Megan Dennis: mental health

A College Life Update

October 28, 2019

I wish every week was fall break.

Unfortunately, it’s only this week, BUT I am so excited to sit down and talk to you guys. I realized that I’m halfway through my first semester of college (which is crazy) and I haven’t given you an update of how it’s going, so I thought I would do that today. Many people have been asking (and by many people I mean like 5) how I’m adjusting to this new lifestyle, so that’s what I’m going to be talking about in this post.

I had a rough start. I’m not going to candy coat any part of this because I want to be real. I sort of expected the change wouldn’t be easy, but those first few weeks I felt like I was being thrown into an unfamiliar ocean and had to figure out how to swim. Eventually I did figure it out, otherwise I wouldn’t be sitting here telling you this. Needless to say, I had a very difficult time getting started. I wasn’t prepared for how much time I would spend on homework and how hard it would be to just find some sort of a balance between school, work, and having a social life.

This semester I am taking 15 credit hours, which I feel is about the average course load. The way my school does classes, there are 8-week classes and 16-week classes. It’s honestly all very confusing, but to sum it up, 8-week classes are basically 16-week classes done in 8 weeks, which also means twice the amount of homework. I would say I spend about 8-10 hours on homework a week, depending on how much work there is/what the assignments are. It’s very difficult to tell exactly how much time I spend on it because my days are full of other things. On top of sitting in class for 15 hours a week, I’ve also been working 15 and a half hours each week.

It’s a lot. That’s why I’m so happy I can slow down and breathe this week.

I actually don’t mind staying busy. I’ve developed a pretty consistent routine, which is what I lacked in the beginning. I’m the type of person who must follow their routines, otherwise I don’t know what to do with myself. Routines are a huge part of my life. It took me about a month and a half to develop a solid routine to accommodate my new busy schedule. I made a video on my YouTube channel where I show you what it’s like to be me for a day. You can check that video out here.

I think one of the biggest things that’s kept me on track (besides lots of coffee) is staying healthy, mentally and physically. I use the tips I talked about in my last post almost daily and I’m way less stressed when I have my life planned and organized. I’ve been doing my best to become a morning person (still working on that part of my new routine) so I can get up, go to the gym, and then come back and get some tasks knocked out before I have to go to class or work. I’ve also been trying to stay on a healthy diet. This isn’t easy because I don’t have a lot of time to make good healthy meals. I try not to eat out more than necessary, and I try to meal prep on Sundays so I can just grab and go during the week. I think for me, staying healthy is super important to being successful.

On the upside of things, I am truly thriving. I don’t mean that I’m happy all the time every day, but in general I’m at a good place in life. In college I feel like I’m actually getting somewhere; I feel like I’m one step closer to where I want to be and sometimes that’s the only motivation factor that keeps me going. When times get rough, I have to stop and think about how far I’ve come already and stay focused on my goals and what I have to do to get there. Sometimes it’s difficult to stay focused, sometimes I question what it is that I’m really working towards, and sometimes I just want to quit. When that happens, I remind myself how far I’ve come and that I’m on the right path to where I want to be.

No one ever said college is easy. Because it’s not. It’s hard, it’s stressful, and it’s honestly. just. exhausting. But I know that I’m doing the right thing and I’m grateful that I am even able to go get further education. I value education more than almost anything because I know it’s what will get me to where I want to be in life.

Thank you guys so much for following along with me throughout this journey and I’ll talk to you in my next post!

accomplishments

7 Ways to Make The Most of Your Day

October 14, 2019

exercise

8 Healthy Habits to Master In 2019

January 21, 2019

8 Healthy Habits to Master In 2019

Welcome back, beautiful people!

Guys. I haven’t posted since LAST YEAR. How crazy is that? Well as you probably know by now, it’s a new year and let me tell you, I’m super stoked for 2019. Exciting things are going to happen and it’s going to be a fantastic year.

In my last post, I talked about my 2018 New Year’s resolutions and if I followed through with them or not. I thought this would be a good follow up to that post because I’m going to be talking about some ideas for your 2019 New Year’s Resolutions. I hope this inspires you to make some of these your goals for this year because I know I’m going to try really hard to master them this year and I hope you’ll consider joining me.

1. Drink more water

You’d be surprised at the many things water can do for you. Not only does it keep you hydrated, it helps regulate blood pressure, improves skin quality, relieves stress, and boosts energy. I used to be terrible about drinking water (I’d drink maybe 2 glasses a day), but I’ve noticed a huge change to my overall health since I started drinking more water last year. The average person should drink about 8 (8 oz) cups (about 2 liters.) I recommend investing in a large water bottle because it helps you stay on track when you don’t have to keep refilling your cup throughout the day. So this year, give up the sugary drinks and sodas and stick to water.

