Balancing work and school

    5 years ago, I would not have imagined myself doing what I am currently doing now. I pictured myself being a graduate with the possibility of being an employee in a prestigious company,living happily with my family and maybe will be in a good relationship. These are what I imagined myself doing 5 years ago but fortunately and unfortunately my life turned out to be different. Do not get me wrong,my life currently is not the best but I will rather have my life be like this than for it to be any different because I believe everything is a learning phase.

    Back to the main focus of discussion,the world as we knew it few years back is different from what it is now,things have changed for the better for some and worse for others. Well, most of us, teenagers and young adults are being forced into doing what on a normal ground we would not want to do, which is going to school and working at the same time. Yeah, they are people that actually do both of these, thanks to the economy and society at large. 

    When I am asked how I balance going to school as a full time student and also work as a full time employee,I sigh and I simply say, it is all by the grace of God. True, who else other than God will I thank for the strength,determination and dedication but I also take some other steps that helps to put me on check and not loose my sanity. These tips have helped me to survive the stress that comes with being a full time student and worker for the past two years,hopefully it helps you as well.

Create a balance: What I mean by this is that, I try to take classes that will not be too overwhelming. Depending on the number of classes I choose to take for the semester, I mix both hard core classes and easy classes. Then for work, I let my employer know what my class schedule is so that my work schedule can be made to work around my class schedule. Therefore giving me time to recuperate from the workload of the other.

Accountable partner(s): As we all know,we are influenced by those that surrounds us.If you have friends that are not focused on prevailing,it will be rubbed off on you whether you like it or not. In other words, befriend those that are on the same path of success as you. Those friends that sees you doing your assignment and instead of trying to convince you to go clubbing,they sit with you and study too.

Get a mentor: Ask a child who he or her mentor is, they will hurriedly say either their parent(s) or class teacher or even a cartoon character,which is actually not bad because they are children. Ask an adult in this generation who their mentor is and most of them will look at you like you are speaking a foreign language. What am I driving at? Most of us in this generation do not have a mentor. Having a mentor is very important because a mentor acts as an advisor and a reminder of who you want to become. I have mentors, two of whom I know one personally and the other is someone I look up to without the person's knowledge.  

Create a me time: After the busy week,you deserve to relieve yourself because by doing so,the coming week will be fun to look forward to. With that being said, go out and relax with yourself. Take a chill pill and get yourself together,shop online or in store, or you can also eat out,just do something that does not involve school or work but do 

not forget your school assignments.

Remember your friends: I noticed that when we resume classes and work is also included, we tend to push our friends aside which I understand but still our friends should be a get away from the stress. You can plan a day outing with any of your friends at the beginning of the week. By doing this,you talk about your week,the stress of combining school and work, generally everything. I try to meet with my closest friends at least once in two weeks, or I FaceTime with them depending on who has an iPhone. So yeah,it helps a great deal.

   These are my few tips that I have been using for the past two years to survive this hustle and they have been very helpful. Shuffling between work and school has been helpful in so many ways, it has practically changed me for the better.

America's original first family

    Over the weekend, I saw the most annoying magazine post ever and I am sure that a lot of us saw the same post and wondered where the sanity of cosmopolitan magazine team was when they said The Kardashians are America's first family. 

   This is plain stupidity for them to consider this family for such a position that rightfully belongs to President Barack Obama's family. I am trying to understand if this was done out of sheer jealousy that the original America's first family is black.

 

   At least,someone was able to correct the foolishness displayed by cosmopolitan magazine. I was wondering why the Kardashians were even considered for such a noble position because ever since I have come to learn about this family in 2011, nothing good has come out of the family. Thanks to them, a lot of women even men have lost their path of direction and are being led astray due to what they see this family display. 

   Funny thing, this is not the first time cosmopolitan magazine is being bais and racist. Earlier this year, Cosmopolitan magazine had a topic that focused on "dying" trends where they used "black women" to describe the "dying" trends. So that is the reason why, I am not surprised that cosmopolitan magazine chose not to acknowledge and respect America's first family.

    What is your opinion about who the Cosmopolitan magazine chose to be America's first family?

Enjoy!!!

Drop the habit

       Letting go of certain things can be very hard, especially habits. Habits that we have grown into becomes a part of us, stopping it can be done but it takes a lot of time and practice. First, let us understand what an HABIT is.

       According to Cambridge English Dictionary, a habit is a particular act or a way of acting you tend to do regularly. Habit comes in two ways: good and bad. 

How can one differentiate between a good habit and a bad habit? Everyone has their ways of distinguishing between a good and bad habit.

     Ask me and I will tell you that a good habit is the type of habit that helps us to accomplish our goals, there are the habits that puts us on the same path with making us achieve set goals while bad habits is the opposite of what good habits are. Bad habits are like stumbling blocks that stands in our way of achieving our goals and plans. 

