Where is the Love?

Hello Readers,

Today, and basically everyday, I am saddened when I look at the news and see so much hate being spread around the world. In the past week I have had to reach out to a couple of my friends just to see if they are okay, due to terrorist attacks and riots. This may seem like nothing, but to me, I feel as though I should not be contacting my friends to see if they are dead. Yes, I said it. Dead.

This is the true fact, why do I live in a world like this? I understand we have issues, I’m not blind to these problems but the fact of the matter is that hate will not end hate. Fighting hate with more hate will not solve these issues. We get angry and upset that nothing is being done, we see no change and then we act on these angry feelings.

As most of you know, I was involved in the terrorist attack that took place in Nice, France this past summer. Since then, my perspectives on these issues have changed. The guy that drove the truck through the crowd had a motive rooted from hate. He killed 86 people and left over 200 injured, some very severely. 86 innocent people…for what? What came of this attack? More hate? More fear? but, no change. 

These attacks only create fear, which is part of their motives, but people continue to live and we accept that this is the world we live in. We can’t stop these bad people from doing bad things, there are motives that we cannot control. One of these motives being hate.

You are not born with hate, hate is something that you learn or create yourself. Once someone finds this hate, it’s hard to break it. We need to spread love, and love may not beat the hate but it will at least make the other side truly look like the bad guy. Once the love is greater than the hate in the world, we will be able to defeat the bad. Fighting fire with fire does not work, the fire will only grow until the world is no longer civil.

Being involved with one of these tragic situations I have developed a certain empathy for others involved with similar events. It’s not something I would really like to have experienced, but now I know what it feels like to be running for your life, completely clueless of what is happening and not knowing your next move. I’m honestly thankful that I experienced this now because I have learned the fear others experience. This is a fear that millions of people live with daily, especially in countries like Syria or Iraq. We do not know how lucky we are in some parts of the world that we do not live with this type of fear on a daily basis.

We can sit back in our chairs and watch these horrible events unfold, or we can make the decision to spread love and not generalize and not be too quick to judge. I think in America we are very blinded to other cultural issues. We hate on Muslims because we think all Muslims are terrorists, which if you believe that you’re just dumb because that makes no sense. That’s like saying all cats like water; a majority of cats do not like water but you will find a few that may like water. All Muslims do not like war and hate, actually most of them do not. So, why do we say all of them are terrorists? That’s just not logical.

As far as racism goes, whether it’s alive or dead, we need to stop categorizing people into groups. That only creates inequality. Whether you are black or white, stop pointing fingers at each other. It will not solve the issues. Please understand I am not saying there are not racism issues but the problem will not be solved with hate. Rioting and destroying cities will not end racism, it will only fuel it.

I could probably go on about these topics all day, but I think I will stop here.

I’m just saying, when are we going to stop hating on people and start hating on the problems and making them change. The only way to make a change is by standing together, which by the looks of it will not occur in the near future. The world will not change if we continue to act on hate. From a person that has been close to one of these hateful events, it does not change the problem. People continue to live, life goes on and we just accept it.

 

I hope this little rant will open a few of my readers eyes. I am just so sad when I see yet another terrorist attack or a riot break out. Please spread love! The world is such a beautiful place, let’s not destroy it with hate and violence. Thank you all for reading today, please share and subscribe if you share similar views.

Spread love.

xo, Lyss

 

Monday Mindset {Back to Campus}

Hello Readers,

It’s another Monday, but this one is different for some of us; it’s the first day of classes. Whether you are starting classes today or just heading into the office, everybody usually dreads Monday’s. It’s the end of the weekend and the day seems to drag on, but fear not Monday’s are not all bad. Monday’s are all about mindset; you wake up and say “ugh, Monday!!” and then your day sucks. Life is about the perspective you have on it, if you can change your Monday mindset to “Hey, it’s a new week for me to accomplish something great”, then maybe you won’t dread Monday’s so bad.

I love Monday’s because they are the first step to a great week, if you can organize your weekly goals on Monday and make the best of the day, your whole perspective for the week will be changed. I figured this was a good topic to cover on my Back to Campus series because each week of classes starts on a Monday (usually).

Since I already gave a little rant on why Monday’s can be great, I’ll share a few of my favorite quotes that I like to keep around to keep me motivated everyday, but especially on Monday’s.

These are only a few of my favorites, but I love looking at new quotes every week. They  keep me inspired and motivated, plus they are cute. I found all of these on Pinterest, of course! You can create your own, or find them on the internet.

Just remember that each day is a gift, and even if you do have a bad Monday, don’t sweat it. Life is short, keep that day behind you and make the rest of the week great. Sure, we all have bad days but do not start the week with an “I hate Monday” mindset or your whole week is at risk of being ruined. Stay positive & attack the day.

I hope this little post will help you kick off a wonderful semester, it’s not really a guide or tips style post, but it’s important to have little motivation in the beginning of the semester. That is the main point of my Back to Campus series, not to show you my school clothes and supplies, but to share my insight on being motivated and healthy. I hope you are able to gain something from these posts, if not please stay tuned for a fashion filled week in the near future.

Today’s Challenge: Adjust your mindset from “I hate Monday & Summer is over” to “I can do this & It’s a brand new day to accomplish some goals”

Happy Monday Readers.

xo, Lyss 

Quote of the Day:

Staying Happy & Healthy {Back to Campus}

Hello Lovely Readers,

As we know, a new semester starts next week (or the week after that) and that means we are going to be busy, busy, busy. Along with being busy we tend to forget to take care of ourselves, in the sense that we eat bad foods, get negative on our self-image and forget to take time for ourselves. This may seem silly, but it is very important to take care of your body, physically and mentally.