2. MOVE!

You guys are probably tired of hearing me talk about how important exercise is but I cannot stress it enough. It’s so important to not only your physical health, but your mental health as well. I like to workout especially when I’m having a bad day or feeling down. Getting out the energy helps release all the bad feelings and gives your brain something else to focus on. Exercising doesn’t have to be about losing or gaining weight, it’s about staying healthy and promoting a healthy lifestyle. Even if it’s just an hour a week, get out and move! You don’t have to go to a gym to do that either. A home workout is just as effective and so is going for a walk/run, biking, and swimming. Whatever it is, find a way to keep your body moving this year.

3. Cut out negativity

This is harder than it sounds because it took me years to actually do it. By cutting out negativity I mean any negative people, places, or influences in your life. These are the things/people that are preventing you from being your best self and living your life to the fullest. Only keep the people/things that are encouraging you and helping you become the best version of yourself. It shouldn’t be hard to determine who/what needs to go because subconsciously you probably already know. It’s the people/things you get that “gut feeling” about. The hardest part will be cutting them out, but it will ultimately make you so much happier- even if it takes you awhile to realize it. I can promise you that this is one of the best decisions you will ever make.

4. Get a planner and use It

This doesn’t even have to be anything fancy; it can just be a notebook or pad of paper. Whatever it is, find something to write down all of your appointments, tests, meetings, etc. Having a place to write down all your events will prevent you from feeling overwhelmed and stressed. Having a planner will make it easy to organize your life as well as prevent bad scheduling. Take time at the end of the week to go over your plans for the upcoming week and make a schedule for your appointments and tasks. This will help you manage your time wisely and if you follow your schedule, you will go to bed each night feeling satisfied with your days.

5. Make a sleeping schedule and stick to it

I think one of the most important factors in having good, productive days is the amount of sleep you get each night. I used to be one of those people who would completely waste their day by sleeping/being lazy and waiting until nighttime to start any projects I had to do. Let me tell you, you will be 100 times happier AND productive if you have a good sleep routine. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day (yes, even on weekends.) It may be a little hard to adjust to at first, but eventually your body will get into the habit of falling asleep and waking up at the same time every day on its own. Also, try to avoid taking naps throughout the day and eating within an hour of going to bed. These things will interfere with your sleeping routine and make it harder to go to sleep at night. So, make it a habit to get into a good sleep routine and I guarantee you will be feel rested and energized each day which will allow you to be more productive.

6. Practice self-care

Do you ever feel like you’re so overwhelmed with school or work or things going on in your life? Do you work extra hard to please someone and make them happy? I think we’ve all been there and maybe you feel like that all the time, so that’s why I’m challenging you to make it a goal in 2019 to take better care of yourself. You’re probably wondering “well how do I do that?” The answer is that it’s different for everyone. Moreover, it doesn’t have to be anything big or expensive. Maybe it’s just taking ten minutes out of your day to journal or draw, or taking time to do your makeup. Treat yourself every once in a while. For me, I spend the last few minutes of my day meditating, letting go of stress and forgetting my worries of the day. I also attend a weekly yoga class. I understand that maybe the things I mentioned aren’t for you, but this year I encourage you to take some time each day or each week and practice some form of self-care.

7. Build your relationships

This is one of my biggest goals for this year and I hope it will be one of yours too. Instead of giving up and ignoring the problems in your relationships, learn to work through them. The best way to build strong, healthy relationships with people in your life is to communicate. By communication I don’t mean texting them once in a while or sending them memes on social media. Make it a point to set aside time in your schedule to spend time with the people in your life. Communication is one of the most important elements in your relationship with your family, friends, boyfriend/girlfriend, etc. So this year try to focus on taking time out of your week and work on building those relationships with the most important people in your life.

8. Be positive

Again, another thing that is easier said than done. But I think what you’ll realize is that if you are already doing the other things I mentioned above, this one will become much easier. It makes me so sad and unhappy when there are people who always choose to see the worst in every situation or let small irrelevant things get the better of them. So this year, really try to focus on seeing the good in even the worst situations. You’ve probably heard this before, but you attract what you are. If you’re down all the time, let’s be real, no one wants to be around that. However, if you make it an effort to stay positive and uplifting, you’ll be the type of person others desire to be around.

