Elle

‘view with a grain of sand: selected poems,’ wisława szymborska

‘the complete collected poems of maya angelou’

‘art objects,’ jeanette winterson

‘by grand central station i sat down and wept,’ elizabeth smart 

‘seam,’ tarfia faizullah 

‘play it as it lays,’ joan didion

‘war of the foxes,’ richard siken

‘midwinter day,’ bernadette mayer

‘in the pines,’ alice notley

‘death is not an option,’ suzanne rivecca 

‘the dead and the living,’ sharon olds

‘the melancholy of anatomy,’ shelley jackson

‘edinburgh,’ alexander chee

‘the woman destroyed,’ simone de beauvoir 

‘monster: poems,’ robin morgan

‘how we became human,’ joy harjo

‘ayiti,’ roxane gay 

‘our andromeda,’ brenda shaughnessy

‘second childhood,’ fanny howe

‘the lady in the looking glass,’ virginia woolf

‘the journals of joyce carol oates’

‘mathilda,’ mary shelley

‘flame & shadow,’ sara teasdale

‘go tell it on the mountain,’ james baldwin

‘stag’s leap,’ sharon olds

‘hyperdream,’ hélène cixous

‘devotions,’ mary oliver

‘the center cannot hold,’ elyn r. saks

‘sexing the cherry,’ jeanette winterson

‘the bloody chamber,’ angela carter

‘on earth we’re briefly gorgeous,’ ocean vuong

‘flesh wounds,’ virginia l. blum

‘the journals of joyce carol oates’

‘selected poems of frank o’hara’

‘the dream of a common language,’ adrienne rich

‘on beauty,’ zadie smith

‘the four chambered heart,’ anaïs nin

‘gravity and grace,’ simone weil

‘selected poems of anna akhmatova’

‘collected poems of t.s. eliot’

‘decreation,’ anne carson

‘collected works of susan sontag’

‘collected works of virginia woolf’

‘the woman destroyed,’ simone de beauvoir 

‘garments against women,’ anne boyer

‘the love of a good woman,’ alice munro

‘her body and other parties,’ carmen maria machado

‘the hour of the star,’ clarice lispector

‘good bones,’ margaret atwood

‘collected poems of sylvia plath’

‘selected works of joan didion’

‘devotion,’ patti smith

‘veil and burn,’ laurie clements lambeth

‘grief lessons,’ anne carson

‘the collected poems of audre lorde’

‘erosion,’ jorie graham

‘the empathy exams,’ leslie jamison

‘the beauty myth,’ naomi wolf

‘selected works of sarah kane’

‘waiting,’ marya hornbacher

‘sane,’ marya hornbacher

‘stigmata,’ hélène cixous

‘a field guide to getting lost,’ rebecca solnit

‘keith haring journals’

‘written on the body,’ jeanette winterson

‘night sky with exit wounds,’ ocean vuong

‘crush,’ richard siken

‘haruko / love poems,’ june jordan

‘bluets,’ maggie nelson

‘the collected poems of lucille clifton’ 

‘complete poems of mariannne moore’

‘poems and prose,’ christina rossetti

‘the gentrification of the mind,’ sarah schulman 

‘power politics,’ margaret atwood

‘a girl is a half-formed thing,’ eimear mcbride

‘one secret thing,’ sharon olds

‘the silent woman,’ janet malcom

‘the white book,’ han kang

‘braiding sweetgrass,’ robin wall kimmerer

‘not vanishing,’ chrystos

‘sinners welcome,’ mary karr

‘cat’s eye,’ margaret atwood

‘zami / sister outsider / undersong,’ audre lorde

‘sula,’ toni morrison 

‘we sinful women,’ rukhsana ahmed

‘the house on mango street,’ sandra cisneros 

‘blood and guts in highschool,’ kathy acker

‘unbearable weight,’ susan bordo

‘rhapsody in plain yellow,’ marilyn chin

‘the hunger moon,’ marge piercy 

‘trash,’ dorothy allison 

‘the cocktail party,’ t.s. eliot

‘love lessons,’ alda merini

‘selected poems of marina tsvetaeva’

‘disorder,’ vanesha pravin

‘a strangers mirror,’ marilyn hacker

‘human acts,’ han kang

‘dearest creature,’ amy gerstler

‘when my brother was an aztec,’ natalie diaz

‘second childhood,’ fanny howe

Ever wonder what your life would be like if you lived up to your full potential? Would your body be healthier? Your skin clearer? Bank account bigger? I think about these things all the time, and, judging my a previous post, you guys do to. Below is a chart designed to help all of us live up to our full potential. I’ve broken it down into time frames to help keep you from getting overwhelmed. Write the chart down and hang it someplace where you can see it all the time. I will be starting this challenge tomorrow, 9/8. I’ll check in with you guys every Sunday to track my progress. I have specific goals in mind for myself, and you guys should make some too! I really want to know how you guys are doing. Tag your progress posts with #sbfpc so I can track it and take a look. Let’s get to it!

EVERY MORNING

Stretch. First thing. Really give your body enough time to wake up. Touch your toes. Roll out your shoulders. Do not hit snooze!

Do your full skincare routine. I have mine detailed here, but do whatever works for you and your complexion. Be gentle and consistent. 

