Friday, July 14, 2017

50 Questions You've Never Been Asked Tag

July 14, 2017 2
50 questions you've never been asked tag header

  • 1. What's your favorite candle scent?
  • Christmas Cookie for sure. I love any sweet scent. I definitely prefer this over fruity/tropical scents.
  • 2. What female celebrity do you wish was your sister?
  • Selena Gomez and/or Ariana Grande. I've been obsessed with these two since as long as I can remember. Queens.
  • 3. What male celebrity do you wish was your brother?
  • None, it's either a celebrity crush or not interested. 😂
  • 4. How old do you think you'll be when you get married?
  • 25-30, probably? I haven't thought about it much yet. It will happen when it happens.
  • 5. Do you know a hoarder?
  • My past self lol! I used to have stuff from ages ago! I still have a lot of things that are old and sentimental but I'm slowly getting over those and I've already given away or thrown away a lot of my childhood things.
  • 6. Can you do a split?
  • I did one once by mistake because I slipped, but I cannot now for the life of me. I am the least flexible person.
  • 7. How old were you when you learned how to ride a bike?
  • I can't remember exactly but somewhere between kindergarten and 2nd grade. It was in the front yard kind of area of my building during summer vacation.
  • 8. How many oceans have you swam in?
  • Maybe one. I'm not really sure, though.
  • 9. How many countries have you been to?
  • Five - USA, India, France, Switzerland, England, and Belgium.
  • 10. Is anyone in your family in the army?
  • Nope.
  • 11. What would you name your daughter if you had one?
  • Never thought about it but probably a sweet, simple name (so specific 😛).
  • 12. What would you name your son if you had one?
  • Never thought about it.
  • 13. What's the worst grade you got on a test?
  • E (oh god bad memories, bad memories). Please do not ask. I am hoping that one-time incident stays a one-time incident!
  • 14. What was your favorite TV show when you were a child
  • Oh, I had so many. Blue's Clues, Dora The Explorer, Teletubbies. I had a lot when I was a bit old for those shows too. I watched TV all day, every day.
  • 15. What did you dress up as on Halloween when you were eight?
  • I probably dressed up only once as a Devil and I don't think it was when I was eight.
  • 16. Have you read any of the Harry Potter, Hunger Games or Twilight series?
  • No, but I have only watched the Harry Potter series because a friend forced me too and I kind of liked it but was very confused because I hadn't read the books. She explained it to me later so it's all clear now.
  • 17. Would you rather have an American accent or a British accent?
  • I have an american accent and I prefer it but I wouldn't mind having a British one either.
  • 18. Did your mother go to college?
  • Yes.
  • 19. Are your grandparents still married?
  • One grandparent on each side has passed away so no.
  • 20. Have you ever taken karate lessons?
  • Never, I was told not to do karate by the doctor because of my medical condition.
  • 21. Do you know who Kermit the frog is?
  • Yep. But I don't remember much... just from memes and pictures on the internet
  • 22. What's the first amusement park you've been to?
  • Probably Six Flags?
  • 23. What language, besides your native language, would you like to be fluent in?
  • Spanish. In fact, I'm learning it right now!
  • 24. Do you spell the color as grey or gray?
  • I've lived in USA and India, so I'm super confused all the time and probably just take turns between the two.
  • 25. Is your father bald?
  • Who came up with these questions?! 
  • 26. Do you know triplets?
  • No, but I confuse people who don't even look alike so that would be a tough situation for me.
  • 27. Do you prefer Titanic or The Notebook?
  • I've only seen the Titanic when I was a bit younger but I don't think I would prefer either.
  • 28. Have you ever had Indian food?
  • For 7 years straight now, yes.
  • 29. What's the name of your favorite restaurant?
  • Taco Bell. Don't judge me.
  • 30. Have you ever been to Olive Garden?
  • No, but I really want to.
  • 31. Do you belong to any warehouse stores (Costco, BJ's, etc.)?
  • Costco.
  • 32. What would your parents have named you if you were the opposite gender?
  • I honestly have no idea but maybe what they named my brother?
  • 33. If you have a nickname, what is it?
  • Nikki or Niks. My name is pretty complicated and it's hard to have a nickname.
  • 34. Who's your favorite person in the world?
  • My best friend. 😊
  • 35. Would you rather live in a rural area or in the suburbs?
  • Suburbs for sure. As much as I love peaceful and quiet, I need stuff near me and need the stuff to be accessible. And sometimes I let go of wanting to be a minimalist and need those 10 items from that super cool art store.
  • 36. Can you whistle?
  • Yep.
  • 37. Do you sleep with a nightlight?
  • I cannot sleep with any light on.
  • 38. Do you eat breakfast every morning?
  • No. Sometimes I don't wake up in time for breakfast. 😜
  • 39. Do you take any pills or medication daily?
  • I have some hair vitamins prescribed to me for hair fall currently.
  • 40. What medical conditions do you have?
  • I have only one kidney. I had a kidney reflux when I was one or two years old.
  • 41. How many times have you been to the hospital?
  • A lot, because of my kidney thingy.
  • 42. Have you ever seen Finding Nemo?
  • Probably a million times as a kid.
  • 43. Where do you buy your jeans?
  • Either a random store or Forever 21.
  • 44. What's the last compliment you got?
  • That I look pretty. 😊
  • 45. Do you usually remember your dreams in the morning?
  • I get multiple dreams usually so I usually only remember one part/one dream.
  • 46. What flavor tea do you enjoy?
  • I like sweet ginger lemon tea.
  • 47. How many pairs of shoes do you currently own?
  • More than 10 (too lazy to count the exact number).
  • 48. What religion will you raise your children to practice?
  • If I do have children (not sure that I will), I won't teach them a very specific religion - they'll choose when they grow up. But I will probably teach them about God in general.
  • 49. How old were you when you found out that Santa wasn't real?
  • I can't remember how old I was but I remember how. I figured out after I recognized that the handwriting on the note I received from "Santa" actually belonged to my dad.
  • 50. Why do you have a Tumblr?
  • I don't use my Tumblr anymore. I find it easier to find stuff on Pinterest and Instagram or simply Googling whatever I need.