Note, not every habit that a particular person sees has being good is seen has being good by another person, and the same thing applies to bad habits.

    For instance; Personally, I hate any form of smoking, be it a hookah cigarette or electric cigarette, count me out of it but some people do not see it that way, someone was told me cigarettes does not kill, people kill people. I laughed at that statement because it reminded of the quote that we use to deal with gun control,"Gun doesn't kill,people kill people". Another bad habit, being clingy, it is one of my favorites bad habits to talk about because it applies to me, making it easy for me to relate to.

Being clingy is a situation where one finds him or herself attached to a particular thing or person. Whereby a person seems to hold on tight to someone, which can be annoying to the other person. How do I know that I am clingy? A person can tell that they are being clingy by the behavior of the other person, the other person seeks for space,may become irritated by the clingy person's character and worst of all, avoids the person. Just like every bad habit, it is hard to stop but very possible, if the person is willing and ready to.

    Like I stated earlier, bad habits can be stopped but it can be very hard to stop especially if it has become a part of us. Since I have the bad habit of being clingy and biting of my nails, m amongst other bad habits that I have. I practice three steps that has been helping me to work on me.

Step 1: Accept it

Before any change can be done, one has to admit and accept that he or she has a bad habit that has to be dropped. Accept your flaws and make it yours.

Step 2: Make a journal 

Write it down as a reminder. It is just like having a journal, but unlike any other type of journal, this time it is a journal for writing down the bad characters that has to be dropped. You go through the journal every once in a while to make sure that you are doing what you are supposed to.

Step 3:Replace it

Find something else to do. Replace the bad habit with something good and worthwhile. Try something new that you have not done before. I started blogging and my YouTube channel to take off the object of obsession from my mind.

     These are the steps that I take that has helped and is still helping me to get rid of my bad habits. If you are having the same issues as me, I will advise you to follow theses steps.

          What are your bad habits that you want to get rid of and what steps have you taken to stop it? 

Enjoy!!!!

Farewell summer 2015!

   It was just like yesterday that I dumped my heavy coats and jackets for light kimonos. Summer is not my favorite season of the year but you must agree with me when I say it's too hard to say good bye!!!!! This has been the most adventurous summer ever,made friends that are more like frenemies now, traveled to different states for the first time,fell in love and most importantly,I was welcomed into adulthood,all these and more happened this summer.

   Fall is going to be an interesting season too, apart from it being my favorite season of the year,it marks the end of the year with a lot festivities from Halloween to Thanksgiving then Christmas!!!!!! On this note, I bid a good farewell to summer 2015!!!! We are definitely not meeting again.

My last summer outfit

Details: 

Hat-- HnM

Shirt--Zara men

Skirt--Akira

Shoes--Forever 21

Purse--Thrift store 

 What is your favorite summer memory? 

Kids should age gracefully

  Remember dress ups and trying to look like our mothers, older sisters, fathers and older brothers,remember sneaking into your mother's makeup box to play with her makeup or wearing her jewelries that you thought are not expensive enough to get you whooped, these are the childhood memories that most of us grown folks are going to miss and what the children of this generation are not going to experience.Every child should be allowed to go through the path of growth,nurtured and groomed by their parents and family members. Let these children grow before you let them dress up in adult outfits and wear makeup. It is appalling to see what social media has turned some parents into,yes, blame it on social media because everybody is in a competition with each other. Kids of nowadays are looking more  like their mothers' age mates instead of looking like the babies that they are.We are meant to age gracefully, infants->toddlers-> adolescents->teenagers->adults, not from infants->adolescents-> adults. As parents, we set examples for our kids to follow, you may not know but our children follow and imitate our every move. When a child is doing something wrong,you punish and correct them but what I am seeing now, is really a huge cause for alarm. If that child ends up being pregnant at the age of 15,who do you think will be blamed for it? Do not leave your child to be trained by social media because they will learn what they are not meant to learn at a young age.

  What is this folks???? What is wrong with this picture above? The answer is nothing and everything. Buy your kids fancy clothes, shoes and let them have nice hairdo,no problem. But styling your kid like this? Sorry to say, it is bad parenting. First of all, this child is sagging his pants, then his posture,what does this kid know? Absolutely nothing,everything this child knows is what he is being taught in his household  and what he watches on television. Then compare the above picture to this one below...

  My guess is that these children are probably of the same age but the difference is clear on who anybody will pick and say that he is from a responsible home, that alone is based on their appearances. Yea, I know that appearance is not all that matters but remember,dress the way you want to be addressed.

  Can someone please tell the parents of these kids to let them grow up before they start dressing them up like adolescents, teenagers and adults!!! Yeah,I will keep repeating it because that is where the problem starts from.

