Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Before we get to the part where we stuff our faces with delicious food, I wanted to write this post about how thankful I am for the people in my life. It's so easy to lose sight of what is important and forget how fortunate we are.

I can honestly say I have the most amazing people in my life. Being home for Thanksgiving I have been able to see my friends from home which has been an amazing feeling. It is truly wonderful how even though you can be far away from people that you love nothing changes when you are reunited again. It makes me grateful that I know I am always coming home to amazing friends. I am thankful for being able to go back to my yoga studio and being able to see my amazing friends there. There is truly no better feeling than seeing people that you have missed dearly. I am also fortunate to have a whole group of friends that I work with in the summer that are some of the most amazing people I have ever met. My work friends are people I wouldn't be able to live without and who I know are always there for me. I am thankful for all of the memories we have shared and am so blessed to have a group of people who cares about me so much. And as if I wasn't already lucky enough, I now have my new college friends. I have met some of the most inspiring, strong, hilarious, and caring, individuals. Thank you for making college amazing so far and I cannot wait for what is yet to come. My college friends have accepted me for who I am and made me feel at home in a foreign place.

Last but not least, thank you to my family. Though we may have our differences sometimes they are always there for me. Thank you for shaping me into the person I am today. Family is so important and should not be taken for granted in life.

To all the people in my life, I love you. Tell the people you love them while you have the chance because life is short and you never know what is going to happen. I don't know how I ended up with so many beautiful souls in my life at the young age of 18 but I am so grateful. So today when thinking about what I am thankful for, I realize I have so much. Never lose sight of who and what is important. Be thankful for the reasons keeping you alive.

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope your day is filled with love, thanks, and delicious food!

Love Always,
​Olivia Jane

In the midst of our crazy lives it's easy to lose sight of the good things. So often we tend to focus on the negative and get caught up in our own troubles when there is so much to look forward to. When I'm feeling down I try to remember what makes me happy. As Fräulein Maria says in the Sound of Music, "I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don't feel so bad."

1. You're Alive.
You are here and you are breathing, be grateful for that. Sometimes life gets rough, but it is better than the alternative. Life is so short, it would be a shame to waste it being unhappy.

2. People love you.
No matter how much you dislike yourself there are people in your life who love you. Friends and family are the ones who lift you up when you are feeling down. You should feel lucky that you have so many kind and loving people in your life.

3. You are unique.
There is no one on this earth who can replace you. You are one of a kind and shine light on everyone you meet in your own special way. Never forget how valuable you are.

4. Hugs.
Nothing is better than a long, warm hug. Hugs have a special power of making you feel loved and bringing a smile to your face. If you are ever feeling sad reach out to someone for a hug, it will leave you feeling much happier.

5. Music.
Music has the ability to change the way you feel. Songs can speak to you in a magical way. Put on your favorite song and just drown out the rest of the world. 

6. Sunrises and Sunsets.
There is nothing more beautiful than watching the sun rise and set. How could you be sad while watching something so magnificent? They are reminders that no matter what happens in life, it goes on. The sun will rise and set no matter what, each sunrise is a reminder that you can start fresh every day.

7. Dreams.
If you dream it you can do it. You have so much potential waiting to unfold. Dream big and shoot for the stars. Never stop chasing your dreams, they give you something to hold on to when times are tough.

8. You are beautiful.
Never forget that you are beautiful inside and out. Show the world your beautiful smile and keep your head held high. Be confident and embrace your beauty.

9. Everything is temporary. 
Take comfort in the fact that this too shall pass and nothing lasts forever. 

10. Happiness is way more fun than sadness.
Happy people enjoy life more. They shine and bring light into the world. Why be sad or angry when you can be radiant and positive? If you want to be happy, be. You deserve to be happy, never forget that.

Let's be real, no matter where you go in life there are going to be haters. Lately I feel as though I have been suffocated with people trying to bring me down. I recently submitted a rough draft to one of my professors and her correction comments were longer than the essay itself. Some words she used to describe my writing were "lacking substance, colloquial, clique, refine diction, lacks richness, look fir more sophisticated verbs," and my personal favorite, "AWK." As someone with a passion for writing/blogging and someone who has always been praised for my writing abilities, you can imagine my dismay. I felt as though I had been punched in the stomach. I'll admit I even shed a few tears, because criticism SUCKS and it does not feel good. But I realized that instead of getting down about myself because of what one person thought, I needed to take some advice from my girl Tswift: shake it off.

 I know that it's my professors job to give feedback and she openly admitted her comments were going to be harsh and she was not going to pat us on the back. And sure, you could say in the long run it will make me "a better person" or "a better writer", but I disagree. Obviously to receive a good grade I must comply with her suggestions, which annoys me to no end. But my point in this story is that you shouldn't have to change who you are for somebody else. You are who you are, no apologies. There was a time where I would have received her comments and shut down, stopped writing all together, and thought I was a total failure, but not anymore. Why? Because I am confident in who I am, what I'm doing, and what I stand for. And I know that as I get older I am going to run into so many people who don't like me or my writing, and there's nothing I can do about that. I am not going to change who I am to please someone else, not for friends, teachers, or even employers. If someone is not going to be friends with me or hire me because they don't appreciate me or what I'm doing then so what, I'll find people who do.

