Lifestyle

The Little Blue Bird

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140 characters is all you get and that’s all that you need. Twitter is known to be one of social media’s greatest and most resourceful media platforms known to the world today. You can find out what is going on in the world at that moment, catch a re-cap of last night’s season premiere, or see what your friends are up to all before you turn on the TV or radio. Twitter has transformed the way the world communicates and advertises. It is a unique, quick, and fun way for people to interact, meet, and keep up with all the latest!

So for all of you who don’t use Twitter, here are a couple of reasons of why you should start:

  • You can find out news a lot quicker than turning on your television or radio.
  • If you’re an entertainment junkie this is a great way to find out whats happening.
  • Keep up with your friends and family, and maybe even re-connect with old friends.
  • Find out where your favorite celebrities are/what they are doing.
  • Enter sweepstakes and contests for your favorite companies.
  • Connect with professionals in your career field.
  • Immediate response for customer service.

Follow me on twitter to get a jumpstart on this whole thing: Follow Me!

 

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Lifestyle

A Little Queen B

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“You have the same amount of hours in a day as Beyonce”

Like many, I feel that I am always running out of time to do the things that I want to do and should do. These things range from eating healthy, sleeping, seeing family and friends, and of course working out. However, since it is the start of a new year these goals are somewhat hopeful. In my previous post, The Start of It, I discuss some tips that help you stay on track of your goals including the lifestyle fitness brand BananaSkirtProductions.

If you aren’t a gym fanatic, Banana Skirt Productions offers a variety of classes including Popstar Dance Fitness, Ratchet Zooba, Yoga, Pilates, and more! These classes are not only fun but also allows you to get your workout in without even realizing it. (What workout is better than that?)

Checkout the videos below to see us channeling our inner Beyonce and Justin Beiber!!

 

 

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Lifestyle

The Start of It

 

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The start of a new year always ignites a laundry list of things that you promise you will do. Whether it be working out more, cooking at home, picking up a new hobby, writing more on your blog, finding true love, or hanging out with family members- the list is never ending. But what will actually prompt you to keep these promises to yourself? Take a look at some of the things that  might help you keep that promise.

Sweat More!

EVERYONE always says that they will workout more come the new year but if you hate the gym as much as I do, you will not be caught dead there. Instead try some workout classes in your local neighborhood or at home workouts!

  1. Bikini Body Girl Workout– Kayla Itsines
    • Don’t have a gym membership or “not a enough time” to workout? Problem solved- the BBG workout can be done in the comfort of your own home in just 30 minutes!
  2. ClassPass– Largest Network of Fitness Classes
    • If you are the type of person who gets bored easily with 1 gym or 1 class, classpass is the membership for you. It grants you access to sign up for thousands of different classes based on your location AND it is unlimited per month (exceptions: 3x same class/studio per month)
  3. BananaSkirtProductions– Lifestyle Fitness Brand
    • If you aren’t a fan of the traditional fitness equipment (treadmill, elliptical, weights, etc) than BananaSkirtProductions may be your next stop. This company has everything from the latest choreography of Justin Bieber’s hit single to yoga or ratchet Zumba.

Be Your Own Chef

It is argued that cooking your own food is healthier and cheaper. However, I usually am lazy or simply don’t know what to cook which usually leads me to seamless or knocking down my friends’ doors. Here are a couple of ways to jumpstart the chef in you.

  1. Tasty
    • Recently Buzzfeed launched a youtube channel that features easy and quick snack sized recipes that’ll make you want to cook!
  2. TipHero
    • If you have scrolled in your Facebook feed recently, chances are someone has shared a tip hero video. This is an online guide featuring life hacks from home improvement to yummy recipes.
  3. Pinterest
    • This is a familiar “think pad” styled website that has information on fashion, gifts, beauty, home, and food.

Blog About It

You don’t have to be the world’s greatest blogger to have your own blog. You also don’t have to be a HTML coding whiz (although it does help). The great thing about blogging is you can be in charge of the content. Write about anything and everything you want & if the traditional blog post is not your style try Vloging!

