savedbythebelle

Gooooood evening everyone & welcome back to your favorite local blog page! As you probably have noticed due to the copious amounts of social media posts [sorry not sorry], I've recently been overseas in Europe for a well-earned summer vacation. While abroad, I had a lot of time for some self-discovery. In just nine days, I learned how to trust my instincts, be independent, face my fears, and the importance of planning ahead of time. New places and new faces often frighten tourists, and understandably so. Unfamiliar big cities can be intimidating! As a result, I'm here to offer some crucial travel tips I have picked up for all current, future, and aspiring globetrotters! Tip 1: Preparation. Preparation. Preparation. For nearly three whole months, I sat at my laptop researching, mapping, booking, and later, creating a time-table for each and every activity. Though some tourists prefer the spontaneity of traveling, this mindset can be very risky. For example, had I not go

4 years - 720 days - 5, 040 hours - all spent in a single building, with the same people, with similar goals. Yes, I'm talking about high school. Though everyone's high school experience is drastically different, there are aspects in each that line up. There will always be that group of girls who constantly create drama, those teachers who can't seem to give you a break, those nights you feel so misunderstood & alone, and that certain someone you just can't get out of your head. No matter where you live or what school you attend, we all learn the same lessons. No, not y=mx+b or that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, but things you can't learn from a textbook. Here are just a few of them... 1) You don't have to look good everyday - nobody really cares! I'll admit, every morning from Freshman to Junior year, I'd wake up at 6:00 am, fry my hair with a straightener, apply an obscene amount of eyeliner, slide on the "trendiest&

     Happy sunny, yet freezing, Saturday everyone! Today's blog post was a highly requested one, and I only hope to cover this topic to the best of my ability. As you may have guessed from the title, this entry relates to mental illness and the stigmas our society places on those suffering with some form of it. According to Psychology Today, one in five Americans is living with a mental illness, yet many suffer in silence due to fear of judgement or ridicule. I'm not here to diagnose you, to tell you what to feel, or even share my own experiences - because as we all know, there is no "cookie-cutter" explanation of a mental disorder. Everybody interprets and reacts to traumatic events in their life differently. For example, following the death of a close friend,  Person A becomes isolated, introverted, and falls into a depressive state. Person B develops anger management issues and cannot hold stable relationships. Whereas Person C  grieves for the time being, but cont

As the national holiday of love approaches, it seems as though more and more singles are outwardly "advertising" their best qualities onto dating websites and social media. I recently had a close friend disclose to me, "I just want a boyfriend, I've been single way too long." As much as I wanted to be on her side and encourage her ~thirsty~ behaviors, it kind of bothered me. When did relationships become so mainstream and public that when single, girls feel out of place/unwanted? Why has the title become more important than the relationship itself? These are the things keeping me up at night... sike lol, catch me in bed at 9 PM! But in all seriousness, what I do know is that women deserve more than what they're selling themselves for. Lowering your standards to simply claim that you're in a relationship is quite sad, and anyways, you're better than that! So chins up girls, here are a few tips & tricks on how to make the most out of your Valentine