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Mental Health September 2, 2020
Depression Wears Bright Lipstick

depression wears bright lipstick

​I was fascinated with a lot of things as a child: caterpillars, Barney, coloring on walls. But one of the things that fascinated me most, seemingly incongruous with my tomboy persona, was lipstick. My mother didn’t wear it often, but whenever she did, I would make her kiss me right before she left the house so that I could pretend I was wearing it, too. I thought it was beautiful and exotic and, of course, it made me feel like a princess. 

. . . Read more. 





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Life January 10, 2020
What Almost Dying Taught Me About Living

What Almost dying taught me about living

Around 9 years ago, my best friend and I plotted out our lives together and cemented a nonbinding albeit completely legitimate verbal contract to remain wild and crazy as we age and to one day purchase neighboring condos in a senior living community somewhere tropical. There we will spend each day of our golden years day-drinking by the pool while flirting with (and making slightly objectifying sexual innuendoes at) the twenty-something year old pool boy who we have decided will look like Johnny Depp. 
 
I feel it necessary to reveal this life plan merely to showcase that when I’ve previously thought about my life, I’ve imagined myself living a lot of it. ​

​. . . Read more. 
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Anxiety January 4, 2018
Learning How to Wait

learning how to wait

Recently, I have spent a lot of time contemplating patience: What it means, the ways it is tested, and the ways it is improved. Very simply, patience is the ability to wait without complaint. And very honestly, that is not something at which I inherently excel.
​
. . . Read more. 

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Beauty Feb 29, 2016
A Beauty Revolution

A Beauty Revolution - (Guest Blogger: Michelle Reeves)

There are so many reasons this world gives us for why we should constantly find ways to “fix” or change ourselves to become the ideal beautiful. I always equated beautiful with thinness: a tiny number on the scale, or a much smaller number on a tag in my ultra skinny jeans.

​. . . Read more. 

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Relationships Feb 17, 2016
The Art of Loving . . .

The art of loving the single life

In my life, I have been single more often than not. And in my long-term relationship with Singledom, there are a few things I’ve learned that have helped me embrace and enjoy the solitude. 

. . . Read more. 

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Depression Jan 31, 2016
Trovare la Gioia

trovare la gioia (or, how to train your brain to be happy)

People are often surprised to find out I have tattoos. I’m not sure what makes it so surprising, but I have some theories. It might have something to do with the fact that:
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a.) I look like I’m seventeen
b.) I dress like a modest kindergarten teacher
c.) I tend to spontaneously burst out in song and dance, like a child
d.) Due to factors a, b, and c, I give off a “sweet and innocent” vibe, which I tenderly refer to as “the polka-dots and glitter” phenomenon. 

​. . . Read more. 

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Hope Jan 3, 2016
What I Learned . . .

What I learned from the worst new year's eve of my life

“Never have I ever been high.”

It’s my go-to statement whenever I find myself caught in a game of “Never Have I Ever.” It’s always bound to get the majority of people to lower a finger, and it’s also true. Or at least it had been until now. I had basically been high as a kite since coming home from the hospital on December 28 . . .

​. . . Read more. 

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Depression Jan 27, 2015
Hope - And Why . . .

hope - and why we should talk about difficult topics

Hope is a powerful, powerful thing. From individual hopes for the future to idealistic hopes for humanity, people often talk about the things that they hope will happen. It’s easy to talk about hope because it represents the possibility of change. It is a spark of light that can illuminate even the dimmest of places.

But no one likes to talk about what happens when that hope seemingly disappears. 

​. . . Read more. 

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Fear Dec 31, 2014
Chasing Dreams

chasing dreams

The other night, I found myself on a school bus at one am surrounded by drunk rock music fans. It wasn’t a dream. We were on our way back to Philadelphia from seeing a band play in New York City. It was late and everyone had been drinking since the bus left for the show earlier that night, around 6:30. I was pretty optimistic that everyone would pass out and sleep on the way home. Unfortunately though, I made a really poor seating choice.
​
. . . Read more. 

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Bullying Nov 21, 2014
Cattiness & Competition

cattiness & competition

There are few things I find more intimidating than a group of girls standing together talking. And although I’m pretty sure I share this fear with every twelve year old boy in America, mine is for a very different reason.

. . . Read more. 

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Self-Love Sept 22, 2014
It's a Journey . . .

it's a journey, not a destination

I have been exceptionally naive about a lot of things in my life. For example, I used to wholeheartedly believe that swallowing a watermelon seed would result in an entire watermelon growing in my stomach. Similarly, I believed an apple seed would result in the growth of an apple in my stomach, and an orange seed the growth of an orange. Basically, I was terrified of fruit for the majority of my adolescence.

. . . Read more. 

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Relationships Feb 14, 2014
Overcoming the . . .

overcoming the expectations and disappointments of Valentine's Day

The first time I ever remember feeling uncomfortable on Valentine’s Day was in the 5th grade. A boy in my class had developed a crush on me and decided to reveal his love by baking me a chocolate chip cookie in the shape of a heart. He handed it to me before school started that day and I remember staring at it feeling really confused.

. . . Read more. 

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Hope Dec 24, 2013
How a Smile . . .

How a smile changed the world

To claim that one smile can change the world is a pretty sanguine statement. I mean, really? One smile? The whole world? For as small as social media has made it seem, geographically the world is still a pretty large place. So the thought of one single smile changing all 196.9 million square miles of our planet seems like a bit of a stretch.

But what if it that idea isn’t crazy?

. . . Read more. 

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Self-Love Dec 10, 2013
You Are Worthy

you are worthy

I’ve spent the majority of my life living in subjection to a very intense fear of vulnerability. Paralyzed under the strength of it’s reign, I would let it affect every aspect of my life, often going to great lengths to avoid all forms of emotional intimacy. I kept others an arm’s length away at all times and built up ironclad walls around the core of myself. I was always on alert: if someone happened to threaten the security of one of those walls, I would immediately become defensive and push away.

. . . Read more. 

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Self-Love Nov 24, 2013
The Self-Love . . .

the self-love stigma (and why it's wrong)

It wasn’t until I started being open and honest about my own journey that I realized just how misconstrued the term “self-love” is. At first, I was really thrown off by some of the reactions I encountered, to the point where I even started  to second guess myself and my decisions.

​But eventually, I learned to stop taking offense. I came to the conclusion that any benighted response I faced was just a lack of understanding on the person’s part, and I have since done my best to educate, whenever necessary, on the true motivations behind a self-love journey.

. . . Read more. 

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Anxiety June 4, 2013
Lessons Learned . . .

lessons learned from a 2 & 3 year old

I spend my Mondays through Fridays taking care of my niece (3) and nephew (2), and it never ceases to amaze me how much I learn from them. Every day they provide me with some new insight on how to live a better life and be a better person. Lately it seems their lessons have been getting bigger and better, and the following are just a few of the many they’ve been schooling me in as of late:

. . . Read more. 

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Photos used under Creative Commons from verchmarco, Free For Commercial Use (FFC), Laika ac, Stefans02, ThoseGuys119, Eyad Elbayoumi, wuestenigel, wuestenigel, verchmarco, dejankrsmanovic
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