Hey everyone,

Summer break is almost over for most of us, so I wanted to take the time to reflect on what summer break did for me. 

Summer break is when I am able to kick back and focus on nothing more than my work at hand. I don't take summer classes, so only needing to worry about the work day provides for a much different atmosphere during the school year. 

This summer I had the privilege of working at the senior living facility once again. With a new group of workers, I wasn't sure how I would end up liking it but I feel like, overall, I've fared quite well. I work from 6am to 2pm and am so thankful to have my afternoons off! While I'm not a morning person by any means, I would much rather work in the morning than afternoon. 

My work schedule is a bit frustrating, working Wednesday through Sunday, but it's not too bad when I clock out at 2. It makes for going to the pool, hanging out with friends, and running errands much easier.

Summer break allows me to try out new hobbies, crafts, and even travel to new places. This summer I was fortunate enough to go to Fort Collins, in north Colorado, the city of Boston, and soon Los Angeles! I didn't realize how much traveling I would be doing this summer, but looking back I appreciate the times I could.

Summer break is when I also get to see many of my Coloradan friends, and this helps me put into perspective how cool it is to have friends who are enjoying school and living their best lives. I love catching up with them and hearing about what they get up to, because it makes me realize how fast summer is going and how fortunate I am to have done the things I do.

Going forward, I'm not sure how much "break" there will be in my summers to come, but I hope that, if anything, I can travel more than I did this year and that I have the opportunity to work with more amazing people, in and out of the workplace. 

Now tell me, how has summer break recharged you? 

Hey y'all!

Surprise! Here is a little extra something for all of you heading to school in Hawaii this year! This is an exciting time for many of you, and while you are undoubtedly going crazy with the thought of "Well what do I need?" or even the classic, "How am I getting my things over there?" I'm here to help. Without further ado, here is your Back to School Supplies List: Hawaii Edition.

First, you need to understand that it is hot in Hawaii and that the dorms don't have air conditioning. Seriously, your dorm room will not have AC. This means you're going to want to invest in a quality fan for your new space. I've seen everything from clip on fans to tower fans on top of desks. The number of fans you purchase are also going to depend on where you face, for instance my room faced Mauka (the mountain) and got a lot of wind, so I only had one fan for myself and my roommate had one fan, too. Funny thing is that the two of us actually slept with our fans on our beds! The other way you might be positioned is facing Makai (the ocean), and while your view is going to be incredible you're going to need three times the amount of fans because you're not going to get any wind. Here are three of my personal favorites:

Fan One: Holmes Lil' Blizzard Fan (I have this one)

Fan Two: 37 In. Tower Fan 

Fan Three: Vornado Compact Fan

Next, you live on an island now, which means you're going to need at least one beach towel (I recommend two to three). I've used various ones in the past, from ABC Store to Billabong, but they're just not as good as my newest: the Active Towel. Oftentimes towels bought from stores such as the aforementioned are too thick and take hours to dry. And trust me, when I'm driving from one side of the island to the other a damp, soggy towel is not what I want sitting in my car. However, I've found that the Active Towel dries extremely fast and does not retain water (or sand!). It is lightweight, durable, and gets more absorbent with every wash. This means that when whether you're taking TheBus to your destination or your roommates' car, you can trust that your towel won't stay wet and heavy during the trip. Plus, how convenient is it that Turkish towels are also easily compact? If you're a student who plans on going to the beach often, investing in a towel that you can roll up and won't take up a lot of space in your whole bag is a must. Also, for all of you marine biology students, the Active Towel is eco-friendly! Below is a link to buy your own Active Towel and, if you use the code STUDENTS18 for 18% off of non-sale items. Trust me, a quality towel is a must for the islands. 

Towel One: Aegean Cotton (My personal favorite and the one I'm sporting below!)

