession to make... I have a baby face! Yes, it's true! Probably not what you were expecting me to say but it's true! My youthful looking face coupled with my short stature makes for a perfect excuse for everyone to mistake me for a sixteen-year-old. I am nineteen. Every time someone questions how old I am I feel like Penelope Disick being hit in the face by a car door. Last month I started a new job at a marketing firm as an intern. And as any new job goes, you mingle with as many people as you can to get to know who you'll be working with. During my first week, I went out with some of my colleagues for a walk around the block. Our days usually consist of sitting behind a computer. So going for a walk to stretch our legs sounded like a great idea, plus getting some fresh air is always nice. While we were on our walk small talk sparked and we all were talking just trying to get to know each other. Then one guy turns to me and asks "What grade ar...

As a veteran of the single person life, I know a thing or two about Valentine's Day. Each year it's a day where couples can get together and shower their loved ones with gifts and affection. But why do single people let this day make them bitter and upset? I like to think that Valentine's Day is the one day that couples get to be obnoxious about their affection to their partner without too much judgment. Besides their anniversary couples don't get to be gushy about their partners without someone judging them for it. As a single person, I realize the purpose of this "holiday" and choose to let it inspire me instead of making me bitter. I like to think that one day I strive to be in a healthy relationship so that we can celebrate together. Also with each passing year that I'm single, I choose to live the person that's always been there for me, me. Self-love is the kind of love I choose to demonstrate on Valentine's Day. Which to b...

As much as it pains me to write this...When I was growing up I wanted to have blonde hair and white skin. All the media I consumed portrayed people with those physical traits and I just wanted to be like them. When I was younger I didn't appreciate my melanin-enriched skin or my naturally bouncy curls. I wasn't ashamed but rather I longed to have smaller eyes and a more pointed nose rather than my afro-latina features that were shining through. Growing up in the late 90s/early 2000s I always saw white people in very prominent roles. I remember few POC characters that were represented on the big screen. And even fewer that were shown outside of their stereotypes. Much of the mainstream media in the U.S. led me to believe that white was right. Although the U.S. has a majority white population, there are plenty of POC who live in the U.S. that don't share those same traits. In recent years I have noticed a shift in mainstream media that has created mor...

January is almost over, it seems like only yesterday was the start of the year. It's interesting how fast and simultaneously slow time seems to pass. This Thursday I want to be very candid with my thoughts and talk about something that has been on my mind lately... I am no longer attending college. As of right now I am taking a semester off of school because this last semester was pretty rough. I suffer from anxiety and depression something that I didn't realize I had until I went to college and I was in an environment where I had to deal with it myself. Understanding these mental illnesses and how they affected me while I  was in school was very difficult just because I was trying to be a student but I had these things that didn't allow me to function properly. In any case, I thought it best to take a break from school. That being said, my initial feeling after making my decision was failure. I was overwhelmed with thoughts of how people would perceive me since ...

It seems like people really enjoy sharing their lives online for the world to see. With social media, it is so easy to post a picture or video of yourself that could potentially reach millions of people. In many respects, I am astonished by the wonders of the Internet and the way that you are able to connect with people across the world that you may not otherwise have been able to interact with. Also, social media is great at connecting people and keeping in touch with people that you may not see that often. Since I graduated high school there are many people that I keep in touch with through social media since I don't get to see them every day. It's great getting to log into an app and see what everyone's up to but there are definitely faults in social media. Personally, I think that social media has evolved into a superficial practice. These days it seems like everyone is trying to show off their lavish life or all the exciting things they do every week. I usuall...

Hello World! In the 4 years I've been writing on this blog I don't think that I've ever posted a picture of my face on here. The fact that I've had this blog for this long is amazing to me but I think this is the year that I am going to find my voice and create some posts that are interesting to me and hopefully to anyone reading. First off I want to talk about the origin of my blog. Once upon a time, I wanted to be a fashion designer and live in New York City and have my own line of clothes. But after a talk with extended family members telling me that a career in fashion design was competitive and difficult I changed my aspirations to that of a fashion journalist - still living in NYC of course but I'd be working for a big fashion magazine. Then came high school and I settled for a career in journalism and those are the courses that I've been taking in college. On July 3rd, 2014 I decided that I wanted to start putting my own work out into the world...

This year has started off very similar to the years before it, full of hope and empty resolutions. At the beginning of each year, I am very optimistic about setting goals and resolutions. I try to be persistent in completing them but to be honest, after January there isn't much momentum left to continue pursuing these expectations. The problem isn't setting up a goal, its the completion of it or rather the lack of accountability to attain them. One I first started making resolutions I would think of outlandish things like exercising and eating healthy. The Lord knows I haven't seen the inside of a gym in months and the only healthy thing my body knows about is lettuce, which is basically solid water so...What I ended up doing was creating more realistic expectations for myself like drink more water and take the stairs instead of the elevator, baby steps. Anyway, this year I am putting more of a focus on myself and my writing. Throughout this past semester I allo...