  Everything is a process and step,you cannot jump into another phase of life when you are not mentally,physically,and emotionally ready. Just as parents we represent our kids,so do our kids represent us in public.

 

  Give their growth time,I know that the  world is fashion and fame crazy but that should not be what kids should be bothered about. Education, good characters, games,sports,toys and attitude grooming are what these babies should be focused on. The time will come when as parents we will leave them to face the world independently,whatever they learn now under our watchful eyes is what will determine their survival in this harsh but friendly world.

Enjoy!!

3 ways to style blue all stars converse

  First week of school resumption got me having mixed gender feelings, do not get me wrong, I mean I was indecisive between dressing like a tomboy or sexy babe. I was also fixated on styling an old blue all stars converse that I have not worn in a year,being that it is a unisex shoe,I decided to play with it.

Look 1:

  First day of school was crazy because I woke up late,yeah,waking up late for the first day of my last semester in college,how perfect. Anyways, in a hurry  not to miss my first class.I grabbed the first things I saw in my closet that will fit perfectly with a converse. 

Outfit Deets:

Mesh Jacket--Marshalls

Lace crop top--H and M 

High waist skirt--Akira

Blue all stars converse--Urban Outfitters 

Look 2:

 

  Day 2 of school was way better not only because I was early to school but also because I ate a hearty breakfast. The theme I came up with was go all denim which I know was going to come out unique.

 Outfit Deets:

Denim shirt--Thrifted

White bodysuit--Rainbow

Distressed denim pants--Rainbow

Blue all stars converse--Urban Outfitters 

Look 3:

  My third style was put together based on how my day was going to be. I had to hang out with a friend after school,so I figured I stepped out of the not so casual look and more makeup than my natural look,let us say I was trying to kill two birds with one stone. And yeah,this is my favorite look out of the three looks!!

Outfit details:

Denim Dress(jacket)--Thrifted

Nude body con dress-- Ali Xpress

Blue all stars converse-- Urban Outfitters

  These are not the only looks that can be worn with a converse. So,please step out of your comfort zone and play with it. 

Which one of them is your favorite? Please let me know by leaving your comments below.

 

Have a nice day!!!

Nude is taking over (Pt 2)

 The first part of this topic focused on Esther @estaregrams,talking about her walk into stardom through modeling and styling,her opinion of the color "nude" and how she styles nudes. If you have not read it,I highly recommend that you do so.

  Well,this second part will be focused solely on how to style different shades of nude,so you can see this as a "How-to style" post featuring the talented stylist of melissasmirror. Melissasmirror is a fashion page on Instagram that shows how to combine different clothings. I do not know who runs the page but whoever does is a fashion killer. Confession: That is the first page that I run to when I am short of ideas of what to wear. Being that today's post is focused on nudes; different shades of nude and the colors that can be mixed with nudes,we will be having a style collage,all these will be done with the use of melissasmirror's style collage.

1) Khaki + Nude

This is a classy combination, the nude bodysuit and khaki leather midi skirt compliments each other, being that they are both subtle colors. This outfit can be worn to events where showing your skin does not really matter. I will certainly rock this outfit. 

2) Caramel + White

If you have been following my blog, Facebook and instagram pages,you will know that these colors are some of my favorite colors. What I really like about this combination is that it can styled down or up depending on your makeup and accessories.

3) Silk Nude

This is certainly a show stopper,walk into any event with this outfit and you are sure to make heads turn. Some of us may mistake this shade of nude for white but it is not. This outfit can be worn to any type of event except formal events obviously.

 

4) Halter top + Joggers

Like the Caramel + White, this can be worn as a casual outfit depending on how it is being accessorized. You can also take it to an A1 outfit in a snap of your finger.. Feel free to play with!

5) Nude + Grey

 You cannot tell me that nude is not a beautiful shade. My eyes popped out when I saw this combination,I know a lot of us will most definitely rock this outfit.

6) All  nude

Who says that we cannot wear an all nude outfit? Well, this proves otherwise. This is an outfit that can be worn by all and sundry, it does not need a lot accessories because the laces on both the crop top and shoes covers up for accessories. 

7) Caramel + Denim

If you thought that denim will be left out of this, think again!! Melissasmirror just proved once again that nude is an all rounder by styling it with this denim shorts.

8) Burgundy + Nude

Burgundy or Mahogany or Oxblood is not left out of the mix. This is a beautiful combination,starting from the Burgundy body suit to the Nude wing heels. With this outfit,you do not have to try any harder because you are definitely going to make everyone pause in an awe.

For more style ideas,run to melissasmirror on Instagram. You can thank me later!!!

Enjoy reading this post and have a blessed day!