As long as you are doing what you love, being true to yourself, and following your heart, that's all that matters. Chances are you're going to get rejected at some point in life, but it's nothing to be discouraged about. There are people out there who will never understand you, but there will be so many more that will. Don't settle for less than what you deserve. Keep doing your thing and don't care if they like it. Don't let people tear you down and convince you that you aren't good enough because you are.  Haters gonna hate, you just have to keep you're head high and shake it off.
Love Always,
Olivia Jane

Every day we encounter so many different people and interact with them all in different ways. As human beings, we crave interactions with other human beings, it's just natural. We want to engage in relationships with others and relate to them through conversation and experiences. But so often I notice that the things we are talking about don't really matter and there is no depth to these conversations we have and the relationships we form.

I don't care about how it's supposed to rain this weekend. I don't want to simply know "what's up". I crave depth. I want to know what's inside someones soul, I want to know what makes them tick. Tell me about your childhood and that one time you fell of your bike, show me the scar to prove it. I want to know about your hopes and dreams and your biggest fears. I want to talk about love and heartbreak and hear about the time you cried on your bathroom floor because he shattered your heart in a million pieces. Tell me about the nights you cry yourself to sleep. Tell me about the books you read and the places you have traveled. Screw small talk, I want to know people. I want to know people beyond the surface of what they present to the world. You can learn so much from other people if you are just willing to talk to them. We always think we are so alone in our experiences when in reality if we were willing to talk about them we would find that we are not alone at all. 

I want to know how you are, but I don't want good as an answer. Tell me what kept you up tossing and turning last night, tell me about the mental breakdown you had after class. Tell me about what made you smile today. It's conversations like these that build true connections. If you could look inside the heart of any human being you would fall in love with them completely. Ask yourself, if you died today, would you be satisfied with the last conversation you had with the people you love? Would you be satisfied with "what's up", "not much, you?", or would you wish you had told them they mean everything to you and give you a reason to wake up every morning? 

Our lives are like books, and everyone has a chapter they don't want to read out loud. Ask me about my best friend, ask me about my first kiss, ask me what the best and worst days in my life were. Ask me where I see myself in 10 years. Everyone has a story if you just care enough to ask. Small talk is just so general. Tell me about your favorite song and how it reminds you of that one time in the 6th grade. I'm tired of answers like "I'm fine", tell me about the fight you got into with your parents or how you are miserable. Describe to me your favorite people and why you love them so much.

 Get to know people, and allow people to get to know you. The art of conversation, real, genuine, conversation, is so beautiful. We waste our words and we waste our moments, and we don't take the time to say the things in our hearts while we have the chance. I'm sick of small talk, let's bring more depth and meaning into our relationships. Ask me anything, tell me everything.

What are your thoughts on small talk?

Love Always,
Olivia Jane.

Each day most of us are faced with the things we have to do and the things we want to do, and there is a huge difference. I find my days packed full of to do's and assignments and chores that suck the life out of me and leave me wanting to crawl into bed. I constantly push aside the things I want to do because I don't have time due to all of my responsibilities. Of course there are some tasks that must be done regardless of how we feel about them, but I feel as though a lot of people never make time for things that make them happy. 

Recently I've been pushing off the things that bring me joy throughout my day because I feel as though I don't have time and it's not important. But if you don't take time for yourself and just consistently spend your time with things that don't matter to you it's going to feel pretty miserable. Doing things that make you happy is what gives your life purpose and without them it feels pretty shitty. Let's be real, no essay or homework assignment or household task actually brings you joy, but they are things that unfortunately have to be done. If you waste all your energy doing meaningless activities then you're not going to have any time for the things that really matter to you.

I've been making an effort to take some time for myself as a stressed out college student. Most of my days consist of doing things to please other people (friends, professors) but I realized the most important person I need to please is myself, and I'm not doing that by writing essays until 1am. Even though I do have to do some things that may not be that fun such as school work, I realized I need to include things that I actually do enjoy into my days. Whether it is giving myself some time to watch Netflix, sitting down to write a blog post, coloring a few pages in my coloring books, going to yoga or for a walk, these are things that I need in order to keep myself balanced. 

I feel like we live such unbalanced lives these days, we are just engulfed in chaos and commotion 24/7. Balance is the only way you're going to be able to live a healthy and happy lifestyle. So maybe do laundry, but take a nap or read your favorite book while you are waiting. Or write the essay and then take a break to draw and listen to music. Find ways to spend your time that is just for you and for no one else. We don't realize how much time we waste doing things that don't serve us any good, and how much we ignore the things that we need the most.

Find a happy medium between getting your tasks done and doing more of what makes you happy. The more you do things you enjoy the more you will begin to enjoy your life.

How can you better spend your time?

Love Always,
Olivia Jane