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

How to do amateur Stop Motion Animation with basic video editing software - Beginner's Guide

July 12, 2017 20

I literally did stop motion animation for the first time last month. I had never really paid attention to it let alone try it before this month. I had a slight idea originating from my common sense of how it was done.

Something told me there has to be a special software (maybe even a special camera/recommended type of camera) to use but I didn't want to spend so much on this newly found interest that I knew wouldn't last very long. Also, I assume the softwares aren't free to use (or maybe only free to use for one or two sessions) and I already have a licensed version of a video editing software so I didn't want to waste time and make my laptop vulnerable to viruses by going to random sites trying to download special software.

I had my DSLR camera that my dad bought a few months ago (since our digital camera was ages old and on the verge of dying, we thought we needed an upgrade) and a tripod, and I never looked up how people did it so I just went with what looked about right in my head. Taking a lot of pictures while moving the object or objects by a very small distance between each shot. Seems pretty easy. What I didn't know, however, was how long it takes. I had heard it was time-consuming, but I didn't think it would take as long as it did for me just to create 2-3 minute stop motion video which wasn't as smooth, but it worked.

Before you read further on, you should watch my stop motion videos to see what kind of content can be made from this short tutorial (if you can already do better than I did, this post may be a waste of your time but hey, you can check out my other articles!):





This is how I made a simple stop motion video:

All you need is any camera. It could be a DSLR, a digital camera, or even your phone camera. Just be aware of what quality of video you want to create so you can decide which camera is the best. You will also need a tripod or a make-shift tripod (holding your phone/camera in your hand isn't the best idea no matter how stable you can rest your hand, it won't work). For your first time, you can just experiment by using random objects or items lying around in your room.

Taking the pictures:
It's pretty self-explanatory. You just have to click pics, move your object a teensy-weensy bit and then click another picture. You decide where you want your objects to go so this is where your creativity should take over. There's no tutorial on that part.

My tip: 
If you are using a DSLR like I did, don't do the mistake I did the first time I shot pictures for my stop motion. Keep your shutter speed high since it won't matter for the quality of the picture. You're only moving the items when the camera isn't shooting and the camera is stationary. The reason why you should keep the shutter speed high is that otherwise, it will take way too long to take the hundreds (yes, hundreds, but depending on how long your video is it could be more or less) of pictures due to the waiting time in between.

Next, you have to transfer all those pictures into your laptop or PC.

For editing, you can use the basic software provided in your PC (e.g. if you have a windows laptop you may have windows movie maker pre-installed). If you don't, the easiest software there is is Videopad. The unlicensed version is free to use for a couple of videos (provided it's not commercial use), but then you will have to buy the licensed version if you want to make more videos.

All you have to do is add the pictures to whatever basic video editing software you use, add it to the storyboard/timeline, and change the speed of all images to around 1000%. (you can set it to a higher percentage if you want the motion to look faster). Add any text or anything of that sort if you want, and then save and export it as a video file

And that's literally all you have to do to make a simple, amateur stop motion animation film.

Check out my Behind the scenes video for a stop motion video I made recently:

Don't forget to follow my blog if you want to stay tuned for more posts and give my socials a visit! (Info on the sidebar on the right).

Saturday, July 8, 2017

How to Declutter Like a Pro in just 5 simple steps

July 08, 2017 3
how to declutter in 5 steps



Firstly, meme:
clutter vs declutter meme

Secondly, this is my guide on how to declutter like a pro. Now maybe the meme above may be a bit exaggerated (oops), decluttering isn't absolutely necessary to be happy. You can still have a complete mess of a room and get shiz done if that's your thing. However, there are scientific articles out there that say decluttering can benefit you and your emotional health. An article by Christopher Peterson, Ph.D., in Psychology Today, says that clutter can have quite the psychological effect:

              "The emotional impact of the clutter further
                                  reinforces distress."

You can find hundreds of articles on the internet about benefits of decluttering (I don't want to be making a post about that because I'll just end up saying what the other blogs say). So hence I'll share how I declutter like a pro - tricks and trips and all that jazz.

