Career Discoveries

I once read the quote of "Do one thing every day that scares you" by Eleanor Roosevelt. When was the last time you did something for the first time? Our lives are often busy with routine and responsibilities. Our emotional health is tested through thick and thin and seldom do we get the chance to ever make discoveries.

 If only I could say I just recently discovered that I won the lottery but sadly no, not today. Rather in fact, I just recently discovered what I'd like to do in life - and I think that is just as equivalently stupendous.

As a young college student, the pressures to be something and to make something of yourself is definitely present. To now be responsible to make decisions on your own and to decide your future some 5-10 years later? Seems kind of sudden and especially for those who are still undecided (and I know many that still are).

I grew up thinking I could pursue a two careers at once, a doctor for the sake of my parents and a graphic designer for the sake of myself. Of course, plans change, life happens, and now I am studying Business Administration.

It is not enough though. I find that even though I want to be an entrepreneur, this path does not fulfill my passions enough. What exactly are my passions? They are art and leadership. Which is why I thought majoring in Business was the better choice as I could explore the diplomatic side as well as keep the opportunities to flourish in art open.

Photo by Andrew @ Cuba Gallery

But I never really looked into Business. In fact, I loathe math and don't even ask me how I am doing in accounting. I was not even sure of what area of concentration I would go into after my two years at community college. However, thanks to recent school projects, I discovered Arts Administration.

According to the editors of the AGCAS in April of 2012, “An arts administrator manages activities and services which support the arts sector” (AGCAS editors). This includes both non-profit or public organizations as well as government agencies. For example, museums, art festivals, galleries, and theaters.

So as you can see, this career can cover a wide range of programs – from “from finger-painting to photography; from ballet to belly dance; and from hip-hop to opera” as mentioned by The College Board (Careers - Arts Administrators - Management). Currently, I am not sure which area of organization I'd like to get into, but hopefully through more research and experience I can decide by then.

So if you are wondering how you to choose a career, The Online Counseling College lists 8 self-reflective questions that can help you decide.
The following websites can also help in providing more information on career you're looking into:

• Big Future by The College Board
• Career Center by University of Missouri
• Career Clusters by O*Net Online
• Education Portal
• Occupational Outlook Handbook by the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Ted Wiprud, who is the director of Education for the New York Philharmonic, began his schooling before the degree of Arts Administration existed. In an interview, I'd like to share with you his words:

“[…] doing the things and of course being passionate about them because you have to be ready to be working on the margins of society […] and be that much of an advocate for the central importance of what you're doing, that you keep it moving. That's what kept it moving for 400 years, its people who feel this is the most important thing in life and are able to bring that passion across to other people” (Why Pursue a Career in Arts Administration, and What Does it Take).

He basically shares the advice to pursue your career but with passion and I hope that I can be able to do that with Arts Administration.

Instead of being tied down by feelings of the past or responsibilities of the present, leisurely look into what the future can hold for you. Dare to discover and pursue your passions.

Works Cited

AGCAS editors. Arts administrator: Job description. April 2012. 17 April 2013.

Careers - Arts Administrators - Management. n.d. 17 April 2013.

Why Pursue a Career in Arts Administration, and What Does it Take Ted Wiprud. November 2006. Video Clip.

Self-Love

“To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance.” - Oscar Wilde

Are you satisfied with who you are? Most would say no, I would say never.
What exactly is self-love? Is it the utmost pride for oneself? Is it acceptance of one's being?
Too many of us find it difficult to love oneself when there are many flaws and standards unmet.
If you are one of those people who struggle to love themselves or unsure, High Existence lists the following as issues of self-love:

• Being hyper-critical of yourself
• Difficulty in loving others (because you must first love yourself)
• Self-sabotage (not doing what you KNOW you should be doing)
• Being self-conscious in social situations
• Difficulty in fully accepting compliments
• No accomplishment is ever enough, even temporarily
• Not valuing your own time and priorities (being overly nice to others)

Personal Story

I have struggled with self-love for the longest time. In fact, I was not fully aware that I lacked self-love until researching about it because I was more so concerned by the term of self-hatred.
For some people, looking in the mirror may be a painful thing. They do not like what they see for many possible reasons. For me, I do not see the Taylor everyone else sees. I see an unrecognizable face. Still this day, I find it difficult to accept who I am as an individual.