I think we all know at least one person that’s happy all the time. How do they do it? Well I can assure you almost 100% that there is no one who is happy ALL THE TIME. However, if you do all of the things I listed above, you will be a changed person. It all comes down to how you’re choosing to live your life. If you fill it with negative influences and toxic relationships, you’re bound to have trouble. On the other hand, if you fill your life with positivity, you’re already on your way to happiness. In the end, then, it all comes down to lifestyle choices. If you want to change your life, change your lifestyle. The results may be slow, but I can promise you that they will change you and make you the best person you will ever be.

I hope you will join me in mastering these goals in 2019. I believe these are the things that are important for building a happy and healthy life. So let’s do this together and make 2019 the best year ever!

changes

Twenty Eighteen: Year In Review

December 31, 2018

Twenty Eighteen: Year In Review

Welcome back!

It’s been awhile, so have you missed me? Probably not. Much has happened since the last time I posted and I plan to do a life update post soon, but not in this post. I hope your holidays were as wonderful and tasty as mine. I’ve been on Christmas break for almost two weeks now and this is the first time I’ve gotten to sit down and work on some projects I promised myself I would get done during Christmas break (weird how that always happens...) Alas, that did not go as planned but no worries because here I am now, finally accomplishing some things and writing a new post.

As you may have noticed, another year is in the books (is it just me or did it go by extra fast this year?) I really enjoy writing these year end review type of posts, so that’s what I’m going to do today. Hopefully this won’t get too lengthy, so my apologies in advance. Enough being said, here’s how 2018 went for me:

For the first time, this year I made a list of New Year’s resolutions. Normally I don’t do this, mostly because I don’t want to fail them (I’m that kind of person.) But this year I tried it out so I wanted to share some of them with you and talk about how I either failed or succeeded at them.

· Wake up early
· Eat Healthy
· Exercise more
· Read the Bible everyday
· Start a journal
· Be organized
· Read at least 15 books
· Spend less time on devices
· Be more positive

Waking up early

When you’re homeschooled, waking up in the mornings isn’t so easy. I could sleep until noon if I absolutely wanted to. In fact, I used to do that and it actually made me really unhappy because I would wake up and the day would be halfway over. So this year, I made it a goal to wake up early/have a good sleeping routine. I think it’s safe to say I succeed at this goal because I have a much better sleep routine and it’s made me so much happier because my days are so much more fulfilling, versus sleeping through half of it.

Eating healthy

I’ve never technically been a “bad” eater. My mom was never the mom at the grocery store with a cart full of junk food with packs of energy drinks hanging over the sides. But I still wanted to do better this year and I actually ended up giving up all red meat (pork and beef.) Not only for environmental reasons, but because I never liked eating those foods in the first place. I would eat them if they were put in front of me, but this year I completely gave it up and I’ve never been such a happy eater in my life. I like to call myself a “partial-vegetarian” and someday I hope to cut out all meat completely. I’m extremely happy with the progress of my diet this year and I hope I can continue good eating habits in 2019.

Exercising more

Okay so I already did a post on my fitness story (you can read that post here), but I’m really proud of myself for being a lot more active this year than I was before. I started to enjoy going on walks, bike riding, and other outdoor sports I never thought I would actually like. Fitness has become an activity I like now and I feel so good after a workout. I would also like to point out that I’m not working out to gain or lose weight; or maintain a certain body image. In my opinion, fitness and exercise should be about staying healthy in general and not trying to make yourself look a certain way. I’m definitely proud of the progress I’ve made this year, and although anyone can look at me and not notice a difference, I can clearly see the progress I’ve made since I started exercising and that’s what matters to me. For those interested, I plan on doing a workout routine post sometime; however, I like to change my routine up from time to time so I don’t get tired of doing the same workouts. In other words, I don’t have a “consistent" routine I stay with for a long time. Overall, I’m super happy with the progress I’ve made and I hope to be even more active in 2019!

Reading the Bible everyday

This is also an area in my life where I’ve made some big changes this year. To give you a short summary of my religious background, I was baptized when I was 9 (I think) at a church I had been going to for a while, but no longer attend. Since then, my relationship with God has been through some rough patches over the years; and until this year, I was not in a very good place with God. However, after many years of soul searching and church hunting (which is not easy), this year I finally found a church where I feel as if I belong and going there has really helped me deepen my relationship with God. I have not read the Bible every day as I said I would, but I have been reading it a lot more frequently and my faith has become so much stronger this year. There are still times when it gets hard, but I’m in a better place with God than I ever was so getting through rough patches is much easier now that I have a strong relationship with God.

