Iya

I know at least one person who has lost all motivation now that summer has begun. There’s something about not being in a regular, structured environment full of like-minded peers that just kinda brings people down, you know? However, you don’t have to succumb to feeling gross now that summer is here. Here are five tips that can be completed in five minutes to make life feel a little better.

Wash your face.

It doesn’t have to even be a full wash. In summer, sometimes a facial wipe-down with a damp cloth can do wonders. It’s cool, it’s refreshing, and it can help energize you to do whatever you wanna get done.

Put away three items.

Right now, look to your right and put away the first three items you see that are out of place. You can keep going if you want. It’s not required, though! Just three seems to be enough for me to feel useful but not put-upon. Plus, now your living space is three items tidier, which is good for morale.

Light a candle and watch it flicker.

Meditation is boring. That’s fair. However, watching a candle burn is similar, in that it allows your mind to empty out and focus on nothing. I could watch a fire burn for ages, lost in my thoughts. Plus, most candles smell nice. Bonus!

Change clothes.

If you’re in a summer funk, I’d bet money you’re wearing at least one article of clothing that you’ve been living in for about a day too long. Go change, now. I feel the most human on days where I dress nice and wear my fancy linen cardigan. You probably have a similar outfit. Go wear it.

Drink a glass of water.

I have once again lost my good water bottle, so I have a new one coming in the mail. Until then, and for the past few weeks, I will be and have been dehydrated. Dehydration can mess with your head in a bunch of ways, none of them good. My willpower decreases, I get lazier, and I don’t sleep as well. So drink a glass of water for me and maybe we’ll both feel better.

34/100🌿 || 화요일 || 2017•06•13

*takes pics on classroom windowsill*

feminism didn’t teach me that men are out to get me. it didn’t persuade me mansplaining existed a là wormtongue or tell me to set fire to my bra. it said ‘hey, has this ever happened to you?’, and it had. 

it said ‘this happens to most women, and it kind of sucks, right?’, and i agreed that it did

and it encouraged me to question and to think: to not assume i had to be quiet and subsurvient, to question why i had to shave and my male friends did not, to use my voice when i was uncomfortable or unhappy

and i was shocked to realise all the garbage around me, but excited to do what i could to change it

and then i started to talk to men about it

and i was told women are sluts and bitches, and that we have it better than men, and that fat women are always unloveable, and that feminism is a hate group, that because the 77 cents figure was disproved no wage gap could possibly exist, that affirmative action is unfair, that women are just not as smart or capable as men, that i should get back in the kitchen, that i was too sensitive, that hot women will always be reduced to their bodies and ugly women will always be mocked for theirs, that mansplaining didn’t exist (this was, of course, mansplained to me), that women just aren’t cut out for STEM, that women these days are uppity, that i was a whore if i had sex and a prude if i didn’t, that i deserved what was coming to me if i took nudes but could i send them some anyway?

i will always fight to protect and support men and their rights. i care deeply about male suicide rates, male addiction rates and the attitude that prevents men from getting help, paternity leave, racial discrimination against black men, toxic masculinity, domestic abuse against men not being taken seriously… 

but goddamn, when i talk to men and have them consistently refuse to acknowledge my experiences are valid, when they laugh and ask if i’m on my period or tell me to ‘smile!’, when they brush me off as a SJW or get angry at me for being a ‘bitch’, it makes me want to say ‘you know what? fuck men. i give up.’

hi, hello. i know, from experience, that those days are the worst. it’s difficult when you need to do things, but you just can’t function. sometimes you even begin to hate yourself. don’t. during these times, practice self-care.

these are some things i would recommend when you feel the blues™:

change your sheets

get enough sleep

take a hot (or cold) shower

do a complete skin care routine

make your bed

clean up your desk

throw away the trash x get your laundry done

walk

run

run some more

better yet, take a hike

visit museums, look at art

buy flowers and put them in your room

be silent, clear your mind of any thought

unplug from social media

draw a self-portrait

laugh at memes

if you don’t play an instrument, listen to live music

sing/lip sync along to any music you want

free-write

SCREAM

make a list of beautiful things you’ve seen

make a list of all the places you’ll go to

compliment yourself

dress up really nicely

watch the sunset

go to the sea (you’re 60% water)

hold a hand

be silly

dance until you shatter yourself*