Tips To Love Yourself

Evelyn of Abundance Tapestry compiles a list of ways to love yourself.

• Fall in love with yourself
• Eliminate Self Criticism
• Be Kind And Positive
• Acknowledge Your Effort
• Trust Yourself
• Be Truthful To Yourself
• Grow Spiritually
• Make Positive Affirmations Everyday
• Express Gratitude
• Nurture Your Dreams
• Boost Your Self Confidence
• Relax
• Have fun
• Look After Your Body
• Learn To See Beauty

"In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invinsable summer. - Albert Camus

Young Adults and Sleeping

 

 

Often I am asked what I do for fun and often the response is jokingly "sleep." But any individual that knows me well enough knows that I have a bittersweet relationship with the pastime of slumbering. Personally, I love sleep but I have terrible habit of oversleeping and the occasional negligence of it. Sleep is a means of an escape from reality and I am victim of resorting to such activity to "solve" (or maybe rather evade) my issues in the real world as well as the emotions storm raging in my mind.

 

Sleep is a necessity for the mind and body to re-cooperate but too little or too much sleep can lead to effects on your health. As young adults face more and more pressure and distractions, sleep is being affected. As one gets older, the "bed time" for sleep slowly postpones itself from 10 PM to midnight and possibly even later. Sleep becomes less important as responsibilities weigh higher and stress levels rise. Society's pressure to do well socially and in school along with today's technological toys have young adults reducing their sleep amount. This can impact one's emotional health and cause emotional instability.

 

As a freshman in college, I find that my sleep habit hasn't strayed too far from what I kept in high school. In fact I have become more of a night owl so to speak. In my senior year of high school, I would rotate between sleeping a lot to sleeping very little. It was a demanding school year and all-nighters were pulled and now I am accustomed to such stunts. 2 AM was once considered my bed time but now it has extended to 4 AM. Such a habit is certainly not the best option but it accommodates to the life that I lead and the schedule I have. At the end of the day though, it's a self-destructive habit. I get in between 5 and 12 hours of sleep, ranging day to day. My sleep environment is usually quiet and comfortable and I get decent sleep.

 

I am sure there are many colleges who do not get enough sleep or rather get too much. Meeting social and academic pressures of university life has led students to often adopt unhealthy sleeping habits (Knowlden). For me, hearing a person sleep at 10 PM is crazy. But kudos to those people because I will probably never be able to make that a routine. It is not that I am unaware of better sleeping habits but due to procrastination and lack of self-discipline (amongst everything else), sleep has been pushed further and further down the clock.

 

Sleep Hygiene (SH) is "a variety of different practices that are necessary to have normal, quality nighttime sleep and full daytime alertness." Sounds like common sense right? But in fact, "the majority of college students who practice poor sleeping habits are unacquainted with behaviors that promote healthy sleep" (Knowlden). Does this sound like you?

 

Insufficient amount of sleep can affect everything in your life - from relationships, to work performances, to cognative ability, and so on. Along with stress, deficient sleep can aid in depression which takes a toll on your emotional health and life in general.

