Learning to Want More

I know the title might throw you off, but I mean just as it says.

People everywhere need to learn how to accept and find the love and friendship that they need. With this being said, everyone needs different things out of their lives. Personally, I need more attention than an introvert, and less that an egomaniac. To some I could be seen as an ego maniac for needing attention, and I am okay with that, simply because I know that is something that I need to be happy in my own life.

Attention is just one of the many facets that come into play when discussing what you need out of your own life. People also need love, friendship, self-care, etc. If in any way you feel these things are not being fulfilled then what's stopping you from seeking more out of your life?

Often times I find it hard and or upsetting to have to disturb the flow of things in order to seek what I need. For example, what if you're in a toxic relationship (friendly or romantic) and this person just makes you feel small and unloved? Is it worth taking a beating mentally just so they don't get their feelings hurt?

If this is EVER the case you should seek out more in your own life. Find what you need. Find who you need. Find whatever makes it so you can live a full and happy life.

If you are in a position of knowing that someone makes you unhappy, why would you keep letting them put you down? I got into the pattern of letting people treat me poorly, and not asking myself why I kept letting them do it to me? My only defense? I wanted more for myself. I felt unloved and not needed, so why would I stick around? I got more for myself

Though separation can be dramatic and painful, time keeps going and life moves on. You are not going to be sitting there on your death bed asking yourself why you ended a friendship because you thought it would make yourself happy. You are going to be thinking about all the wonderful things that you sought out in your own life, and all the wonderful, loving people that you let into your life because you decided you wanted more.

Above is a TED talk on healthy relationships, that I found to be something good to think about. below here is a link to a website that describes types of abusive relationships and their traits, if any of these hit a little too close, maybe you should seek out more: kidshealth.org/en/teens/healthy-relationship.html?WT.ac=t-ra


I wish you all happy loving relationships,
Olivia

Learning Meditation

Recently I have been getting into the idea of meditating, and getting in touch with my breathing. It has really helped my psyche.

Contrary to what most people thing, it is beyond challenging to clear your mind and be at peace with your thoughts. I have learned to control these things with some help from different YouTube, and an app called Headspace. The app walks you through a 10 minute breathing exercise and as simple as it sounds, it proves to be rather difficult. (10/10 would recommend if you're new to meditation).

Another route you could take to learning to meditate is simply crashing and burning. Some people find it hard to sit still and try to clear their mind without any background noise, if that is the case you can always listen to some calming sounds such as rainfall or jungle sounds. YouTube is a good source to find these sounds.

I also have tried yoga in attempts to clear my ever buzzing mind. I don't do crazy stand on my head and count to a fifty, I like to do wind-down-yoga like or bed time yoga to help clear the mind. This is one video I LOVE to follow when I am needed a good mind-clearing

My favorite time to meditate or do yoga is when I get home (around 4 or 5). The reason I do this is because this is when my brain is the most cluttered and needs calming. This is just what works best for me, but it works whenever you can fit it into your schedule. remember if anything else you should do it the same-ish time every day and in the same area. The consistency will help you establish a routine.

Happy meditating,
Olivia

Summer

SUMMER IS 9 DAYS AWAY!!

With that being said I have some drinks to help you cool off this summer!

1.) Punch

I get a glass and fill it halfway with ice and put either cranberry or cran-grape juice in the bottom of the glass so it is about 2/3 full.  In the last third I fill the cup up with Sprite or some other sweet bubbly drink. To garnish the top of the glass I put a few raspberries into the glass and push them down under the ice with a straw. If done carefully You should have a slight color gradient.

2.) fruit smoothie

Get 1 frozen banana, peeled and sliced, 2 cups frozen strawberries, raspberries, or cherries,1 cup milk, 1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt, 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, 2 to 3 tablespoons honey or to taste, Blend until smooth and then add about 1 cup of ice and blend until smooth again.

3.) Chocolate Peanut Butter smoothie

1/2 cup 2% milk, 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup, 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter, 1  sliced ripe banana,1/2 cup of chocolate protein powder, 1 cup of ice, blend until smooth.

4.)  Iced Tea

Take Tea bags and put them in boiling water, take tea bags out when tea is ready, then add ice.

5.) In a 1 gallon container, place 2 cups sugar and 1 cup hot water, and stir until sugar

dissolves. Add 2 cups of lemon juice and cold water to render 1 gallon. Stir until well mixed.

Pour lemonade over glasses of ice, squeeze slice of lemon on top of each, and garnish with

a  sprig of mint.

And there you have it: some yummy drinks  to keep you cool this summer *wink*

Music

Long time no post.... To reawaken this blog I though I would post something I am very passionate about: MUSIC!!

Okay, let's start with a warning: I have a very diverse music taste...

I'm going to start with happy emotion: 

The music I chose whenever I am happy can literally be anything from point A to point B, but to understand the basis of music I listen to you would need to understand my more aggressive and sad moods.

When I am sad, I often listen to music that hits home to the feelings and so artists such as Lana Del Ray, Twenty One Pilots, and other pop-ish music work for me. This is because pop often is written to appeal to to people's emotions, it could be about sadness, lust, etc.

When I am angry I listened to one of two very different genres. Either rap or mental/rock tend to do the job of making me feel better. When I listen to rap I listen to people/ groups such as Die Antwoord, Tudor Jones, The Constructus Corporation, Atmosphere, and then from time to time I enjoy Eminem. When I am feeling metal I enjoy listening to Tool, System Of A Down, Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, Korn, and so many others.