Towel Two: Cape Cod Cotton

Towel Three: Stonewash Turkish Cotton

Third, you're going to quickly realize that everyone and their mother owns one of those tin water bottles with the little man on them. If you don't already have one, you should really look into buying a hydroflask. Yeti's are comparable, but the go-to for many students at UH are the classic hydro. With no AC in the dorms and horrible humidity every day, investing in a water bottle that is going to keep your water cold all day is a must. Here are three that I personally like:

Hydro One: Wide Mouth with Straw (I have in white)

Hydro Two: Wide Mouth No Straw

Hydro Three: Standard Mouth No Straw

Last, and arguably the most obvious necessity for Hawaii life, is sunscreen. Seriously, sunscreen. I'm speaking from experience here, but sunscreen goes far beyond what you would slather on at the beach. You need sunscreen every day, and especially on your face. I can't tell you how frequently I started getting new freckles and red spots by not wearing sunscreen, and now I apply it every day to my face. Outside of class, where you can also get sun exposure! you're going to need sunscreen for the beach or for the numerous hikes you could do. Some classes, like Oceanography, also require you go out and do field work, so this isn't me suggesting something crazy but rather something you may need for a class you take! In my experience, I turn very red and will get a horrible burn if I use anything higher than 12 SPF (I'm not kidding) and I can't use spray-on sunscreen. While everyone prefers something different, here are three of my personal sunscreen favorites. Also, stock up before you leave the mainland because sunscreen prices are much higher on the islands!

Sunscreen Type One: FaceShop Natural Sun SPF 40 PA+++

Sunscreen Type Two: Neutrogena Ultra Sheer SPF 55 (for your face!)

Sunscreen Type Three: Hawaiian Tropic Sheer Touch SPF 15 

And that's it! Do you feel prepared yet? I hope you are as excited as I am to go back to the islands, even though I have a few more months. Best of luck to you this school year and, as always, leave me a comment if you're heading off and whether or not you'll use any of these products!

Hey everyone,

Ahh, my last post in my Back to School series! I hope you have enjoyed this process and have learned a little something from this series. In our last piece I'm going to compare the differences between your first dorm versus your first apartment. 

Size: Your first dorm is going to be small. Everyone says it, and you better believe it. Looking back, I can't believe how I lived in such a small place with a roommate. Naturally, the things you buy can make your dorm feel cramped, but rest assured that the space in your first apartment will help spread out all of your belongings. While I'm not making any promises, your first apartment will be bigger but not necessarily nicer. Big difference there. My apartment was rather large but the furnishings were old and pretty dated. To help this, my roommates threw sheets over the couches and put tapestries over what they could. They also took advantage of a lot of the dead space on the walls and even put up a movie projector! 

Look: Decorating your dorm is fun but can cause some challenges. Do you and your roommate want to match or do you want your side of the room to contrast their side? These are important things to think about when planning your room. For my first roommate we had similar taste, so our room looked really cohesive! My second roommate ended up having a different style and our room ended up a little less put together. When it comes to your apartment, however, you might have a double room (what I had) or a single room. A double room mimics the dorm style but is a little bit bigger, and there is typically another bedroom in the apartment for another double. A single could range from one room to four rooms. 

Where: Where you live, if you're lucky, can be of your choosing. During my freshmen year I picked to live in the honors dorms instead of a regular floor. To be honest, I'm not sure if I would do that again because of the overall feel of that floor (very quiet, unsociable, etc). However, I know that Manoa offers other floors from: culture, LGBTQ+, major (environment, oceanography, etc), and hobby (hiking, outdoor). I will say that I was only aware of one of these options. Never had I met someone who lived on a "hiking" floor and I never met someone who lived on the Japanese culture floor. Take with that what you will. Apartments are also something you can pick, as you may not be tied to the on-campus location anymore. I opted for an on-campus apartment because of the convenience but going forward I plan to live off campus due to the price. Obviously the differences here are price, location, and quality of dorm. My school hasn't updated the apartments since they were  built in the 70s, and as such the quality is poor. Your school may be different, though! 

What have you learned living on campus? Let me know in the comments before and how you felt about moving to an apartment!

Dear Freshmen,

You're going to struggle. You're going to have a hard time adjusting. You're going to miss home. You're going to wonder if you went to the right school, chose the right classes, or if the person next to you can really be trusted to tell you the days work if you miss class. You're going to call home more than you realize. You're going to forget to do your homework on some nights. You're going to do so much more than you realize. You're going to compare yourself to your friends back home and their college experience. You're going to wonder if this is all worth it..

