Today I re-discovered a youtube series that I having been trying to find for months now. After all this  searching, I finally found it! Now, this isn't any youtube series (if you don't know what a youtube series is- it is a collection of videos regarding similar topics and people). It is a series of videos regarding women. They speak about body image, expectations, perception, confidence, beauty and much more! Their mission is to empower women all across the world.

These series of videos inspired me to become the strong confident woman more than ever before. Over the past year, my independence and self-worth have grown tremendously. I am not afraid to speak my mind given the consequences. A few weeks ago I met up with some friends from high school. It was the first time I had seen some of them since the start of the school year. Throughout the night I was called sassy and bitchy by both my female and male friends. I simply stated, "I'm not being a bitch, I'm just confident now." This seemed like such an unknown response for them. Why is it that when girls are assertive or confident, they are called bitches. However, when men are assertive and confident they are called leaders. I'm done being sorry for being a women. Sorry for being such a inconvenience. I have spent my life trying to prove myself to everyone because of one body part.

I'm sorry for my rant, I am just a very passionate feminist. Feminism. The word is misconstrued by society into a negative ploy against men. That is simply not the mission. All feminism translates to is the equality of BOTH genders. These videos empower women to be anything they want to be without worrying about what others believe. Women do not have to compensate for anything just because they are women. These videos also urge women to help one another rather than pushing each other down. These women coming together and talking about the problems we have in our society is the next step to making a change for women. This makes me happy. Women doing good together for other women. This is why I intend to spend the rest of my life urging other woman to be leaders despite the fact they have to carry around a child for nine months. If men can do it, women can do it. Being happy is being yourself. Whether women are or aren't stay at home mothers should be their choice, not the judgement of our society. These videos make me ponder what we can do to change the way women are perceived in this world.

Here is one of the discussions between Soul Pancake and Darling Magazine concerning beauty and body image:

For the full series "That's What She Said" click this link!
https://www.youtube.com/watchv=QDzd_S5BAQs&list=PLzvRx_johoA85V8vQY_f4m76mTvF_nbth

Hello everyone! So recently I've been trying to stay healthy now that I don't have to eat dining hall food anymore. I'm trying to only eat whole foods with a few exceptions such as milk and yogurt. I haven't eaten red meat for about three years and now I'm starting to cut out chicken and fish. I will have chicken in my salad every once in a while or have some fish with my dinner when it is healthily prepared. Having a strict diet messes with my head and I don't want my entire summer to revolve around calories.

Since I started this diet, I've been searching for better sources of protein other than meat. I found that flax seed is one of the healthiest sources of protein for your body. Instead of sugary cereal, I've been making smoothies. This smoothie has fresh fruit, a bit of greek yogurt, and flax seed. It is the perfect way to wake up in the morning.

Ingredients:
1 cup of ice
1/2 cup of greek yogurt (100 calories per serving)
1/2 cup of blueberries
1/2 cup of pineapple
3 Tbsp. of flax seed





Flax seed is a great source of fatty acids, antioxidants, and fiber. Every tablespoon of flax seed provides about 1 gram of protein. They don't really taste like anything and they grind up really well in my blender. This smoothie is more of a treat than anything. It's really sweet and is a good boost to start my morning.

What do you think? Doesn't this smoothie just make you want to be healthy and fit?!
Thanks for reading!

Stay beautiful,

Meg

I just raced down my stairs to the living room in the pitch black to retrieve my laptop. I was scared shitless. But now I'm here. Ready to rant about these little thoughts in my head that have been keeping me awake for the past two hours.

It's been a strange night. I'm mad, confused, and disappointed in myself. This could just be a series of unfortunate events that led to my sudden discovery or this was meant to happen; either way, I feel like shit. I'm not trying to rant about how I'm not good enough. I know I am good enough, I have it in me. I just have to find the right way to reach my success.

Tonight it dawned on me that the place I called home for the past year may not help me in the future. I have an idea. A brilliant idea that is building in my brain and one day I will be able to pursue it. My possibilities are endless. But sometimes I feel limited by my small private school. I should know by now. I should know what I need to do in order to be who I want to be when I'm grown up (even though I'm already 19 agh!!) I wish I could just blog for the rest of my life about my favorite things, travel around the world with my super hot boyfriend and eventually settle down and start a family in our cute little house on a lake. But sadly, the reality is I'm just another confused college kid who has to make up their mind within the next year. The thought of deciding on a major makes me want to vomit (or run into my room and hide under my duvet with my cuddly cats until the world seems less scary.)