Step 1: 

Evaluate what you want to declutter. 

Your entire bedroom/dorm? Living room? Kitchen? Wardrobe only? Desk/Bookshelf only? You can choose to declutter a little part of your living/work space or the entire place - it's up to you how intense you want to get. What also helps is to find a purpose. The purpose could be as simple as not wanting clutter in general, or it could be because you are trying to shift into a minimal lifestyle, it could be if you want to reconsider and renovate your room's appearance (i.e. change in aesthetic or forming of an aesthetic style), you could want to declutter your wardrobe to make space for more clothes that you actually wear, or it could even be because you are soon moving to a new location/into a dorm/etc. and can't or don't need everything you have currently. Whatever the reason, evaluate it and it'll help you decide what areas you want to declutter. 

Step 2: 

Set goals.

How intensely do you want to declutter? Do you want the clothes in your wardrobe to be reduced to half the original number or do you want to just remove a few clothes that you haven't worn for a year? My reason for decluttering was that I'm moving into University in Fall of this year (2017) and cannot take (and also don't need) most of what I own. I have/had stuff from when I was a little child (total hoarder, I know right) so I cleared away/donated whatever was of no use to me or my younger brother. Hence, my case of decluttering was extreme. You don't need to force yourself into it unless you have a deadline (e,g. If your apartment lease is ending and you want to get rid of things before you move). You can do it at your own pace, but, don't avoid it for too long because then you'll just end up neglecting it and convincing yourself that it is okay to have all those unnecessary items.

Step 3: 

Divide and conquer. 

Divide your total intended declutter area into sections - either just by area or by category (e.g. first tees, then pants and jeans and then undergarments, and so on). Depending on your space, you can choose how much to declutter every day (or you could finish in a single day if you like). If you are anything like me, you will first make a mess from the section you are trying to declutter before it looks better and less chaotic. In this case, dividing and conquering is a good method to prevent a total mess from your entire room/area because you may not want to deal with all of that on the same day and you will just put back everything and end up ignoring it or getting bored of wanting to declutter. You want to avoid that or you will never get to your "declutter goal(s)". So do one section and then do the next section when you feel like it.

Step 4: 

Ask yourself twice if you really need the item when you decide to keep it. 

Here are some questions you should ask yourself: 
  1. Is the item reaallyy thaat sentimental? 
  2. When have I used this item last and will a situation really ever arise to use it again? 
  3. Yes I've or someone else has spent money on this item, but am I going to use it?
If you end up keeping a few items that are truly sentimental, or you are convinced you will find a situation to use it/them, but they are miscellaneous items/don't fit into anywhere, get a storage box (size depending on the size and number of miscellaneous items) and try to neatly store those items. The box shouldn't add to the clutter so maybe try keeping the box simple (one color, or a simple design that goes with the rest of the room). However, try to keep the number of storage boxes minimal, or you'll end up adding to the clutter instead of removing it.
And don't get lazy! If you do, you'll just end up keeping stuff you don't need because you are too lazy to separate it and throw it away. 

Step 5: 

Repeat. 

If you think you haven't decluttered enough, you can always come back to it when you feel like it and further declutter. Usually in my case, when I go back to the area after a few weeks or usually months, I do end up throwing away a few more items - it's kind of like getting a second opinion. Decluttering in sessions like that works best for me because each time I realize I don't need something that I kept before (because I haven't used it since the last session when I told myself I'd use it).


Tips:

+ It's easier to declutter when you are trying to revamp your room to achieve a particular aesthetic as you'll end up giving away/throwing stuff that doesn't fit with the particular aesthetic (I understand everyone's not the same so this may only work for a few people).

+ At the end, if you can organize everything without it falling out of your drawers every time you open them, you have decluttered enough (unless you want to do more then gurlll do yo thang)

+ Don't forget storage boxes/storage spaces in your room! Usually, those are the places with the things you don't need (because it's likely that you haven't even looked in the storage for a long time)

+ If you can't get motivated to declutter but know you have to, one word: Pinterest.

+ If you are going to University/moving and you are decluttering your closet but feel guilty about giving away/throwing away a lot of clothes (if you are budget-conscious like me) then I would suggest you to divide your closet into three sections: clothes that you will wear once you move only, clothes that you will only wear now and later, and clothes you want to throw/give away before moving. Wear the heck out of the clothes that you will throw away before moving and you won't feel like you wasted money. If you want, also wear the second category of clothes mentioned above frequently as it might change your mind about if you want to keep the item or not.

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Summer Nature Photography 2016-2017 // Photography Album

July 05, 2017 2

Oh nature is just beautiful, isn't it...

