United States
I create content to inspire action, to move people, and to awaken their inner passion. Whether that's regarding music, self-care, mental health, or self-improvement, I hope to be the spark to someone's next big step or moment of wonder.
Music
You may not like this departure from Foo Fighter's normal sound, But Here We Are
Fall Out Boy is back! After a 5 year drought between studio albums, So Much (for) Stardust is here with a vengeance-and also, a little bit of disco, 80's synth, some orchestral strings, and a whole lot of pop-rock power.
Beyoncé is back, y'all. A celebration of the queer and black icons who largely pioneered house music, RENAISSANCE is multi-faceted, genre-hopping, transcendental, and incredibly genuine. Though she is not a queer woman herself, as far as we know, Beyoncé's ability to infuse important cultural references and language from the LGBTQ+ community, especially ball culture, into nearly every song shows her passion and reverence for the topic.
Get ready, folks. This one's gonna be a doozy. I never thought I would write something like this. Especially not about one of my presumed favorite bands. For years, I have called myself a Black Keys fan. After listening to El Camino again in 2021, I had an existential crisis as a fan and asked myself-are they still a good band?
Self-Improvement // Mental Health // Self-Care
Since I treat self-improvement like a hobby, I'm always looking for new ways to help with depression, anxiety, stress, and self-care. I found this app, Amaru, and was intrigued by the premise: taking care of a virtual pet to help with your own self-care goals.
Drunk on wishful thinking gets you nothing but a hangover.
We are not permanent;We're Temporary, TemporarySame old story -Foo Fighters, "The Pretender" I made a major life change in August of 2019. I moved to Indiana, from my home state of Tennessee, to support my boyfriend, as he finished his engineering degree at Purdue University.
I thought by my age that I would be successful, financially stable, and working a fulfilling job in a career I loved. I dreamed of this as a child and teenager because that's what adults do - they become successful and financially stable.
I started an initiative for myself-an unplug initiative, if you will- to use social media and my smartphone less. The reasons were numerous and the effects were concerning: shorter attention span, need for instant gratification, using my phone to distract myself from my real feelings, spending far too much time scrolling endlessly, sad or pissed off at the end of the day anyway.
Inspired by Cassie from Upcycled Adulting, I wanted to talk about something that has impacted my life. Gratitude, or more specifically, the practice of being grateful has shown positive effects in multiple scientific studies. The correlation is clear: being grateful is linked to increased happiness, overall better mental health, increased empathy, and better physical health.
Like many now-adults who grew up without the proper nurturing and emotional care-giving, I've had a lifelong battle with low self-esteem. It's affected the way I view myself, how I let people treat me, and my own level of happiness. I've made it my personal...
If you're involved in any mental health or inspirational community online, you've likely seen the term self-care. We all probably have an idea of what it is. After all, it doesn't take a Ph.D to deduce that the words self and care probably have something to do with taking care of yourself.
Health and Wellness
It's time for a change. I'm starting now.
My struggle with Borderline Personality Disorder and anxiety have felt lifelong at this point. The past decade of my life has felt like twice that because of how the symptoms have affected me. I've searched for any way to help mitigate these effects- DBT self-taught exercises, therapy (in person and online), journaling, self-esteem, self-compassion, trauma healing, and finally, physical health changes.
I've never been a gym person. I feel like it's the equivalent of being on display, like an animal at the zoo. But people pay admission to see the animals at the zoo and marvel at their greatness. I pay money to go feel self-conscious and awkward.
This piece was contributed by Jessica Mathis at The Unplug Initiative. Please take a moment to check out her blog! She's an incredible writer with amazing tips on self improvement, living with mental illness and creating a better life! I love her content and I'm sure you will too!