Starting a journal

This is where I begin to fail. I’ve journaled off and on for years, but I’ve never kept up with it as I keep saying I will. I started out strong this year, but unfortunately I never made it to the end of January (I know, so far.) At this point I can probably conclude that journaling just isn’t my thing at all. However, I did start something else this year. Every day of 2018 (minus only a few days) I wrote down something on a piece of paper, folded it up, and put it in a Kleenex box. On the paper I wrote down something good that happened that day. Some days it was just little things, but even if it was a bad day I still had to write something down. I haven’t looked back at any of them yet so I’m excited to go through and read them at the end of the year. For this new year, I plan to do the same thing but instead of writing them on slips of paper, I got a gratitude journal for Christmas so I’ll be using that to write things down in there instead of the slips of paper. I would highly encourage you to do this too because it helps you to see the good in even bad days or situations. Doing this has helped me realize there is always something to be grateful for even if it’s just being alive.

Be Organized

I have always been a very organized person. Physically and mentally. For the most part, my room stays clean and uncluttered. This year, I also stared using a weekly planner to write things down in. Needless to say, it has helped me a lot and now I have an obsession with planners. Not that I couldn’t remember things before; however, writing things down helped me a lot to have a plan for each day as well as remember school assignments and such.

Read at least 15 books

I wanted to read this year more than I have the past few years. Recently I’ve had trouble focusing during reading which had caused me not to read as much as I used to. This year I really wanted to make it a goal to try to read more, which I did; however, I don’t think I reached my goal of 15 books. I did read a lot more than I did last year though and I’m pretty happy about that. I’ve recently been hooked on Sarah Dessen’s books (so cheesy but they make good easy reads.) I hope to continue reading more in 2019 because it’s such a good hobby to have and I’ve learned a lot from books. There’s nothing like the feeling of settling down to read a good book (and getting mad when your favorite character dies. Book nerds can relate.)

Spend less time on devices

I, along with millions of other people on this earth, am guilty of spending too much time on my devices. I don’t know about you, but this is something that annoys me because it can be a difficult habit to control. These days it seems harder and harder to put down your phone and live in the real world. What do we do when we’re bored? Check social media. What do we do when we need to speak to someone? Text them. What do we do when we look good? Take selfies on our phone. What do we do when…okay you get the point. I tried hard this year to keep some distance between me and my phone and I have to say, I’ve done pretty well but not as well as I would have wished. I could be better about putting down my phone and finding more productive things to do with my time. So this year, I’m making it a priority to decrease the time I spend on a screen. And I’d like to challenge everyone to this as well. Make it a point to be present and in the moment because sometimes we miss things happening in the real world when we’re too concerned about what’s happening in our digital world.

Be more positive

This is probably the hardest and easiest goal of the whole year. It was hard for me because I struggle with staying positive. I’m not the kind of person that’s happy all the time. There’s times where I’m depressed and it’s hard to even get out of bed and face the day. However, those moments did not happen as frequently this year and it’s probably the biggest change I’ve made all year. Looking back at how I got to where I am now, it all has to do with lifestyle choices. Primarily the things I’ve listed above, along with a few other things which I want to talk about briefly.

This year I cut out all negative influences in my life and people who were not making a positive impact on me and my life. Instead of investing in these unhealthy relationships, I chose to invest in relationships with people who are positive influences on my life and that’s probably one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I can legitimately say I’ve been genuinely happy this year and probably the happiest I’ve been in a long time.

2018 has been the year of healing and moving on. I moved on from things I was doing and going through that were not healthy. Was it easy? Definitely not. There were times when it got super hard, but I knew in the end it would and will be worth it. Healing is a process. I’m still in that process, taking things day by day and some days are harder than others. I know to some people it won’t seem like much, but to me I can see every small change making a big difference in my life. I know I have changed in the best ways possible and those changes are helping me live a life I didn’t even know was possible. And that was the best part of this year.

This year has been one of the best ones yet! Thank you if you’re still here reading this…your support means the world to me! I’m extremely grateful to be sharing my journey of life with you (for almost 2 years!) I hope that God has blessed you as much as He has blessed me this year, and I pray that 2019 will bring joy and happiness into your life and that you will have a wonderful new year!

blogging

Updates and Other Random Stuff

September 05, 2018

Updates and Other Random Stuff

Hello and welcome back!

My last post was in…let’s see…July. It’s currently September 4^th. It’s been awhile, so I thought I’d give you guys some updates on what’s been going on and talk about a few things I’ve been wanting to talk about. So this isn’t going to be as structured as a normal post (laughing at myself because NONE of my posts are ever structured), it’s going to be a bunch of random thoughts compiled together so I hope at least some of this makes sense.