Another photography album with gorgeous nature! The colors, patterns, and beauty cannot be described in words. Here is my attempt to capture this beauty for you to enjoy.
Miami Nature Flowers
Location: Florida


Miami Beach and seagull
Location: Miami Beach

pelicans at miami beach
Location: Miami Beach

tiny white flowers
Location: Mahabaleshwar, India

green leaves
Location: Mahabaleshwar, India

tree bark photography
Location: Mahabaleshwar, India

indian giant squirrel
Location: Mahabaleshwar, India

pelicans at miami beach flying
Location: Miami Beach

miami beach ocean
Location: Miami Beach


indian giant squirrel
Location: Mahabaleshwar, India

purple flower
Location: Florida

Monday, July 3, 2017

How to prepare for your college application in 6 steps + Important things you must know! - The Ultimate Guide

July 03, 2017 0

This is post is for those who don't have a clear idea of how to prepare for applying to USA Universities. It could be because your school isn't very supportive in this matter/you don't have a good academic counselor/you are an international student and haven't found a counselor yet.


For international students who are clueless: You should hire an academic counselor around one year before your anticipated intake year. For example, if you want to begin University/College in Fall 2018, you should start looking for counselors now and start your process by July/August/Early September 2017. August is the best time to start.

This article will not get into the very details of what documents you need and their formats the documents should have in order to be considered as official by the college(s) you are applying to, but it will touch that topic. Mainly, however, this article is about what you should do in your high school years (because of a surprising number of people, especially international students, are unaware of everything they should do that'll increase their chances of being accepted because no one tells them).

I was also confused at one point so I hope to clarify everything and feel free to comment below any more questions you have and I will answer them to the best of my ability.

A little about me for some context: I have finished my entire college application process so I know what needs to be done and what I should've done that I didn't. I got accepted in all Universities I applied to, some being Universities from the SUNY system, University of Wisconsin, University of Cincinnati, etc. Even if you are applying to universities that are better than the ones I applied to, this guide will still help you if you don't have a clear idea of what to do before applying.

1 | Extracurricular Activities

You should do whatever extracurriculars you can while in high school. If you're on the team of any sport since grade 9, that's the best case. However, it is not too late to begin while you're in 10th grade. Doing very last minute extracurriculars (e.g. just a month or two before applying) can look bad. The people reviewing your application will know you did the activities just for the application. So start early. Click here to see a list of extracurricular activities you can do in high school (it's just an overview of the things you can do, if you want a way more detailed list, I suggest you just Google it.

Quantify your work! If you have done volunteering, then you should be able to state how many hours. If you have a hobby, try entering competitions related to that hobby and earning some sort of prize/certificate to give that hobby value. Colleges are looking for students who can provide something to the college while enrolled, so stating certificates, extracurriculars, numbers, etc. can help a lot.

Extracurricular activities also help your application by showing that you have leadership capabilities and passion. Firstly, extracurriculars (apart from sports) should be relevant and should have an impact on others. It should create a difference. Secondly, you should learn something from it (and you can say what you have learned from it in your essay which will be discussed below).

You can still do extracurriculars in 11th or 12th grade, it will definitely not affect your application negatively (they may just ignore it but they won't reject you because you did an extracurricular few months before applying!).  Considering that you apply before you are done with your 12th grade, the extracurriculars you do in your last year can be more freely chosen (because you don't necessarily have to focus on looking "passionate", "responsible", "mature", etc).

2 | Your actual ticket

I'm talking about the SAT/ACT. Most people give either one of these tests in 11th grade (junior year of high school). If you read this while you are in 10th grade, you can start now and have a lot of time to study if you aren't great at English and Math and know that you won't be able to give your level best with just a few months of preparation. If you are in 11th or 12th grade, START NOW! If you are applying for Fall 2018 and you haven't given your SAT/ACT test yet, you should give it soon. It depends on when your university deadline is, but if you think you are ready then the earlier the better. You don't want a test score report to be the reason for a delay in your admission decision.

You can register for the tests online (you only have to give one) and once score reports are available online, you will see an option to electronically send them to the college(s) you select.

3 | Academic scores

Academics. It is very important just like the other 2 factors I have mentioned. The admission team will look at your entire graph - what your scores have been like in 9th grade, 10th, and 11th (and 12th midterms if you provide that too). You should try to keep your scores as high as you can. The American system is pretty flexible, however, and you can still get in with bad scores (not at Harvard, but there are a lot of colleges) if the rest of your application blows their mind. So you have two options: Either try to blow their mind with 1 or 2 out of these (so far) 3 pointers or balance these three factors and do them all at least decently well. There's no way anyone can definitely tell you if you will get accepted or not (unless maybe if you literally have 95%+ academic grades, have a lot of 1st place prizes, a lot of community service hours, etc - you get the point). So the best option is to up your game for everything as much as you can.

4 | Resume

This is just a one-paged document you need to prepare with your personal details (name, contact number, email ID, address, DOB, and languages you know), your academic objective/goals in about 2-5 lines approximately, your academic scores, academic achievements, high school activities, and extracurricular activities. You can also add your hobbies and skills. You can search online for the format of the resume.

You can definitely make your resume stand out by mentioning the difference-making activities you have done (and by your academic scores, of course). So making your resume stand out all depends on all the efforts you have put in.