  1. WordPress
    • This is an easy template to use if you are just starting out. They have pre-made themes that you can choose from and an option to edit that theme.
  2. Square Space
    • Personally, I haven’t used this site but many of my friends have. This is a great website if you want a photo gallery blog, traditional styled blog, or maybe you want to create an online store!
  3. 1SE App
    • If  writing traditional blog posts isn’t your thing, perhaps recording videos are. This iPhone app allows you to record 1 second of a day for a whole year. Now- just because January 1st has passed doesn’t mean you missed the boat. Who says you can’t start tomorrow, the first day of school, or even Valentine’s Day?

What’s your New Year Resolution? What websites/apps help you stay on track? Share below!

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Lifestyle

Sexist in the “Right Way”

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It’s funny how society works these days. Guys believe girls can’t do certain things or aren’t good enough, while girls feel that guys can get away with anything because well, they’re just guys. But why is it that we girls always feel that guys discriminate us based on our gender? Personally, I associate myself as a hardcore feminist who believes women are just as good at (and maybe even better) than men at certain things. (Okay, just kidding about the better part… kind of). Recently, I went out with a bunch of my cousins and best friend for happy hour. Now that my cousins and I are all 21+, our hangouts are a lot different than they used to be. Video games and movies are now swapped for tequila and vodka. We decided to try this rooftop bar in Manhattan that had a ridiculous 1 hour wait. My friend and I arrived late and met up with my guy cousins, who were waiting around for the host to call our names. My best friend and I, girls who typically get their way in NYC, were able to go up to the host and get our group access in less than five minutes. My cousins were stunned and actually confused as to why we were able to finagle this so quickly.

This is the perfect example of sexism working in our favor and to be honest I have no complaints about it. But there’s a double standard out there. Guys think it’s unfair that girls get to go into clubs and bars for free, when they have to pay. But guess who is making all of this happen? Yep- guys. Believe me, I’ve never been to a club and gotten preferential treatment from a girl, its always from the guys.  Girls flirt and have fun, which all guys seem to like when it works in their favor. But when they receive nothing in return, they make nasty remarks towards the girls who are taking advantage of the situation. To be honest, some girls feel the same way. They think that this  type of behavior is degrading and sexist, but take a step back. If flashing a smile and being a little nicer to someone saves you time and money, then why not? Don’t get me wrong, if girls choose not to do so that’s their prerogative, but at the end of the day, no one (both guys and girls) should judge us for taking advantage of the situation. After all, who are the ones making it happen? Yep you guessed it, guys. Look, at the end of the day everyone benefits from our feminist power – especially when the guys are riding on our coat tails. So why should girls feel embarrassed and used for being themselves? In fact wouldn’t it be less stressful if girls just embraced this feminist power? 

 

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Relationships

More than brotherly love, less than boyfriend love

“we really do love each other. it’s more than brotherly love but less than boyfriend love. perfect for a true friendship but not quite enough for a relationship”-Nicole

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It’s been said that the best relationships stem from pre-existing friendships. The fact that you are already comfortable with that person on a friend level makes it easier to advance into a more romantic level. However, this isn’t the case for all best friends of the opposite sex. Where do you draw the line of what is considered friendly or “friendly”.  How do you know if the love between you and your best guy friend is just like the love you share with your family or more than that. Is it just the physical attraction, sexual chemistry, or something more than that?

From the female perspective it is more common for us to say we miss you or love you or call you pet names and not really mean it as if we were dating you. However this may come off as something more than it really is. But when does this actually become something more than a friendship and does it ever? Is it actually possible for a girl to have a best friend of the opposite sex and not feel the urge to sleep with them or make out with them? Perhaps in most cases at least one person out of the two has thought about it or secretly wished it was something more. In this generation it is rare for two people of the opposite sex to be friends and just friends unless they’ve been like that for quite some time.