Where I’ve Been

First of all, you’re probably wondering where I’ve been. I wish I could say I’ve been traveling the world doing really cool stuff, but unfortunately that’s not the case (as much as I wish it was). I’ve been here, sitting at my desk pretty much the whole summer. The reason for that is because I took the SAT test a few weeks ago and spent a majority of my summer studying for it. I know, what a fun way to spend your summer. Then when I wasn’t studying, I was working pretty much all the time. It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s what I was doing all summer. Between the two of those things, I didn’t really feel like sitting down and writing blog posts.

Why I haven’t Been Blogging

I kind of answered that in the last paragraph, but there is another reason that doesn’t have to do with me just being busy. For the last month or so, I’ve sat down three or four times to write a blog post but every time it just wasn’t my best work. I have this thing when I write that if the words aren’t flowing the right way and I have to force them out, it’s not going to work. I absolutely hate reading my writing when I feel forced to write or when I’m just not in the mood. That’s what happened the last few times I’ve tried to write posts.

Another reason is because of my lack of creativity. I know I say this like five times a year, but writers block is real and it happens to pretty much every writer. This doesn’t mean I don’t try or I don’t have ideas. I do, they just haven’t been coming out the way I want them to. I haven’t felt inspired by anything to be able to write something. If I don’t feel inspired, it’s not going to happen. At least in a way that sounds good enough to share.

I’ve also been thinking a lot about the content of this blog. I keep thinking and telling myself that I write too much about myself and talk about me a lot. Many of the posts I tried to write were things about me and I kept telling myself, “Everything can’t be about you, you know”. But then I said, “No, it can on this blog. It’s my blog and my space to talk about whatever I want”. So that’s been my dilemma regarding what I post. My goal, however, is to get back on somewhat of a schedule soon so there will be new content coming.

Mental Health

I believe mental health is SO important in a person’s life. Just making sure you are taking care of yourself is important and oftentimes we tend to get wrapped up in the busyness of life that we forget to take care of ourselves. I know I can relate to that a lot. I wouldn’t say my mental health is declining; it’s just a little shaky at the moment. Ever since the beginning of the year I’ve been in a pretty good place with myself and others around me- and still am, it’s just getting to the point where I have to be careful with everything I choose to allow into and influence my life.

I’m saying this not only about myself, but for other people. I’ve struggled and faced a lot of challenges this year, most of which I’ve chosen to deal with alone and silently (I know what you’re thinking, and yes I may sound hypocritical at times, but I learn from my own mistakes). But I just want you to know that it’s perfectly okay to take a step back from something or someone that is preventing you from taking care of yourself and your heart. That’s the key to mental stability.

Vlogging

I’ve had a lot of people ask me if I’ll ever vlog or start a YouTube channel. The answer to that is probably not. Although I do enjoy watching vlogs, it’s never something I would personally want to do. I’ve never been super comfortable just talking to a camera. Making those kinds of videos takes a LOT of work. I am definitely not saying blogging isn’t a lot of work (it is), but to make a video you have to have: good lighting (which my house does not), take the time to film AND edit, plus the most important part which is having something to film. I’m not good at just picking up a camera and filming what’s going on. A lot of times whenever I’m at an event or with someone, I like to take one or two photos to have, but I try to live and be present in the moment. I think having a camera out all the time would take away from that. So no, I’ll probably never vlog or make videos. Words are my specialty and I plan to stick to blogging for as long as possible.

Collaborations and Guest Posts

The last thing I want to talk about is collaborations. I’ve wanted to collaborate with someone for the LONGEST time. The problem is that I don’t know who to collaborate with. I want to open this invitation to anyone who has ANY interest at all in writing or blogging. If you are interested, please contact me through email (beautyinthisbrokenness@gmail.com), Instagram (@beautyinthisbrokenness), or through my Facebook page (Beauty in This Brokenness). You don’t have to have any experience with blogging, but if you have any interests in sharing your writing, I would be more than happy to work with you. I’m open to many topics (ex. Lifestyle, beauty, health and fitness, mental health); I just request that you stay away from politics or anything to controversial (we’re just trying to stay positive around here). So please let me know if you are interested at all!

I think that wraps up everything. As I said, I’m hoping to resume to somewhat of a normal schedule soon so be on the lookout for new posts. I’ll talk to you soon!

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A College Life Update

7 Ways to Make The Most of Your Day

8 Healthy Habits to Master In 2019

Twenty Eighteen: Year In Review

Updates and Other Random Stuff

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