5 | Essay

The essay, commonly called "The Statement of Purpose" or "Personal Statement", is also necessary for your application. The word limit will vary from college to college. I suggest typing around 1000 words so that you can easily condense it (for e.g. if your college requires only a 650-word essay) and add a few more words/a paragraph if you need 1200 or more words in your essay.
For the most part, your counselor will help you with this but I will give you an overview of what I included in my essay.
  • Introduction of yourself
  • Short term goals (this could include what major you want to pursue and a short reason why)
  • Your personal background (relevant to your choice of degree and/or major or relevant to your academic interests)
  • How personal events have shaped your decision or what event in your life made you decide to go on the path you want to (in terms of academics)
  • Explaining in a detailed manner extracurriculars/community service you have mentioned in your resume and how that has made a difference and what you have learned/gained from it
  • Academic activities (again taken from the resume) and how they have helped you develop skills (name the skills)
  • Long term goals (what's next after you earn the degree you want to pursue right now)
  • Why you have chosen that particular University
For international students: You may also want to add a paragraph before the last point above stating why you have chosen to study in the USA

If you are applying to a lot of colleges/universities it is sensible to have a basic framework for all the essays and just to change the paragraph that is University-specific. 

6 | Other documents you need

You will need some more documents like sealed transcripts, recommendation letters from 3 teachers (sealed), and maybe even a scan of your passport. 

International students: Along with the above you will have to provide an official affidavit that says your parent (this is assuming you are applying for a bachelor degree and are a dependent child) gives consent for you to study in the USA. You will also need a bank statement that shows you have enough funds (the University will tell you, either on their website or if you contact them, how much funds you need to show. Your counselor may also know). 

The formats of all the above documents are supposed to be very strict, so I strongly recommend hiring a counselor if you don't have for not only the above application process mentioned but also the documents part of it. You don't want to lose a chance because the format wasn't considered official by the University/college.

Though your counselor will make everything clear to you if you want any more clarification on a specific topic comment below and I will be sure to help you if I have the answer! 

Good luck with your application process!

Friday, June 30, 2017

20 Ways to Fill up an Empty Notebook

June 30, 2017 4

If you are anything like me, you have a dozen of notebooks sitting at home. Empty. They look so pretty and you don't want to use them at school. What are you ever going to do with them? If you are even more like me, a lot of these notebooks have been collected when you were younger because you loved stationary since as long as you can remember and never wanted to use those notebooks/notepads. 
I have come up with 20 different ways you can fill your notebooks! 



Don't want to sit and read this entire blog post? Watch my video covering this entire blog post in just a few minutes below!



1 | Travel Journal

You can write about every trip you have been on and add pictures, your flight tickets, anything that's related to that trip and can be inserted in your journal. However, you don't have to go across the globe to be able to make a travel journal. Your journal can have memories and writings of local places you have been to with your family, friends, or loved one. Adding a picture of the map, or drawing the map of the place can also add a nice artistic element to your travel journal. If you don't mind your journal not being completely flat, you can currency of the place (if the place has slightly different currency e.g. quarters of different states, or if your trip was international) like coins and/or bills. You can even add packing lists before you go on the trip to one page and then write about the journey and the trip on the next pages.

2 | Collections

Nail Polish Collection
This is inspired from the famous YouTuber, Ann Le (Anneorshine). You can make a book of collections of different items you own in different colors/types. For example; nail polishes, eye shadow shades, eye makeup, different pens and highlighters you own (if you love stationery), and so on. All you have to do is basically make small swatches on the page and you can write the shade, company, etc below or beside the swatches (as shown in the picture). If you own plants you can even draw the different plants you own, the nutrients they need, how often you need to water them, etc (especially if you are a new "Plant Mother"). If you want to up it a bit, you can even take pictures and add them to the pages instead (e.g shoes you own, etc). If you buy a lot of stuff from shops like Etsy that you need to keep buying every now and then (e.g. planner stickers), you can make a collection of that too and write down the shop name so it's easier to find when you need to order the item again. It's your own collections journal so you can add as many collections you want, no one is judging, darling! 

3 | Assignments Tracker

If you are in high school or college (or simply want to track any important assignments) dedicate your empty notebook to writing down your assignments so you don't forget to complete and submit them before the deadline. It's a great idea to also write down what chapters/modules were covered in class so it's easy for you to know what to revise that day and/or what to go through next for the next day's lecture. A great way to remain organized and on-time for everything! You don't have to have a table like shown in the above picture, you can have a simple layout with headers like a planner too.

4 | New Language

If you are learning a new language, whether on your own or in class, it's a good idea to dedicate a notebook to it so you can write down the basics (especially stuff you are likely to forget) like regular and irregular verbs and their conjugations, pronouns/possessives, etc. (Also, if you are learning a new language, it's a good idea to learn beginner phrases and phrases like "could you please talk slower, I don't know much [language name]"). You can even make a list of common nouns and adjectives. Create a page for the contents at the beginning. Dedicate 2-4 pages (depending on how big your notebook is) for the index at least so you know where everything is in your notebook and you have enough space for your contents page.