But..

You're going to meet a number of amazing people who become family. You're going to have a great time exploring your new area; you're going to find home in the places you discover. Your photo album is going to double in size. Your roommate could turn out to be your best friend for the next few years. You're going to think about changing majors and, in the process, could take a class that could change your life. You're going to realize how quickly your first year is going by and wish you could go back in time to when you had just left. 

You're going to make mistakes but you're also going to miss it. Dear freshmen, you're embarking on more than just a school year. You're preparing for an adventure; don't worry about the little things right now. 

Dear Freshmen,

Enjoy it. 

Hey everyone,

First of all, if you think I'm the type of person who is going to write an entire post about why you should be dairy free...you're wrong. This post is going to be all about how I have became dairy free and why I enjoy being dairy free!

My going dairy free was never with the intent to lose weight, get clear skin, or to feel like I was a part of something bigger than myself. Simply put, my goal of going dairy free was never a goal but rather, a spur-of-the-moment decision I made one morning last summer after watching a "Why You Shouldn't Drink Dairy" video. 

Cute.

At first I didn't really do anything intense, but I cut out drinking milk and opted for rice milk whenever I could. It wasn't until I started my freshmen year and had a friend who was lactose intolerant persuade me to try skim, and later soy, milk. 

I'm not going to lie, skim milk isn't bad. I soon branched out to soy and, before I knew it, I had began to only drink soy. It didn't matter if I was at home or at Starbucks, if I could get soy I would have it. 

Going dairy free didn't do anything miraculous to my body or really change anything about me. I've always had good skin, so no changes there. I didn't have a problem with my weight (at the time I was running for an hour every day), and so there was no real "drive" for me to go dairy free. I just did it. 

But why?

Honestly, I was repulsed by the ingredients in milk and the side effects of milk. Here are a few things you might now know, but were enough information to make me put down any glass I had in my hand that morning. 

• 65% of humans are inherently born lactose intolerant
• One glass of 2% milk has 135 million pus cells
• Dairy has been linked to: prostate, testicular, ovarian, and breast cancer

Honestly, what really got me is the simple fact that cows milk is created for the development of baby calves; not for me!

The biggest concern, I think from many people, is the difficulties of going dairy free. To be frank, going dairy free is not hard at all. This day and age there are dozens of dairy free substitutes that taste just as good, if not better, than the usual dairy containing foods you will be used to. 

I hope reading this has opened your eyes to the simplicity of a dairy-free diet. Let me know if you're dairy free (or gluten, vegan, vegetarian, etc!) below!

Hey guys,

Going back to school is an extremely stressful time, an pairing that with the nerves that come with classes can make for an even bigger headache! This week I am going to share with you guys how to curate the perfect skincare regime while also hitting those books.

First, it's important to identify the type of skin you have and what you would like to work on. Similar to working out, proper skincare takes planning, research, and consistency. I have sensitive skin that is dry in Colorado and oily in Hawaii. In addition, I suffer from redness. Knowing these few things can already help me prepare for my new skincare routine; the only requirement is that it must be gentle and help in aiding both dry skin and redness.

Here comes the fun part! After you have determined what you need to buy, you will need to do some research on the best products for you. 

But, like many other aspects of life, you cannot just leave good skin up to the work your skincare will do. You will also need to modify your diet (when needed) and make some lifestyle changes. I have modified my habits in many different ways, from using an aromatherapy diffuser, a salt lamp, and even going dairy free. Out of all of these ways, while each have their benefit, let me highlight the one I am sure you are all most curious about: the salt lamp.

As crazy as it sounds, especially when the other options are much more logical, I do stand by the fact that salt lamps have health benefits. The biggest comes in the form of its purifying ability. With skin being our biggest organ, and our most outer organ, it is vital that we protect the air around us to limit the amount of impurities. Notably, salt lamps put out negative ions that help soothe and calm the atmosphere around us, combating our own anxiety. I was generously given* a salt lamp to try out for myself, and since trying it I can confirm that the space around me does feel more calming and at peace. If you haven't already, perhaps ad a salt lamp is something worth adding to your school shopping list! 

Here is a link to buy your own salt lamp.