My Life Essentials + January Goals

Image Credit: Jeff Sheldon

Hi there and happy New Year! It's pretty crazy to think that we're in 2015 now and it's January, isn't it? I'd hate to add to a list of repetitiveness from all the New Year blog posts you might be reading, but hey, I'm just being honest here. I hope that you're all super excited about the newness of it all and that you prosper this year.

Today, I thought I'd share with you all some things - material things - that I find are absolute essentials in my life. They are just things that I can't quite get through my day without. I'm not in any way trying to say that you absolutely need all these things in order to survive because that is not the case at all (you really don't need a $40 agenda to survive AT ALL), but they do add a bit of colour and use in my everyday life.

I'll also be sharing my goals for this January, so let's get into it!

My New Year's Resolutions

Image Credit: Jeff Sheldon

Hi there! While 2014 was quite an unexpected and quite a wonderful year for me, there are still quite a few things I'd like to change about myself to make 2015 even better. I think everyone has something they aren't 110% happy with in their life that they would like to be 110% happy with, hence we make resolutions. Yes, sometimes, a lot of the times, they don't work out like you hoped, but it doesn't hurt to make some.

I'm taking a different approach to goal setting this year by making lots of small goals and every month, I'll set 3-5 goals and try to accomplish them. We'll see how this all turns out. I'll definitely be taking you all along for the ride.

Oh my Goodness, I'm Fifteen: 15 Before 16

Image Credit: GiveawayBoy via PhotoPin CC

Hi there! Uhm, uhm, how is it that I’m fifteen now? I kind of can’t believe that I’m turning fifteen today. I feel like that number is such a big step from a measly fourteen and I feel like the time I have left in high school is already too short and it’s kind of (really) scary. But like everything else, I’ll learn to deal with it.

Yes, I know that I turned 15 like last week, but I wasn't able to post this on the day of unfortunately due to my blog being down, but here it is anyway. I figured that I wasn't going to write a huge post and not post it, so yeah. :)

This past year was definitely a big year for me because I’ve grown so much and I’ve become so much more comfortable with who I am. I’ve always known that I’m that fashion freak (and proud of it!) and I’ve always had my priorities and values straight. But if there’s one thing about the whole fashion fiasco that bothered me the most, it was that surprised look that would flash across everyone’s faces whenever I shared with them my plans for the future that used to make me so uncomfortable on so many levels and self-conscious.

After a while, I got used to it and just stopped caring, so that was one step that started a bit before I turned fourteen and was completed pretty early on this year, actually, so I’m pretty proud of that.

I’m also really proud of how I got my lazy non-athletic butt to the gym. I’ve always been the girl who absolutely sucked at gym class and I can’t quite believe that I’ve now gotten into the habit of going pretty regularly to the gym. I’ve also started eating so much healthier and feel so much better now. I’m so much happier now than I was before and I’m so, so happy about it.

I know that I’ve kind of neglected Style Generis this year with school and everything, but it’s been one of the highlights of my year. Blogging makes me extremely happy and it’s a goal of mine this year to invest more time in it.

God, there are just so many great things that have happened this year that I think would be more appropriate to recount in the post at the end of 2014, so I’ll end the reminiscing here. However, I was on A Beautiful Mess the other day and saw Elsie’s 28 Before 29 birthday list where she wrote down a list of 28 things to do before her 29^th birthday and I thought it was such a cool idea, so I decided to do the same thing this year.

Resolutions Diary: July 2014

Image Credit: Daniel Friesenecker

Hi there! I’m not going to lie, I’ve been feeling incredibly guilty the past few months when it comes to my New Year’s resolutions. I made them but I feel like I haven’t taken a big enough step to accomplish them – you could probably tell by how often I write this column. I guess that’s something that comes along with writing these resolutions. You sit down at the end of the year and basically write down everything that you didn’t like about what you did the year before and things that you want to change for the better.

When you’re doing any form of self-improvement, you’re constantly teetering on the edge of having an optimistic and motivated mindset and a negative one that plunges you into a never-ending sea of guilt and self-loathing, which is hardly the goal.

I think my problem has been that I’m trying to approach this too theoretically, or maybe that’s not the word I’m looking for. The way I’ve been looking at it for the past couple months is as a to-do list that I have to check off everyday, if that clarifies my meaning a bit. But now that I look back at the list of resolutions, I’ve been doing pretty well. Not fantastic by any means, but pretty good. Keep reading to find out how exactly I’m doing on each one of them!

Five Summer Projects to Try

Image via We Heart It

Hi there! Summer is just around the corner and I know that for some of you, summer has already started (lucky ducks). Summer is that time of the year, for students especially, where we just get to enjoy and take a break while still getting a head start on all the things going on in the fall.

I’m particularly excited about this summer as I’ve got lots and lots of plans for it to be essentially the best summer I’ve ever had. A part of those plans are a few projects I’ve been thinking about working on and they certainly aren’t only limited to my life, so I thought I’d share five of them with you guys. Maybe this will inspire you to go out there and do something this summer. I believe that while spontaneity is fun and all, having goals is also really important and helps ensure success.

This post was requested by a really good friend of mine, and I know that she's been waiting patiently for this for a bit now, so this post is dedicated to her. I'm super stoked about this list, so let's get into this!