Wow, it's been a while since I've written anything. College was interesting ride and I'm so grateful for the experience and opportunity to be around amazing people and learn so many new things. But today I am not here to talk about that. I want to write about something that happened to me during college... "So I have a friend that is a Documentary studies major, which means she wants to make documentaries for her career. For her Intro to Photography class she has to take pictures of people in their natural habitats aka dorms. So after lunch my friend, another friend and I headed to his dorm for our photo shoot. My guy friend pulled out his guitar and started playing a song, my Doc Studies friend was quick to whip out her camera and start snapping pictures. Once she starts clicking she can't stop, she calls it being 'shutter happy'. Like trigger happy but with taking photos. Anyway we all get to singing a song and she turns the camera to me ...

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2015 had it's share of high points and low points but I am so glad to have a fresh start at a new year. Every year around this time people set resolutions for themselves, something cliché like eating healthier and working out more. Although some people have good intentions, the vast majority of people that set resolutions fail within the first couple of weeks in the year and fall into old habits. So in spite of all of that I have a list of goals that I want to accomplish before the new year ends. 1. HAVE A STRONGER RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD I am a christian. I am of the Pentecostal denomination and I serve Christ. In the Christian religion we view Christ as more of a personal figure than some distant almighty being. Although his powers are great having a daily connection through prayer really helps to strengthen the spiritual relationship. this year I am going to start a Prayer Journal . I've done these in the past and find that they are so helpful ...

So today I had the amazing pleasure of hanging out with one of my good friends Elena. We originally planned to meet up after school and visit a local coffee shop but the weather had changed our plans... So at the start of this wonderful fall season we have been experiencing some rainy weather on the east coast. So walking to the coffee shop was out of the question when we discovered that there was a "severe thunderstorm" warning. I must admit there was some lightning and heavy rain but it didn't last long but during this time we spent it like anyone would. We ate burnt popcorn and sang Christmas songs...did I mention that it's October? So this being the first time I was at my friends house, I didn't know what to expect which made my reaction more genuine (if that makes sense). She lives in a quaint neighborhood with small houses that have front lawns with fall themed decorations and trees that line either side of the street. The inside of her house looked ...

 It's July, despite the fact that back-to-school commercials are on you can still enjoy the rest of your summer. Here are 7 things to do this summer... 1. Build a Fort As a teenager sometimes I forget that I'm still young and doing childish things are acceptable. So pull out the cushions from your couch, grab some blankets and pillows and make your own fort! Invite a sibling or friend to enjoy a movie in your new "home". 2. Make S'mores Easy campfire fun and delicious snack. All you need are graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows. Roast marshmallows over a hot fire, place on cracker add chocolate and another graham cracker to seal the deal. If you don't have a fire pit but you have a gas stove....Roast some marshmallows over the stove, just make sure you don't burn the house down. 3. Go Swimming Beach, Lake or Pool. Anywhere where you can swim and have fun. Many beaches have free admission and lakes are pretty accessible (...

Early today I attended a youth leadership summit about racism. This was an organized event from a university held at the community college in my area. All the surrounding schools in the city were invited. The event started with all of us in a large conference room. We had an introduction by an inspiring speaker that was a graduate from the community college. He spoke about his journey of higher education and beyond. After that we had two sessions during the day, everyone was randomized in the first session and the second session we chose. The first session was literally an open discussion of racism. There were two other adults in my room and they presented topics to our group. For example something they asked us was, what is the definition racism. Then one of our supervisors presented us with a definition; systemic power + racial prejudice. She continued to deconstruct this definition, explaining that being pre judged for your race and having someone with power make it so. When segre...

School is probably something I think about often. Finishing this year, then graduating next and college after that, with a whole bunch of things in between. Sometimes its good to step back and look at the positive in spite of all the stress and frustration. Recently I've been getting positive quotes and putting them as my phone back ground as a reminder. Here are some of my favorites... These were just some of what I've been inspired by, I love the positive and encouraging messages. There are more quotes on my Pinterest Board .  Live ~Laugh~Love  Pinterest ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Bloglovin

So the social trials of being a teenager can sometimes be.... overrated. The constant need to compare yourself to others can sometimes be a chore. I have been recently been contemplating this and I have just decided to stop. It's so ridiculous that we feel the need to act like someone else! One of my favorite quotes it that "Just be yourself because everyone else is taken". This pretty much is my mantra for life, being yourself is the best person you can be. I've also learned its better to emotionally invest yourself into people who will care as much as you do. Someone who doesn't like you for whatever reason isn't worth your time. So aside from the negative things that come from this, there are also positive things. I have found by being myself I have been able to surround myself by wonderful people and make wonderful friends. Just by being myself I have developed so many friendships & strengthened old ones. Be Yourself Live ~Laugh~Lov...