5 | Lists

This is a very broad topic, so you can literally make any kind of lists. Lists of what items you want to save up for, where you want to travel, a bucket list, grocery shopping list, whatever list you need to make! I suggest using a notepad for this one so you can easily tear off lists you don't need anymore (like when you are done buying the groceries, for example) and also to save space since the lists won't normally be very detailed, but at the end, it all depends on what you need. 
(The notepad in the picture above is a random notepad, this post isn't sponsored)

6 | Bullet Journal

If you have been to my blog before or seen any of my YouTube videos, you know I love Bullet Journals. If you love to plan and add various elements to your book to make it more than just a "planner" then you should definitely try making a Bullet Journal. You can visit the official Bullet Journal page and find out the basics and you can also click here to see my bullet journal setup or watch my June and July monthly set up videos below to get an idea of what a Bullet Journal can look like:




7 | Dream Journal


If you like keeping track of your dreams, or like the idea of doing so, you should consider having a Dream Journal. You can write down your dreams as soon as you wake up. You can do this if you just dislike the feeling of forgetting a good dream after a few minutes of waking up or want to decipher your dreams in a way if you believe the have some hidden meaning(s). You could also just do it for fun. You can record your dreams every day or when you want to, it's up to you.

8 | Brainstorming



I love brainstorming. It really helps me come up with a lot of ideas and helps me evaluate those ideas or add ideas to those ideas if that makes any sense. If your job or hobby (or whatever it is that you do) requires a lot of creativity and coming up with ideas, then a Brainstorming Notebook should be your buddy. 
You can make spider diagrams, flow charts, anything you like. I recommend you use a dotted or grid notebook for this one but if you have an empty lined notebook it won't stop you from brainstorming, I promise.

9 | Gratitude Journal



If you don't know, a gratitude journal is basically a journal full of things you are grateful for. Thanking God/the universe/any force you believe in (if you believe in one) for the privileges you receive every day. If you have read or watched "The Secret", you know exactly what this is. It's simple to do. You can choose a number of things you want to write down that you are grateful for every day (e.g. 5 things per day) and write why you are grateful for each of those things/people/events/etc. Writing regularly about what you are grateful for will make you happier...I guess because you are saying out loud that you are happy with everything you have.

10 | Doodling & Sketching

I find doodling/sketching very therapeutic. I'm not that good at drawing but I like to believe I can draw decently (kinda) but that doesn't stop messy doodling from helping me de-stress. You don't have to be good at art to have a doodling/sketching/drawing journal. Just try to create new stuff, designs, cartoons, whatever you want to and let your creativity take over. If it helps you become relaxed and enjoy your "me-time", then who cares if you can draw or not? 

11 | Study Notes


If you are serious about studying and create your own notes, then use that empty notebook lying around to make a notes-book. Since it isn't being use at school, you can take your time, make it neat and add extra information if needed. Make it proper in one go so you can always rely on the notes for upcoming exams and don't have to sit in between 2 textbooks and a study guide and your school notes to study for one test.

12 | Year Overview

You can write about how the previous year was, you can write about the month and your feelings and what happened in that month, like a monthly overviews. You can then sum up the entire year in the end and add any thoughts, reflections, etc. You can pictures, news articles, etc. depending on what you are writing about and what you want to capture and remember from the year. It could be kind of like a rarely written in diary.

13 | Memories





I love the idea of adding Polaroid pictures and text together. To me it seems kind of like the perfect combination for a journal. What's better is when you can write about memories and have pictures that can be associated with them - so you never forget it. Polaroids are back in trend and I ain't mad at it. In fact, I absolutely love it. You can make a cute, vintage looking (or not, you can add normal printed pictures cut to size) journal with loads of memories and pictures to go with them. You can write about events, trips, people, etc. There are so many good events that happen in your life even when you are going through a rough time. You should find those even if they are hard to find. Write them down so you can feel how lucky you are and look back on those memories, know exactly when they happened, and re-live them.

14 | Recipes

Love cooking/baking? Make your own homemade recipe book out of your notebook. Make sure to have a table of contents in the beginning and rate all the recipes as you write them down on each page. You can also add other elements like a sign for whether the meal is non-vegetarian, vegetarian, or vegan or if the meal is healthy or not. You can dedicate a section of each page for these indicators so you can quickly spot the "meal type" and decide on what to make. You can even divide the notebook into sections for example; Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner or Meals and Desserts, etc.

15 | Personal Diary

I don't really need to explain this, it's pretty self-explanatory. Pour your emotions onto the empty pages!

16 | Vision Board/Inspiration Board

You can create a vision board and/or inspiration board notebook! You may have different goals every month and different inspirations depending on your life. You can keep adding stuff to your notebook as and when you finish reading a magazine and want to add images from there or when you develop a new interest/passion.

17 | Statistics/Budgeting

If you want to be more budget-conscious but spreadsheets are just not your thing, use your blank notebook for it! You can start out with a page of your monthly budget goals followed by pages for your expenses and earnings. Make sure to create a table if you want all your numbers to be organized. An alternative idea would be to use it for statistics. If you are on social media and trying to make or have a business on it, you can use a notebook to record your weekly or monthly statistics, whether it is the increase in your followers/subscribers or any other insight. You can have a regular log made in your notebook. You can even plan what your goals for the month are in terms of growth and compare that to the end of the month statistics.