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Also can we just talk about the misconceptions others have on a friendship between a girl and a guy? From an outside perspective, many may think or choose to believe that two people (guy and girl) who are close friends are definitely having some benefits on the side. But is that really the case? What happened to friends just being friends because they enjoy each other’s company or they are funny, or they are genuinely just fun to be around. Why has our society and generation become so sexually based? Does every pair of people have to be sleeping with each other?

Perhaps this level of thinking two people can be friends and just friends is achieved when we become older and more mature. Right now in your 20s there are a lot of things going on and a lot of hormones raging. Guys and girls tend to confuse romance with friendship in hopes and anticipation of finding their life long partner. I think it’s essential for people to surround themselves with good friends in addition to having a romantic partner. So guys (and girls) let your other half have as many friends as they possibly can both of the same sex and of the opposite sex. Don’t be threatened. If anything you should feel pleased that they are social and well liked.

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Lifestyle

That token Asian Girl

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“You got your blondes, brunettes, jocks, nerds, emo/goths, and your Asians. There is always that one token Asian friend that everyone has in their group or wishes they had that one token Asian friend. Now from the perspective of being that token Asian friend, there is a list of responsibilities you need to take. Lets see:

  • Whenever the bill comes at a restaurant everyone looks to you to add tip and tell everyone what they know.
  • If there is a random fact that only “smart” people would know they turn to you
  • If the ladies at the nail salon are speaking they turn to you ( …like I don’t even speak Korean guys)
  • Or when you go to some Asian restaurant (Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, etc) they will always turn to you to speak to the waiter.

If your group of friends know you and know that you are an ABC ( American born Chinese) they know not to even ask you the above questions because you are just as out of the loop as they are, hence why you are sometimes referred to as–>white washed. Personally, I don’t see it as a bad thing since it was bound to happen.

Being a minority in a singular dominant race town definitely has it ups and downs. It all starts when you are younger and waiting for roll call attendance and the teacher can’t pronounce your ethnic name. (Thank god  my last name is only one syllable). Or when you are in history class and they are talking about some Asian historical event and you just feel the eyes on you,or if a stereotypical Asian joke comes on the radio or TV and everyone turns to you and asks if that is what really happens. Over the years these side remarks and glances have begun to not even phase me because there’s no point in letting it actually get to you. The way I look at it is you may as well just embrace the differences rather than take it to heart.

But to be honest I feel that it has made me into a stronger person and has allowed myself to open up. Since I am a minority I feel more inclined to try new things and to not shut certain things or people out based on their looks. To be completely honest being different may be the best thing that has ever happened to me. Scratch that. Learning to embrace my differences is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

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Lifestyle, Relationships

Is Going Dutch the 2015 thing?

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When you’re a twenty something year old one thing you often engage in are dates…or some sort of date type event. Now from a girl’s point of view dates are awkward especially first dates. Anything from deciding on what to do, where to do it, what to wear, what to talk about, how long it should be, if you should meet there or if he should pick you up and of course who will pay. Now from a guy’s perspective (shout out to the guys who contributed) it seems that they don’t put much thought into the whole dating thing. Most of them will just put on a clean shirt or semi clean shirt and go with the flow but of course us girls have to dissect every single detail until we make ourselves crazy.

One of the most controversial topics that always come up is who should pay. Picture this- you both have just finished stuffing your face with your dinner as you casually sip your wine. The waiter takes away your plates and ask if you want dessert. You both say no. You continue to make small talk, laugh, look around and then the waiter comes with the check and for about .5 seconds it is just sitting in the middle of the table. Through the girls head you’re thinking, should I grab it or should I just reach for my wallet or do I just wait here for another painful .5 seconds so he can just grab it? (And yes guys all girls always  have a million thoughts going through their heads at once)

I’ve heard several theories on what is considered “normal/assumed” based on how the guy was brought up and how the girl was brought up. From a girl’s perspective many believe that the guy should always pay at least in the beginning of their dating relationship. Later on, it is more acceptable for the couple to split the expenses since they are seen as a joined unit. Some girls believe that they are entitled to everything and shouldn’t ever have to pay (don’t worry guys, I’m not a diva like that) But the big question is, what are the guys thinking ? Do they assume that they are going to be paying, do they secretly hope that the girl offers and actually follows through on paying, or do they think that going dutch is the 2015 type of thing to do? To answer your questions, I turned to the base of where this curiosity started off at- the male race.