Brush your teeth and floss. I used to be a big floss-skipper too, but you’d be amazed at how dig of a difference it makes. Rinse with a whitening mouthwash. I use one by Crest, and I notice a major difference in my teeth’s overall whiteness in just a few days.

Give yourself enough time to get ready. Whether you’re a wash-and-go kind of girl, or someone who spends an hour doing a full contouring routine before class (and either one is fine!), make sure you aren’t rushing. If you need to wake up a few minutes earlier than normal, so be it. Rushing sets an awful, stressed-out tone for the rest of the day. Allow yourself to be relaxed before taking on the day.

Eat something. I’m not going to say eat a big breakfast, because some people (myself included) just can’t eat in the morning. But you should eat, or at least bring a little something with you to work or school. If you can’t eat a full breakfast, grab a fruit! You won’t be as hungry come lunch time, making you less likely to gorge yourself.

Shower. You can do this at night, in the morning, whatever. Again, this is something you should allow some time for. I don’t wash my hair every day, but I do condition it every day (from the ears down). Scrub yourself with a delicious-smelling body wash. If you shave, make yourself as smooth as a dolphin, dude. If you don’t, then don’t and don’t ever ever ever let anyone make you feel bad or weird about it. When you get out of the shower, wrap yourself in a fluffy towel and totally slather your sexy self with lotion. Top to bottom. Do it as soon as you can post-shower so it can really sink in. 

Put leave-in condition throughout your damp hair and comb it through.

Put on an outfit that makes you feel good! So important!

Drink water. Drink water. Drink water. Drink water!!!!!

Take a look at your daily to-do list. Knock out the most pressing stuff first. Take pride when you cross things off your list.

Make your bed! Oh my god, make your bed. Do it. Do it. Do it. 

EVERY AFTERNOON 

Follow the “touch it once” approach. This is a truly life-changing thing. When a task is in front of you, no matter how big or small, just do it right then and there. How many times have you gotten a work email or homework assignment and thought, “Eh, I’ll do it later”? And then later never comes? Once something pops up, do it once. Squash it and be done. Cross things off your list and feel like a badass.

Try to go for a walk at lunch. Even one little lap around the block or campus will reenergize you like nobody’s business. 

Drink water. Drink water. Drink water. Drink water!!!!!

Be present. This is so hard for me too, but you have to make a major effort to be present in whatever you’re doing. Be engaged and plugged-in and just exist in the moment. Give 100 percent.

Be friendly to friends and strangers. A smile goes a long way.

Eat something. Eat what you packed for lunch (see below) and take a break from working while you do it. You need “you time”!

EVERY EVENING

Take your makeup off as soon as you’re in for the night. Wash your face with your full routine and let your skin have a break. 

Workout. You can also do this in the morning. Whatever works for you. Make a great playlist and go hard af. Get your cardio in. Get your strength training in. Earn every freaking sweat bead forming on your forehead. Earn your shower!

Knock out your homework. Life is infinitely better you don’t have anything hanging over your head. Half the time, the energy and emotion you spent dreading/putting off your work is ten times worse than the work itself.

Make a list of what needs to be done tomorrow. It’ll set you up for success the next day, and you won’t forget anything!

Drink water. Drink water. Drink water. Drink water!!!!!

Lay out your clothes for tomorrow. This will save you SO MUCH TIME in the morning omg I can’t even tell you how important this is.

Eat something great. And once you’ve decided to be done eating for the night, be done. Brush your teeth so you can’t eat again.

After brushing, do a whitening treatment. Whether it’s classic baking soda, a Crest white strip, or a laser. Do something. And floss! Retainers in too, ladies 0:)

Relax! Take a few hours to do what YOU want to do. Scroll through Tumblr, binge on some Netflix, FaceTime gossip with your friends, anything. Do whatever makes you happiest. 

Shut the electronics off an hour before you want to go to bed. Put your phone on sleep mode. If you stare at the screen, it will keep you awake and alert and you won’t be able to fall asleep. A good night’s sleep is crucial for weightless and general happiness lol

Do a quick sweep of your room and see if there’s anything you can put away real quick. A clean space is a happy space.

Crawl into your bed (aren’t you happy you took the time to make it?!) and read a book by lamplight for a while. When you start to feel sleepy, go to sleep. Don’t push it. You kicked ass today and you deserve rest. 

EVERY WEEKEND

Do something with your friends. It just has to be one thing. Even if you’re just hanging out at the coffee shop, spending time with your squad will make you a better, happier person.

Drink water. Drink water. Drink water. Drink water!!!!!

Do something just for you. Set your laptop up in the bathroom and watch a Netflix marathon while you take a bubble bath. Buy an old school bottle of Mr. Bubbles ($3 at Target!) and really just soak. Relax. Light a candle.

Do something creative. You can read a book, write, blog, draw, code, anything. It just has to be something that speaks to your passion.

Track your progress. Just do this once a week so it doesn’t become all-consuming. And remember that non-scale victories are just as important as shedding pounds.

Take the time to be grateful. Tell your friend how much you admire her taste in music. Mention to your mom how much you love her cooking and how happy you are that she takes care of you. Thank your teaching after an especially interesting lecture. When you do something awesome, take a moment to admire yourself. Be grateful for even the little things.