Jodi Lobazzo Aman lists ways to get better sleep:

• Make sleep a priority. We often take from our sleep time, whenever we run out of time in our day to get our things done. This is the quickest way to burn out. This is not a time saver! Tasks end up taking longer when we are sleep deprived.
• Go to bed at the same time each night.
• Wake at the same time each morning.
• Start sleep deprived. Don’t sleep late in the morning and expect yourself to go to bed early to change your schedule. You must begin by getting up at the desired time. You can wake up when you are tired, but it is much harder to fall asleep if you are not tired. This is one of the biggest mistakes people make.
• Nix the nap if you are already having a problem falling asleep or waking up. Nap only if neither of these are a problem.
• Keep electronics out of the bedroom. Not only are these stimulating, but they give off electromagnetic energy.
• Keep plants out of the bedroom. Plants give us oxygen during the day but take it in at night, so they do not belong in the bedroom. Plants in the rest of the house are beneficial, though!
• Cut out caffeine. This may be obvious but so many people don’t make this connection.
• De-clutter your bedroom. Even under your bed. It helps clear the mind.
• No heavy or violent shows or video games before bed.
• Exercise regularly, but not close to bedtime.
• Have a good bedtime routine. Once you find something you like, do the same thing each night.

Adjusting your sleep schedule is one thing you can do to better your emotional health. After all, sleep is a luxury.

 

Works Cited

 

Knowlden, Adam P.Sharma, ManojBernard, Amy L. "Sleep Hygiene Of A Sample Of Undergraduate Students At A Midwestern University." American Journal Of Health Studies 27.1 (2012): 23-31. Alt HealthWatch. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.

Directions in Life

“The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach.” - Benjamin Mays

Often times, life takes an unexpected turn. Whether good or bad, life in itself is like a twist of turns in a road.

For many people, the feeling of being lost or uncertain is common when it comes to directions in life. Whether you're just a high schooler with questions of the future, a college student with demands for a major, a college graduate with career pursuits or even an average joe or parent of three, the question of where is one going in life haunts us all. What do I want to with my life? Where do I see myself in two years? Five years? What is there for life to even offer?

The first thing you should know is that you are not alone. There are over seven billion human beings on this Earth, surprise surprise. Which means what you are feeling has been felt and dealt by others before. That's the beauty of human beings, some thing are universal. If you are feeling overwhelmed, talk to someone. Whether it is a friend or relative, it is a relieving feeling to let out your issues rather than pent it up. You'll also get to catch up with said person and even find that they may feel or have felt the same and get a few advice or stories.

Secondly and cliche as this sounds, but breathe. Take a moment out of of your day, out of your routine, and out of your thoughts and just take a long breather. In and out. There you go. We as individuals are often wrapped up in troubles and tribulations here are there, we end up neglecting ourselves.

It seems as though life has it set up that we need to know where we are going with our lives at all times. But this is not the case and it shouldn't be. It is okay to be uncertain of the future, because honestly, who is? Who knows what will happen tomorrow or ten years from now. There are too many factors to contribute to changes that may or may not put you off your track.

If you can accept the ambiguity in life, then you are on the beginning steps to understand the direction in life. There is no one set direction and you should not be simply limited to only one goal.

As the saying goes, Carpe Diem.

Optimism vs. Pessimism

"A pessimist is a well-informed optimist." - Russian proverb

If you asked me the age-long question of whether the cup was half-full or half-empty, I'd share with you that regardless of either, the cup is still beautiful. But nonetheless, to me it is half-empty and those who personally know me are well aware that I am a pessimist. Or an optimistic pessimist: hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

Photo by Walimai @ Flickr.

Optimism and pessimism deal greatly with emotional health. It is how you perceive your thoughts and how your mindset views life.

 

In the May journal of Clinical Practice & Epidemiology in Mental Health, a published study states "optimism heavily influences physical and mental health" (Haupt). That's understandable, right? "Optimists have a higher quality of life, and they may be more resilient in the way they deal with stress," explains Michael Miller, editor in chief of the Harvard Mental Health Letter. "So if a problem comes along, they're able to handle it better, and they become less symptomatic" (Haupt).

My friends often tell me my negative thinking is not the way to go and often try to change my mindset. But it isn't easy and I am well aware that pessimism is not the best mindset.