To be honest, when I asked guys about this topic they all sort of responded back in a nonchalant way. They all thought that it was understood to have them pay at least for the first couple of times. Of course there were some differences among the men but many believed that it was “just a thing you do”. A lot of this apparently has been based on older generations where a guy was said to have a higher household income than a woman and therefore could afford to pay every time. Now a days, women and men are somewhat equal on their HHI and can afford the same things. Another interesting fact is many of the guys felt that they were more “macho” or “manly” if they showed their girl that they can treat them and take care of them…through money of course. But a majority of them responded the same way- “I will always pay for my girl or at least most of the time but it is nice if she offers. It’s the fact that she offers that makes it special.” So there you have it girls. Offer to pay for your man once in a while, it’ll definitely surprise them.

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Lifestyle, Relationships

Why Women Choose to Be Single & Why They Are OK With It


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“Because women make 78% of what men do so they’re working that much harder and don’t have time to come home and deal with a man who acts 78% less mature than them.”-Nicole

“Because guys are so immature right now and it’s easier to just hook up with someone than to get invested in them and there’s always drama.”- Coty

“Before I can be that ‘significant other’ to someone else, I have to find my own significance first. I think it’s important to find yourself…to be comfortable with being alone, doing your own thing, and to be proud of yourself and as well as your work. I think that there is a time and place for everything. But I believe it all starts with building a solid foundation for yourself. Keep learning, make those mistakes, meet new friends, see the world, and above all-be kind.”-Jenn

“Because it’s my life, and my decisions.  Because I am most myself when I’m pursuing my passions, and right now that doesn’t mean pursuing a romantic relationship.  Because, I’m entitled to choose to be single if that’s what I want… just because I am a young, attractive, driven woman in my child-bearing years doesn’t mean I necessarily feel compelled to be in a relationship, let alone settle down and push out a few kids.  The question was why do women choose to be single, and why are they okay with it?  And the answer is in the question… I chose.  And I’m okay with it because it is an act of choice.”-Bre

After much conversation with a bunch of my girlfriends, who are single by the way, I’ve discovered something. It seems that now a days there are more single woman than taken woman and this is actually a conscious and chosen decision that women make. Unlike the movies and TV shows we see, love just doesn’t happen with a blink of an eye or with a magic word. It takes time, patience, desire, and wine…lots of wine.

Girls grow up with the mentality that one should start dating when she is in HS, have a relationship, and then get married and start a family all before you hit 30. Hate to break it-but I’m sure any woman who is reading this knows that this is not true and definitely is okay with it. Sure you’ll have those high school sweethearts and some of you lucky gals will have that one man to sweep you off your feet but for the rest of you, your love life consists of a bunch of random college hook ups that usually begin at your local dive bar and end at their shitty college dorm. REALITY.

As a recent graduate there are a million and five things on your plate including trying to find someone to spend the rest of your life with and getting a jump start on your career. Not to mention trying to cope with post grad life and coming to terms that you are not in college anymore..BUT besides the fact, there is a lot more that goes into why woman are single and why they choose to be.

I think the most important thought that is running through a single woman’s mind is that they are independent and perfectly okay on their own. Once a woman finds herself whole and happy,  THAN she can share that with another person. I think that’s the reason why some relationships turn south, mainly because people aren’t happy with themselves and may have thought that having a significant other could fill that hole.

In addition, lets face it- guys are said to develop and mature slower than girls. According to Scientists this is a true fact so in reality girls who are 25 and talking to men who are 25 are really talking to a 22 year old man stuck inside a 25 year old body which is why many women tend to go for older men to balance out the maturity scale.

So girls, don’t be ashamed that you are single and better yet embrace it. Your twenties are the time to experiment, live life the fullest without regrets, go on vacations, do things just because, and to have fun.