When I am stressed I listen to dubstep, I am probably stressed, and need the overpowering bass to distract me from what ever is on my mind. I listen to groups such as: Major Lazar, Diplo, Bingo Players, Pegboard Nerds, Nightcore, Yellow Claw, Carnage, and basically anything that comes onto my Pandora station (Here It Comes Radio).

This was a a random post, but it is something I am truly passionate about!

Have a great weekend,
xoxo
Olivia

The Garden

Hey so since no one reads this anymore I thought I might have a little fun and share something I've been working on in class. 

 I really like it and even if no one gets it or likes it, I don't care... This is my outlet where I have been deciding what to share for the past little bit...

Anyway, here it is:

What if each family is simply a garden?

With explicit rows defining who is who and what is what. With each seedling planted firmly in its place only to grow and expand into the vase unknown.

What if each seed was a soul?

with the unique patterns and behaviorism hiding underneath a smooth and slick outside. With only time to be the key to discovering such complexity that is yet unknown

Personally, I reside with the garden roses. Small and sweet they open up, letting you see to the very core of them. without any fear, they cause you to be drawn it by their innocence and positive aura. but with one simple touch you may be pricked, so a warning must be issued to all: you may regard, but with great distance. so there the rose sits in their refined ways alone, and undisturbed.

My mother on the other hand is a strong study stalk of bee balm with her vibrant coloring and her natural bass. letting one and all know that she is one with the rest of the earth, but allowing herself to be diverse in the head, her petals allowing subtle differences seep into her brightly colored persona.

My father resembles that of a night  blooming cereus. He is humbled and natural sitting amongst the other plants, not drawing attention to himself, but if caught at the right time he could be something vastly brilliant. He opens up letting people see into him and recognize the inner complexity that is not seen when the sun is high in the sky. Although rare, it is beyond anticipated to see what makes him truly unique.

Although it is not finished, I like the direction of whatever I have been getting at.

With that I am finished with this brief little bit.  

Goodnight,

Olivia

xoxo

Valentines day

Valentines day: the day of love... or something like that.

Year after year, I spend my day at my mother's flower shop. My job title is synonymous to what ever needs to be done that day. It could be running buckets brimming with flowers up and down the stairs, to helping people with their orders, and everything in between.

As easy a job(s) as they/ it sounds it can be very demanding. from 9 in the morning to 6 or so at night you're hauling 15ish pound buckets filled with water everywhere. Considering it was in the single digits throughout the weekend, it would make it very uncomfortable to have water spilled on you and have to continue to run back and forth in the freezing weather.

Another fun aspect of the business is that I am the third generation to be involved in the store. My grandmother started B/A Florist in 1979 in Okemos, and in '85 moved the flower shop into the old house on the corner of Hagadorn and Grand River. The B/A stands for my grandmothers name: Barbra Ann (aka the founder.)

Sorry for the short post, but I hope you had a great weekend,
Olivia
oxox

Late-Night Thoughts

Good whatever-time-of-day-you're-reading-this! How are you today?

I come come to write fully equip with a stress lined rant, so time to get comfy :)

Okay first of we have the endless night packed with studying, and trying oh so very hard to not frustrate the people around and in our lives, and your sleep deprived body tries to communicate on some level of human interaction you could potentially deem as "nice", also known as finals.

They suck. There is no way around that fact. You could have a 4.00 GPA or a 2.00 GPA, and all the while they would still be stressful. It is the unnatural act of cutting your sleep down by a handful on hours up to a few weeks in advance, so you can have more time to study everything you have learned since school has started.

Of course there are the educational benefits, but that's beside the point when you feel the need to pull an all-nighter to try and shove every little tid-bit of information you think you can hold in your brain.

Okay... enough on that now on to: DRAMA! *DUN DUN DUNNNN*

By no means is this section based off of anything in my life, but seriously why does drama always seem to come up just when you feel like you have a little too much of everything on your plate?

Is that some twisted Murphy's Law I neglected to recognize?

Seriously though, I think that people should just consider having a pause button for any and or all friendships. I don't mean that in the way it sounds, but as in if there was a button where you could just put all problems aside for like a few days, just so something could be done without any other distraction, and you could return to the problem again later.

Another serious benefit to the pause button would be it would give people time to think and actually decide what they think is important to be said, versus just say stuff just out of the heat of the moment.

And I can say with full certainty that I think this idea could of saved some of my older friendships that sorta fizzled out over pent up feelings and aggressive reactions.

\My next topic is: PLEASE TRY TO SAY THINGS TO PEOPLE THAT YOU KNOW WILL RAISE THEM UP NOT DOWN!!!

This one comes out of kind of a sensitive place, because I have been told that I used to or still do (I don't really know) have people come to my blog to read what I have to say only to laugh at it and go off and tease it. That hurts. I realize I'm putting myself on display by trying out my feelings, but seriously if you're going to go off and tease me, PLEASE be classy enough to make sure it doesn't get back to me.

I seriously do not care if people want to go around and bash what I have to say, but please be kind to my face, that's all I ask.

That was sorta off kilter from what I wanted to say, but the point is still valid.

What I wanted to say was, if you have people in your life, regardless if you like them or not, I belive you should still be kind and have positive things to say.

I know it is supper hard to make something nice up to say sometimes, but it seriously helps to compliment someone, or share a (happier) thought, or something. On a selfish level it will make you feel better if you're kinder to others and share positive things.


I feel like this is a good stopping point for tonight. Just fyi I do not even come close to being perfect when it comes to any of these things, but they're some of my personal goals, and I would like to become a more positive and  less stressed person.



Anyways, I hope for better days to come,
xoxo
Olivia




* Just roll with it and pretend to hear the dramatic noise in your head.