I know I can be successful at this school. It's just a process of finding out the best way to do so. I wish I knew all that I know now when I was looking at colleges. I wish I would've known that playing club field hockey isn't all that I thought it'd be. I wish I would've known that this school can suffocate you, if you let it. I wish I would've forced my parents to let me look at art schools. I wish.. I wish.. I wish.. The list could go on. The truth is, I love it there. I love the friends I have made and the person I have become. It is the perfect fit for me. I have to accept that I'm limited to broad majors such as Communications and Business instead of Creative Advertising, PR, and Marketing. I can make it. I know I can get to the place and person I have been dreaming of. Life wouldn't be life without a few life-changing challenges along the way.

So I sit here. In my messy bed piled with tons of pillows waiting for something-- anything to happen.

My favorite song is blaring in my ears.

"When I was 17, my mother said to me, 'Don't stop imagining,
the day that you do is the day that you die.'"

Ironic lyrics yeah?
My hair is scraped back into a lopsided mess as a result of my constant tugging on the curls. I have come to a state of numbness. I say I can do it. But can I really.. I'm always being the strong, independent one that goes for what she wants. Easier said than done, bitch. Sometimes I hate myself for acting so tough. Blah getting to sentimental now...

I think I'm all ranted out. Sorry if this was super annoying, but sometimes we just need to have a little chat with ourselves. I'll have a much more lively post later this week because I have a new camera!
Something to look forward to for all of us! Happy days.

Lots of Love,
Meg

Hello everyone! So school is finally over and I am feeling inspired. I cleaned out my entire room last week and now I'm left with bare walls and empty drawers. I want to create my room into a completely different atmosphere, one that is more mature and less in your face. I began doodling one day and decided to make my sketches into an art piece for my cork board attached to my makeup desk. I kept the colors muted and neutral as I am planning on painting over my royal blue walls with a subtle light gray. I used a fine tip MICRON pen, some Prismacolor markers, and scissors for this little project. These flower designs are all different. I tend to doodle like this a lot, so free hand drawing things like this is one of my favorite things to do. I put these flower pieces together into some sort of collage type banner thing for the top of my cork board. I hope to add more doodles, inspirational quotes, or cutouts from beauty magazines to this cork board. Overall this was a nice little project and I love how it turned out!

Here are a few of the smaller cutouts-
I am slightly obsessed with these Prismacolor markers. There is a fine tip on one end and a watercolor-like felt tip on the other end. The felt tip is easy to use and gives a piece a greater sense of
depth due to the difference in value.
Hope you enjoyed reading this and I hope this inspired you to get creative!
Have a great week!!

XOXO,
Meg

Hello everyone! As you may know from last weeks post, it's officially finals week. I have one more to get through and I'm calling this my study break. Although studying and staying up late has taken a toll on my body, I've been trying to exercise as much as possible! I usually run 3 to 5 miles a day depending on how I am feeling and I do it with the help of a few apps.

One of the apps I use is the Nike+ Running app. First of all, it's free!!!! This running app tells you how far you have run per minute, measures your speed, and tracks where you have run. It's an amazing motivator for long cross country runs and I find it very rewarding in the end. The app speaks to you as you run and I think that is one of the main reasons I love this app.
Here's the link if you want to check it out: itunes.apple.com/us/app/nike+-running


Since I haven't imported any music into the Nike+ Running app, I use my Spotify app to play music while I'm running. Some of my favorite playlists are Endorphin Rush by Spotify, Night Run by Spotify, POPSUGAR Fitness Spring Cardio 2015, and POPSUGAR Fitness Indie Rock & Run. I love all of these playlists and I mix them up every day!

Sorry for such a small post! Finals are almost over and then I'll update loads more this summer once I'm done with school. Hope you're all having a wonderful day, and if not, go for a run using these apps! These apps make the not so fun running experience more bearable and motivational.

Thank you for reading!!

Meg