 

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Lifestyle

The Key to Becoming a Successful Twenty-Something Year Old

 

 

If there is one thing I’ve discovered it’s that post grad life = routines. LOTS of them. Unlike your undergrad years, when you work a 9-5 job you literally do the SAME exact thing every single day for 5 days a week- unless you make it a point not to. For most graduates, you wake up, go to work, workout/chill out, eat dinner, and go to sleep. It’s apparent that we’ve lost that sense of creativity, freedom, and ability to just be carefree about life.

But maybe this idea of routine is actually the missing factor to success in our young twenty something year old lives. Maybe it has taught us to actually buckle down and use our time efficiently and effectively. Maybe it’s a way for us to prioritize and figure out what’s really important in life. just maybe.

Success does not just come from reading textbooks, studying for exams, and paying attention in class. Success in the real world is so much more than that and these young successful twenty something year olds can tell you for themselves!

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1. Lindsaylindsay, 24 (Clinical Fellow-Speech-Language Pathologist/Teacher)

7:30- my first alarm goes off- hit snooze
7:45– hit snooze again
8:00– sometimes I hit snooze but, typically, I am out of bed by now
8:30– leave for my first client of the day
9-12- i see clients all morning until I have some time to grab lunch (this changes every day since my schedule is not always the same)
1-5- i finish seeing all of my clients for the afternoon
5:30– I get home and immediately put all work down so I can breathe again and relax! I usually change into yoga pants and either eat something light to hold me over until dinner or go on to the computer/social media for a little while
* sometimes i have physical therapy – if so, I come home to change into gym clothes if I have time — if I’m running late i go straight from my last case of the day)
7:30/8 – is usually dinner time for me since its usually when everyone is finally home
8-10 – i watch tv (the bachelor is a favorite) while I plan for clients for the following day if I haven’t already
11- get into bed and make sure all work is away for the night
12- asleep!
I always had my mom as a huge inspiration. She was a single mom and worked really hard to give me everything (literally). When my mom passed away,  just 1 month away from turning 20, I knew I had to grow up fast, stay strong to make her proud, and get through this tough time. I achieved a 3.8 gpa and made it on the dean’s list. Focusing on doing well in school helped me to not fall apart while keeping everything in perspective and enjoying my college years just as she had wanted me to. In 2012, I managed to get into a graduate program. 2 years later, summer 2014 – I finished with my MA and immediately accepted a full time position an as SLP. I feel that your 20s is a time to prepare you for the rest of your life. It is a time to help you transition out of the fun college times and into being a grown up – balancing real responsibilities while still remembering to have fun!-Lindsay

 

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2. Nicole, 25-Marketing Insights Manager

7:35am– alarm goes off
7:35-7:50– check texts, emails, trivia crack, horoscope, snapchats and instagram
7:50-get out of bed and shower
8:40– leave for work
9- get to work, change shoes, get coffee and water
9:05 check emails/update to-do list
9:30– eat breakfast at my desk
9:40-1:30– work while taking 5 minute breaks every hour to go to the bathroom/check phone and social media
1:30– lunch (99/100 times at my desk) while checking personal emails/social media
2-6: finish working( still taking 5 minute breaks every hour to bathroom/ check phone and social
6-leave work and either go home or to the gym
8- eat dinner
8-11- watch tv, clean apartment,hang out with roomies (check social media this whole time)
11- get ready for bed
11:30– go to sleep goodnight!
  