18 | Quick Notes/Ideas


If you have a small notepad/notebook, this is probably the perfect use for it. Take it with you on the go for any sudden bursts of brilliant ideas or if you need something quick to write on if you are meeting an adviser, for example. I always have random ideas at the most random times and I usually forget about them even if I write them in my phones' memos. So if you are like me, a small notepad would be great for this.

19 | Cathartic Writing

Everyone has their tough times and everyone has something they want to express/say but you can't always say everything to someone or sometimes you don't have someone to say the things too. Cathartic writing really helped me through some of my toughest times and if you are going through something you should definitely consider writing it down. I always heard people say that you should write down your feelings when you are sad or going through something but I never considered it till a teacher I'm close to suggested it to me when I sort of opened up about something I was going through. I gave it a try and it helped me so much. Ever since, whenever I'm upset about anything, I write down, very quickly every thing I'm feeling, in the messiest handwriting ever and get it all out. That's just how I do it. So if you have any suppressed or built up emotions, try cathartic writing (or maybe even painting/drawing). Find what makes you calm and peaceful and if this is what it is, then do it.

20 | Secret Compartment





If you honestly cannot think of anything to do with your notebook either because you've already tried the above 19 methods (or for that matter any other ideas from other websites), then my fellow reader, get your X-acto knife/cutter out and make a secret compartment out of your book (You can even use an old reading book you don't care about, actually). Even if you don't have anything important (but not too important) to keep in that compartment, it's still sort of fun to pretend like you have something to hide.

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Changes in a Relationship

June 27, 2017 0

Kind of like a sequel to "Ctrl + Z" and "A Million"

[By relationship, I mean it's definition - the way in which two or more people or things are connected, or the state of being connected. Not necessarily (i.e. not in the context of my personal point of view) but also possibly including a romantic relationship.]


There comes a point where everything changes between you and a person. You feel different - not in a good way. You feel alone. It feels like the loss of a person.


The intuition

Somewhere in the back of your head, you have this feeling but you suppress it into the very back because you are in denial. You don't want it to be true - no wait, the thought doesn't exist, right? It was just one of those weird moments. It means nothing. It's all okay. Just brush it off and be happy. "Feel on the surface, don't question things or it'll get complicated," you tell yourself. If you doubt it, forget it. You're still best friends and you will still shower him/her with love because that's what you both do. Wait. He/she hasn't done that really. Bad thought. Forget. Best friends forever.

Mixed feelings

The inner thoughts become controlling but only of your subconscious. Denial still persists. You begin to do things and say things but you don't know why. You don't want to know why. You avoid the person one day and but then want to talk all day the next. You don't know what you want. You decide to distance yourself so that you can maybe find out what you want because you don't want to be so moody and indecisive. So many feelings overpower your mind that you stop feeling; you become numb to emotions. Going along with life trying to avoid that person because you can't tell what's right or what's wrong and you can't deal with all these thoughts that have flooded your mind because you pushed them back so far as if mimicking natures' tides.

Over thinking

You remind yourself of all the times you were not happy with the person. All the thoughts you neglected now mean so much. You feel the emptiness in the relationship and you think "Was I a fool to believe we were on the same page? Did he/she ever care or was it actually genuine in the beginning but faded with time?"
They say time heals but it doesn't seem like that to you. Every day you are emotionally drained by thinking about why he/she doesn't care or why/she doesn't have the same feelings as you have for them. You are exhausted from all the thinking and all the energy you have put into it. You almost want to surrender and just pretend like everything is okay and go back to him/her and "forgive and forget" but somewhere inside you, you know that isn't what you should do. That'll never work in the long run.

The blow-up

Fighting and arguing and now it's actually real and not in your head. Now it's you fighting against him/her and fighting your own mind. It's two against one. You want apologies from the other end and you want a meaningful message to end this once and for all but things don't happen in reality like the way they do in your mind. It's actually the complete opposite. A few weeks of not talking and a few days of crying, but nothing changes. Everything is brought up in conversations like lava brought out from Earth's core. Actions - regrettable. Words - irreversible. The events are engraved into your mind. The relationship's structure changes and you can do nothing about it.

The storm calms

You both decide to be the bigger person and move on from the events. There are two main thoughts. "This is a relief and I am so happy" & "Can I ever move on?". It's you being indecisive again but as if at a lower intensity. There are neutral conversations to try to bring back up your relationship to where it was again; like setting the second foundation.

The temporary bounce back

You are ecstatic and filled with hope...so glad this could work out. You fall in love, again, with the idea of being close to him/her. But that's the problem. It's only the idea. You actually are torn between reality and your imagination once again - but you don't realize it just yet.

Back to reality

Once the initial feelings fade you realize that it isn't the same. You just made yourself feel that way because that's what you wanted. The idealism of your relationship is not the reality of your relationship. You have now become the Pip of Charles Dickens you called a "fool". Estella was never meant to be yours. You feel different about him/her and your relationship.

Acceptance

It definitely is different than before. You haven't talked about it, but you know. There are no sparks. You do have fun when you're together and you still may have some kind of relationship but there's no depth in it anymore - it all washed away with that tide.