Resolutions Diary: February 2014

Image Credit: Zatrzymujac Czas

Hi there! This month has not been a very good one for me, to say the least. I guess some would say that I’d fallen off the wagon, even though it really wasn’t that bad. So you could say that my resolutions didn’t hold up very well. You know, just maybe. Here’s a rundown of what happened.

The month started out great, you know. I was super excited about getting into these newly worded resolutions and leading a better life and honestly, I thought I could handle it. But then the new semester came around and I just had a lot of work to do, essentially. It wasn’t hard, but there was just a lot of it and it took time. Anyway, the point of this little ramble is to say that it started out great, and started going south.

Ramble: 14th Birthday!

Image Credit

Hi there!  So, you may or may not know this little bit about me, but it's my fourteenth birthday today, which is super duper exciting for me.  Every year on my birthday, I feel like I've gained so much knowledge and have learned so much and I enter the next year of my life feeling really confident and all that jazz.  This year is (or was?) no different.  

I've gone through quite a bit and learned a lot about people in general this year, but I'm always trying to get better and am always setting goals for myself.  Today, I decided to share some of these goals and scattered thoughts with all of you!  That was just a warning for those of you who aren't a fan of these posts.  If you're going to stick around, thank you and I hope that you'll enjoy this post!

Summer Bucket List 2013

Hi there!  This post doesn't really have to do with fashion, so I hope that you won't mind that this is going up on a weekday.  Today, I just wanted to talk about something that I'm sure is on everyone's minds: summer.  To me, this photo perfectly captures the whole feeling of summer, that freedom and joy that we should all be lucky enough to experience.

It's starting to feel like summer around here, so I decided to brainstorm a list of things that I want to get done this summer.  The title might be slightly misleading, but this is just, once again, a list of goals for that I have for the summertime once I'm out of school next week.  I definitely think that you, too, should make a summer bucket list this year just so you won't feel like you're wasting it sleeping in and browsing the internet all day.

Keep reading to find out what I'm planning on doing this summer!

Sunday Funday: Busy, Busy Me

Image Credit

Hi there!  I'm back with yet another Sunday Funday, so let's get on with it.

My week can be summed up in one word: hectic.  Unfortunately, it wasn't one of those hectic weeks that I actually enjoyed when I was busy 24/7, got tons of things done, and actually enjoyed every minute of it.  It was one of those weeks when I felt like I wanted to just go to sleep for a long time (and wake up obviously, but you know).

Like one of my favourite YouTube beauty gurus said, "Though everyday may not be good, there is something good in everyday."  Keep reading to find out the good things from my semi-bleh week.  If you're interested, of course.

Ramble: Where Is This Year Going?!

Today, I'm going to introduce to you a column (you could say) called "Rambles" where I basically ramble to some extent about what's going on in my life; my thoughts.  It's the blog equivalent of a vlog when YouTubers update you on their life.  These posts are so you guys can get to know me a little bit better.  Whenever I'm reading a new blog or whatnot, I love that personal connection between the blogger and their readers, so I'm hoping to establish that with you guys.

Anyway, on to the ramble.

May Motivation #1: Get Going

Today, I'm going to do something a little different.  I was going to write yet another spring inspiration post, but I honestly just didn't feel up to it.  Don't get me wrong, I wanted to blog, just not at all about that, at least not at the very moment.  If you still want to see the weekly spring outfit inspiration post, I'll definitely write it (let me know in the comments/the poll, please and thank you). 

Since it's the beginning of May, where I live, it's really starting to feel like summer.  To me, summer and a new year are both times for self-discovery and re-invention - clean slates that I'm so glad to have.  Everything in between is just, well, everything in between.  So I was just looking around online when I saw a few... "inspirational" quotes.  Here is one of them:

"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing." - Walt Disney

It really made me think about all the things I always say I'm going to do like homework, a new project - whatever it may be - but never end up actually doing.  Constantly procrastinating and just not being productive seems to occur a lot in my life, which sucks.  I hate that feeling, so much that it's on my top ten list of things I hate the most. (Yes, I have such a list.)

Every time I read a quote like this, it really gives me that extra push that I always need to get going, to get started.  It makes me just want to get up from sitting, staring at my computer screen for too long and get something done, to make my day worth it.  Quotes like these are truly inspiring to me, for lack of a better word. 

I hope this gave you that little extra push to get going on whatever you want to get done for the day.  Make to-do lists, write it down, plan your time, and use it wisely because you might not have tomorrow.  Which is kind of a depressing thought, but you know what I mean.

Hopefully, you didn't mind the change from my usual fashion posts.  I'll probably throw one of these posts into the mix every now and then.  And just one last thought to leave with you: you can do anything you set your mind to.  I'd love it if you left me a comment letting me know what you want to get done this month.

Thanks for reading!

- J
 

Would you like to see more Spring Outfit Inspiration posts?
	Yes, please!
	No, thank you.
pollcode.com free polls

Image Credit: www.weheartit.com

New Year's Resolutions - March Check-Up

 

 

I'm the kind of person who loves making lists of things whether it's to-do lists, shopping lists and what not.  I just love lists.  So before I rang in the New Year, I made a list of resolutions.  These usually never get me anywhere, but after nearly three months, I think that it's a good time to check on these resolutions so some of them might actually happen by the end of the year.