Today, I want to talk about one of the most important parts of my sense of self, power over my thoughts. 

Facing life's intimidating and powerful waves can leave you feeling like they're constantly pushing back against your efforts and holding you back from your own power. In times like those, we need anchors to keep us rooted in our power. Affirmations and songs are two strong anchors I use. 

Subway is my personal nightmare. Walking up to the counter, making my specific requests, going down the line and specifying every minute detail of my perfect sandwich makes me feel as if the walls are closing in on me.

It’s so easy to feel out of control in my life, especially with the current state of the world. This month, the Hey, I’m Here Squad discussed setting boundaries. I have learned that sometimes, those boundaries need to be with yourself – especially when you start to feel out of control.

Did you know that you were a script writer and an actor? This previous week, I chose to enter the 7-Day Self-Love Challenge. Day one was great: I had high hopes and anticipation of all the things I wanted to accomplish in the week to show myself extra care.

Being in the fields of psychology and activism can be a mental challenge, especially in times as uncertain as today. The near most important thing I can do for myself in fields like this is to make sure I am prioritizing caring for myself.

As a former athlete, I used to always be on the move. I used to be a runner so I would spend my mornings running a few miles, then the afternoons recovering. I never thought about my surroundings too much.

Self love is something that I know that I’ve struggled with in the past. For many years, I felt like I had tunnel vision trying to accomplish one goal after the next. I never really gave any consideration to the weight behind the accomplishment, or savored any of the small victories I had attained. 

Each year, we take days to celebrate different types of love: Valentine’s for our significant others’, Independence Day for our country, Mother’s, Father’s, and Grandparents’ days for our families, and many, many more days.

I think you wouldn’t be surprised at who you are today. Even though I'm now a kpop-fan, which unfortunately is something you used to despise in the past, especially since it meant “being like the other girls”.

There was a time in my life when I was very anxious. If high school wasn’t stressful enough, I was in a secret relationship with a girl that my parents didn’t approve of. But as most teenagers think, I thought that I was right and my parents were wrong. But by keeping the relationship a secret it made my life very stressful trying to live essentially a double life. 

Winding down after working or socializing is very important to ensure that you are ready for rest! It can be all too easy to simply crash on the couch as soon as you walk in the door, but I have found that it feels much better to ease that transition by slowly unwinding.

If you’re like me and you love taking your notes by hand or on your ipad, your hands will definitely appreciate you with a TuneUp ball. Recently, Hey, I’m Here Squad members were gifted Tune-Up balls and we were taught different ways to use them! 

My evening wind-down routine is one that I choose to keep very consistent. After a long day at work, I’m typically ready to get home and turn my brain off for a while. After I pick up my kids and give them all the snuggles, I enjoy watching them play for a while before doing anything else.

Meditation is an activity that I’ve incorporated into my daily routine with great  success. I’ve been incorporating this practice into my daily routine for several  months now. I’ve seen big changes in that time.  

What does it mean to properly meditate? Well for me, I view meditation as intentional pockets of peace throughout my day or week. I think I can speak for many people when I sayour lives are so busy and that we just do not have the time to sit and meditate.

When they said that college would be a whole lot of work and strain, they were serious. This is the lesson I learned this semester. Between making new friendships, adjusting to a new state and city, developing a stronger sense of independence, maintaining four different jobs/side hustles, and just doing my assignments, I found myself stumbling to my dorm each night with a sense of exhaustion,nly to realize that I still needed to eat dinner, take a shower, study for a test, read five chapters of a textbook, and do two loads of laundry. 

Did you know that sleep can heal trauma? I found this amazing podcast by Dr. Bernardo Huberman called the Huberman Lab. One of the shows was titled, “Essentials: Understand and Use Dreams to Learn and Forget”.

Something meaningful I’ve learned about my body recently is how it is constantly in a state of communication with me, especially regarding emotions and stress. For a long time, I had been experiencing tension in my shoulders and neck without really thinking about it.

Throughout my childhood, I was plagued by minute physical issues. Mild allergies to fruit, medication allergies, eczema, and small sprains or broken fingers. Then, in my senior year of high school, right when I needed my body the most, it gave out on me.