It isn't over but neither is it solid anymore. It's that in-between area that you never knew existed. It makes you feel like you're hanging. Good news is that you understand the reality now and accept it. You don't waste time thinking about it or spending energy on ways to fix it. You let it be, because it was never meant to happen. You occasionally think about it, but you've come to terms with it.



Saturday, June 24, 2017

Unique Floral DIYs you need to try this Summer!

June 24, 2017 1
Background image from Unsplash.com

I am not someone who absolutely loves color. My wardrobe is 75% black and neutrals (the rest just being colorful items I bought years ago). I do use color while planning in my planner but if you saw my Bullet Journal Setup for this year (click here to see that), you'll see that it's minimalist and black and grey (except the book which is a blue - not a big fan, but I'm about to buy a new one). Anyways steering back to the topic...
Summer is represented by color and florals and beaches, etc. I don't mind the florals and the beaches, kinda mind the bright colors. I've thought of some Floral DIYs that you could make with any color palette of your choice - whether you want it in gray-scale or filled with neon hues, it's up to you.


1. A Frame Calendar
An idea of how your frame-calendar could look like!
I thought of this idea when I was trying to make a custom calendar in PowerPoint with different images from Tumblr. So here's how you can make your own aesthetically pleasing and functional DIY Calendar for the summer:

  • Select a photo frame of your choice.
  • Print out or draw (your choice) the layout of the month or months you intend to use on paper sized appropriately according to the frame size. (FYI, It doesn't only have to be for summer months, keep reading for more ideas). 
  • Collect flowers, leaves, etc. of your choice and decide on a general arrangement that won't completely cover your calendar but overlays a little bit.
  • Add a very small piece of double-sided tape (or loop a single-sided tape) to the back of your flowers/leaves but make sure it's barely visible if it is. Stick it to the calendar.
  • Insert the calendar page with the stuck on florals into the frame and smush it between the glass of the frame and backing board. 
And there you go! Now all you need is a dry erase marker to add notes/events/reminders/etc to your calendar. If you have some important events you already know of you can write it on the paper before putting it inside the frame.

Tip: You can use this idea all-year long! It's evergreen in a way! If you have a particular aesthetic/stylistic choice, you can use that for each month and make it one single theme. You can add orange leaves in the fall, cut out snowflakes and add those to the winter months, the possibilities are endless!

2. Aesthetic Display Clipboard
This one is again very flexible to your aesthetic!
You can add polaroids, quotes, flowers/leaves (fake or real, though real flowers will probably not last long), reminders, and so on.
Here's how I would make it:


  • Take a clipboard of your preferred size. You can get one with your color choice, or if you don't find one that's the right color, spray paint it whatever color you desire! Remember to tape the clip if you want it to remain the way it is.
  • Take some good pictures, either aesthetically pleasing or great memories. It doesn't have to be a Polaroid it could be a simple printed picture as well (though using photo paper will make it look way better if you decide to print)
  • Print out a quote or two and cut it out. You can add anything to it, you can even make it a vision board/inspiration board.
  • Add the elements to your board. You can do this in two ways as shown in the picture above:                   1) If you want to make it have a clean look, add double-sided tape or any tape to the back of your elements                                                                                           2) Stick them to the board using washi tape/a thin duct tape or use bulletin pins (you may have to hammer them a bit so they don't fall out. This will work if you have a wooden board, but you'll probably crack it if you are using an acrylic/plastic one).
You can put this up on your wall using a nail. If you live in a dorm or if you are not allowed to drill holes into your wall wherever you live, you can place it on your desk at a slight angle or on a shelf and it'll look just as great!

3. Simple floral arrangement
3 different preferences! From minimal to all-in (and a lot more variations in between!) 
This next one is very common but there are endless possibilities on how you can customize it. The selection of glass, flowers & leaves, etc.
Personally, I prefer the glass type shown above (simple and sleek looking) and the first arrangement (left). 
Here are a few additions you can make to this DIY (I recommend using fake flowers/leaves if you do any of the below):

  • Add resin or clear candle wax to the vase after arranging your flowers to give the effect of water (you can add stones before adding the resin/wax too).
  • use masking tape to make a shape/stripe across your vase/glass and paint or spray paint the exposed part
  • spray paint the flowers  a color of your choice. White and/or black is what I would do (minimalist and my aesthetic).
  • add pebbles or sand (or both) to the bottom of the vase/glass
4. Floral Tiles
All you need for this DIY is resin, a mold and your flowers (you can use real or fake but using real flowers looks way better in my opinion). You can make these tiles just for decorative elements to your room or you can use it as coasters.
Here are a few variations of this kind of DIY:
  • add a thin layer of resin and flowers/petals/leaves into a boring tray to make it stand out and look bee-oo-tee-fool.
  • make a small version using tiny flowers and make it into a pendant or key chain
  • make it into a pebble/rock shape (or any shape with one flat side) and use it as a paper weight.
  • Instead of resin use glycerin and make a soap with the flower petals/leaves inside (you can use flowers/herbs with beneficial properties like lavender petals or hibiscus petals)
I hope you enjoyed these simple and easy floral DIYs!
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