So if you're in the same boat as me, Lifehack lists how to find inspiration for optimism:

• Look for the silver lining: I know I know, it is a little cliche but it really is so true. It’s hard when you’re right in the middle of a situation, but take a few minutes to mentally step back from the situations and see if there is just one area that could be seen as positive.
• Positive Friends:  choose to spend time with the most positive people you know. If you don’t know any, time to step up and find some—it will be fun!
• Look for inspiration: there are several ways you can surround yourself with inspiration, such as spending time with smiling babies, or reading inspirational books, affirmations and quotes.
• Be Grateful: there is always something you can be grateful for, so acknowledge it, say it out loud.  My favorite is “thank you for my breath”

It is important to understand that you can choose how and the way you think. It just takes practice to realize when you're thinking of a negative thought and turning that thought in positivity.

 

 

Works Cited

Haupt, Angela. "How Your Personality Affects Your Health." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 22 Sept. 2010. Web. 23 Jan. 2013.

A Look Into Your Personality

“I think and think and think, I've thought myself out of happiness one million times, but never once into it.” - Jonathan Safran Foer

Photo by Erica C.

Have you ever found yourself reflecting on who you are? I'm sure the answer is certainly. But have you ever sought to find the source of your happiness and/or dissatisfaction in relation to your personality?

A look into your personality type can help you understand yourself more and aid in emotional health.

I have always been an introspective person. Whether analyzing interaction with others, reviewing my flaws, or looking into my thoughts, I continue to maintain awareness of my environment and my relation to it.

I knew that I was an introvert, controlled by my left-brain, and naturally a pessimist. But after taking personality tests, I learned more about myself that holds true. In my 9th grade year of high school, I was able to take a personality test that resulted in INTJ (Rational Mastermind). Lo' and behold, four years later it would only slightly change to ISTJ (Guardian Inspector). What exactly do these letters mean? Personality Page details a lot of informative material.

What also holds true, or at least I had always believed, was the topic of astrology. Horoscope astrology and zodiac signs have always been a fascination of mind since I was younger. Whether reading through newspapers or magazines for the horoscope column or browsing through the countless websites on zodiac signs, this phenomenon has become an entertaining part of the Lifestyle outlook.

Astrology first derived thousands of years in Mesopotamia, where the first civilizations tried to find answers through the many stars that lay overhead. Overtime astrology has been used for medicine, predictions, compatibility, and entertainment (Bakich). However, the Western astrology we are so familiar with differs from the rest of the world's astrology. It may seem as though Western astrology is best for entertainment purposes rather than any concrete reliance.

While I have never found horoscopes factual, the mass amount of information on the personality types of each zodiac was very insightful. As a Taurus (or Taurus-Gemini cusp to be more specific), I found reading about zodiac sign captivating because most of the content seemed true about me.

From left to right: Gemini, Scorpio, Pisces,

Aquarius, Aries, Taurus,

Virgo, Leo, Capricorn,

Cancer, Sagitarrius, Libra.

Photo by iStockphoto

Both personality types and zodiac signs are good fun reads however. There are many personality tests and definitely a whole lot of information in regards to astrology online. A simple search on Google will bring about many results. The Keirsey Temperament Sorter is one of the most used personality test. Your source for astrology depends on your preference (mine was Astrology Insight in middle school) but most sites generally carry the same information in regards to each zodiac's personality type.

So why exactly is important to look into your personality? Because, according to Michael Miller, editor in chief of the Harvard Mental Health Letter "everything is related to everything else. How stressed or angry you are, and how you interact with the world, is contingent in large part on your personality style. And that is going to have an enormous impact on your health" (Haupt). By understanding oneself is close to accepting of who you are and finding a better way to deal with life when you comprehend yourself.

It is almost as if you're on the outside looking in. By looking into your personality, you can see who you are as an individual and understand the roots of your thoughts and actions and in turn view the image you portray to others.