Since I have returned from France, I have been failing at keeping healthy as far as working out and eating well. This is something that happens to the best of us, and it’s easy to do; but especially during busy times it is crucial to pay attention to this. Physical activity and healthy eating will help keep your mind sharp and sane.

I thought for today’s Back to Campus post I could share some quick, healthy recipes for students and some tips on how to take care of yourself.

Staying Healthy:

My first advice about trying to eat healthy in college is by meal prepping some things, now this does not mean you have to go crazy or anything. Prepping things ahead of time, when you have time, helps you eat healthier because when you in a hurry you tend to compromise your diet. So, I often make a bunch of chicken breast and then eat it through out the week. This makes meals easy too, you can pair that with whatever veggie or pasta you want.

Snacking can be tough to beat, you just want a greasy burrito or a large pizza, but try to save your stomach and bank by snacking on more fruits and veggies. Yes, that sounds boring but start small. My favorite snack is cucumbers with salt or carrots with ranch dip. You can cheat from time to time, trust me I do, but small changes still keep you healthier than none at all.

Here are few of my favorite recipes:

Grilled Green Beans

Grilled Lemon Chicken

Banana Breakfast Bars ( You can add other fruits and nuts to this!)

Asian Chicken Stir-Fry (Can be changed to your liking, not all listed ingredients are needed)

Strawberry Spinach Salad

I totally understand that these can be very difficult to prepare on a busy schedule, but this is where meal prepping comes in handy. I usually do most of my cooking on Sunday nights, that way I am set for the week.

Once again, buying healthy alternatives will help you grab something healthier in that hunger kick rather than something unhealthy. My rule is eat healthy, but if someone offers you a cupcake you take it.

Self-Care:

Obviously, showering and hygiene fall under this category, but more specifically I want to address making time for yourself. Time to unwind, get inspired and de-stress. This may not seem so important, but it is! This kind of stuff helps keep you out of depression and keep the positive vibes coming.

School, work and responsibilities are very important, but your mental healthy trumps all of those things. You have to be 100% mentally to be able to perform any of the above. Therefore, self-care and free time are important.

Physical activity can fall under this category too because physical activity gets the endorphin’s flowing to your brain, therefore bringing you more happiness and less stress. So, if you have lots of homework or deadlines, it may not be a bad idea to take a short run or hike to clear your mind.

Here are some more tips:

Take care of your skin: This may be an obvious task for some people, but when life gets busy it’s easy for us to skip this step before bed or in the morning. Taking care of your skin will help lessen break outs and keep your skin glowing.

Take time to do something for yourself: Each week find something to do just for yourself, whether that is a hot yoga class or getting coffee. Do whatever will help you de-stress and reconnect with yourself.

Stay active: Working out daily is great for some people, if that’s not you try to work out at least 3 times a week. This helps clear your mind and blow of some steam. Finding a work out that works for you is also important to keeping you interested in the activity.

Be positive: Try to stay positive and optimistic, literally think good vibes! If you have a bad day or morning and you let that consume you, then you will continue to have bad days. Trust me I have been there, having a negative mind set does not make the semester easier. Relating back to the last Back to Campus post, utilizing a vision board could help you stay positive and optimistic about your goals.

Treat yourself: This may sound funny, but after a long week or crazy day it’s okay to splurge a little. Buy yourself some ice cream or get a pedicure, whatever will make you happy. This is another way to stay motivated too! When you accomplish a goal, you can celebrate with something fun.

These are just a couple of my tips to staying sane this semester, life can get crazy but never forget to take care of yourself, both mentally and physically. If you have other tips you would like to share, feel free to in the comments. I am sorry about the delay on this post, I had a crazy day yesterday and just could not finish the post. I hope you all have a great Tuesday and a great week. I will post again later this week, stay tuned.

Thanks for reading!

xo, Lyss

 

 

 

 

Monday, Monday

Happy Monday beautiful people,

I am so excited to get through the next two weeks because I will finally have a break from classes and essay writing. I am working on keeping my motivation up so I am bringing you two quotes today, hopefully they can get you through the week.

This morning I had to put my positive pants on for sure. I have been constantly consumed with essays, exams and work, so much that I get a negative outlook. So, I really liked this quote when I saw it because my mom always tells me to put my big girl pants on and deal with it, and this is similar. Sometimes you’re going to feel sad and have zero inspiration or motivation to be productive, but put on your positive pants and deal with it. We all have these moments in life where things get out of hand and we feel inferior like we can never catch up. Just know you will be okay and things will eventually settle down. For me, I am super busy right now, but I know with in the next month I won’t be so stressed and I have to work hard until I reach my goal. As much as I dislike spending so much time on essays, in the end I will feel so accomplished. Always remember the goal but don’t forget to focus on the journey (or the present moment).

I, personally, like being busy over not having any plans at all. I say this because when I am busy and I accomplish many of my goals and reach deadlines, I feel fulfilled.

Thank you for reading these small quote post, sorry I haven’t had much content lately. I just wanted to give a little Monday motivation and let you all know, no matter what you are going through you are amazing and you will reach your goals. Stay determined and stay hungry for more. Set your goals today and attack this week with your positive pants on! Okay, lets do this, together! 

I will be going to a new cafe tomorrow and I cannot wait to share the experience with you all. Stay tuned for that. Thank you again for keeping up, subscribe below to receive updates on this blog. Share too!

Happy Monday.

xo,

Lyss