I feel like being in your 20’s is the time to figure out how you want to spend the rest of your life. Do I think I need to know exactly how everything will go in my future? No. But I think at this point it’s good to have a general idea. I feel settled in my career and my home and now I am working on my love life. Being 25 and single is perfectly fine to me but it’s not so long until I’m 35, single and begging all my married friends to hang out with me on a Saturday night.- Nicole
3. Ryan, 24- Equiunnamedpment Engineer
6:00A – first alarm goes off
6:15A – second alarm goes off and wake up
6:20A – select clothes and take shower/wash face
6:50A – out the door to my car to commute
7:20A – get Starbucks drive through
7:50A – arrive at office
8:00A – check and answer emails / create todo list for the day based on agenda
9:00A – staff meeting with team
11:00A – work on budget for projects
12:00 – eat lunch I brought / check iPhone for texts, emails, tweets, IG.
12:30P – set up in conference room for afternoon meetings
2:00P – work on some todo list projects
4:30P – leave work and start commte home
4:45P – call family / friend I haven’t talked to during my commute
5:30P – get home and change to go running
6:30P – finish running and get dinner ready
7:00P – eat dinner
7:45P – decompress with roommates and watch tv
9:30P – read book of the month
10:30P – get ready for bed
10:45P – iPhone social media time / bed time
I got to where I am by learning from my mistakes. Not by having an agenda for the day makes for a stressful lifestyle in my opinion. Creating an agenda of tasks to complete keeps me on track. Giving myself time to escape via social media or talking to people I care about also allows for me to focus on the things I need to get done without distractions. I find it important to also give myself time to myself, usually at the end of the day with running or with reading. Alone time is just as important to me as being around people. Your 20s is a time for everyone to have fun on the weekends and to get your work done during the week. If you set your goals and create plans to achieve them, you’re sure to succeed. – Ryan
From the outside, we as observers really can’t tell what a person does behind closed doors. We really can’t understand what they have been through and how they have gotten to where they are today. Everybody has endured challenges and hardships but have some how come out to be even better than they were before. So now ask yourself. Is therea specific set of skills or accomplishments a twenty something year old must have under their belt to be successful? Absolutely not– so why are we so obsessed with being the best and becoming the best when all we have to do is be our best?5de833fd55b22083709e5f2844654eac
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Lifestyle

Not your average cleanse

 

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1 week. 7 days. 168 hours and 604,800 seconds. aka a lot of god damn time to do other things than spend it on a digital platform that is slowly but surely taking over the precious time of this generation.

To most average twenty something year olds his/her profile and appearance to the outside world both in person and on social media is one of the most crucial things in their lives.  How many instagram followers they have, how many likes on his/her selfie, how many RT’s, favorites, and snapchat views they have. These are the statistics that our generation is worried about and quite frankly it is frightening. Now, I’m not going to pretend that I am not guilty of this obscene obsession with social media stats because after all I am a blogger BUT for it to overtake our lives- Well that’s another story.

Instead of blabbing about how much social media has taken over the lives of twenty something year olds and not doing anything about it, I decided to conduct a social experiment. A social media cleanse, for a couple of reasons.

  1. To see if I could actually do it.
  2. To eliminate the anxiety I had felt from having social media.
  3. To blog about it.

I first began to delete the apps for Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram off my cell phone. This way I didn’t have the easy access of checking these apps yet didn’t have to deal with the hassle of restarting my accounts after the cleanse was over.

Initially, the cleanse was hard but  I quickly became more aware of how much time I actually spent on these apps. I was constantly checking them after 2 minutes even though I knew nothing had changed from the previous time I had checked. It became a habit and a bad one to say the least. With this cleanse I found myself actually looking up and spending more time observing my surroundings. I know it sounds silly but I noticed little things as I went on with my day of commuting to work, hanging out with friends, and just spending time alone. The sense of anxiety that I felt from having social media was suddenly lifted and by the 3rd/4th day of the week I didn’t even mind not having these apps.

After my week cleanse I had downloaded my apps back and in came rolling all of the notifications that were acquired after a week. The feeling was bittersweet. I was happy to be back on the “in” of what was going on with my friends, colleagues, acquaintances, and entertainment world. However, I still felt relieved that I no longer needed social media to be my clutch to hold onto. Most of us won’t admit it or notice it but checking our social media apps happen at least 50+ times a day ( on the train, waiting for a subway, waiting for food at a restaurant, walking around, taking a break from work, just as you wake up for the day, and right before you fall asleep).  If you eliminate all of these unnecessary times we may surprise ourselves with what we can actually do.

 

So now I challenge you. Take the cleanse and see if you can do it.


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