As a Taurus, I know I can be stubborn but loyal. Looking into astrology, I learned that my biggest strength can be my "sensible outlook on life" (Taurus) but my biggest weakness is "accepting less than [I] can achieve" (Taurus). Through Keirsey, I learned that Inspectors actually make up "ten percent of the general population" (Keirsey). Through this knowledge, I can be able to see where I need improvements in my life and appreciate my strong points in my personality. For example, instead of constantly being unyielding, I know I should compromise a bit more but still remain sensible.

Your personality ties into your emotional health. Who you are affects how you live and by learning more about yourself, you can learn to better improve your emotional well being.

Works Cited

Bakich M. "Astrology: Fact or FICTION?." Astronomy. 32.12 (2004): 50-56. Academic Search Complete. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.
Haupt, Angela. "How Your Personality Affects Your Health." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 22 Sept. 2010. Web. 23 Jan. 2013.
"Keirsey Temperament Website - Portrait of the Guardian® Inspector (ISTJ)." Keirsey Temperament Website - Portrait of the Guardian® Inspector (ISTJ). N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2013.
"Taurus Characteristics & Personality - MyDaily." The Huffington Post. Tarot.com, n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2013.

Happiness One Step at a Time

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."
"It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver."
- Mahatma Gandhi

Photo by Amit Kujur.

Hello world ~ While I am no stranger to the online world nor blogging, it is with difficulty that I find myself writing once again to an audience. It's been many years since I've written anything that is not related to research papers or poetry. However, I hope that this journey that we shall embark will benefit not just myself but others.

As a freshman in college, I did not think I would ever revisit blogging for academic purposes - but here we are. For English composition II, I am to maintain an academic blog on a chosen topic for 15 weeks. This had me thinking.

I find that many other young adults including myself are thrown into the real world and with the expectation that we should have a lot of things (careers, finances, etc) figured out. Along with the weight we carry in our lives and in our hearts, this can be tremendously overwhelming and stressful. Where is the happiness in all of this?

We are all constantly trying to better ourselves and our lives. Whether through pursuing an education to earn a degree to even making the choice of opting for a healthier diet. Our emotional health is very important in our life and I believe that it is definitely tied to happiness.

For my blog, I decided to cover the topic of lifestyle because I've always had interest in the welfare aspects of life. Many of us are tied down to either a 9-5 job or hours sitting away "learning" and living the mundane cycle we all are accustomed to. And so often life weighs heavily down that happiness is forgotten or a facade of the future. So often I have truly wondered what is exactly happiness and while I have yet to find my own answer to this, I have instead found strength and willpower which I hope will project onto others as I cover aspects of emotional health and provide insight and personal stories in relation to happiness.

Emotional health is "overall psychological well-being. It includes the way you feel about yourself, the quality of your relationships, and your ability to manage your feelings and deal with difficulties" (Smith). Often our emotional health is neglected or not reflected upon often enough.

Do you think you are emotionally healthy? Those who are have:

• A sense of contentment.
• A zest for living and the ability to laugh and have fun.
• The ability to deal with stress and bounce back from adversity.
• A sense of meaning and purpose, in both their activities and their relationships.
• The flexibility to learn new things and adapt to change.
• A balance between work and play, rest and activity, etc.
• The ability to build and maintain fulfilling relationships.
• Self-confidence and high self-esteem.

Any checks on this list provided by Helpguide? It may seem impossible to have each and every bullet checked but that is honestly okay if that is not the case. It is certainly commendable even with a few of the above attained. In all honesty, I only have the first one marked on my list. Topics ranging from depression to diet will be covered over these 15 weeks and with any luck, one more bullet can be checked off.

While this blog mainly adheres to the audience of college students, it certainly by no means limits to any certain range of viewers. So as the journey of life continues, here goes with this blog. Cheers~

- T.L.*

Works Cited

Smith, Melinda, Robert Segal, and Jeanne Segal. "Improving Emotional Health."Strategies and Tips for Good Mental Health. Helpguide, Jan. 2013. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.