#YearofYou

I'm sure you're reading this and wondering what the heck the #yearofyou is.  Good question and here's an answer for you.  The year of you is simple.  2016 is the year where you spend quality time with you.  What does that mean exactly?  Spend time reading books to better yourself, cook the recipes you've always wanted to, travel to places you've been dreaming about and just do you.  The year of you is a mindset to make 2016 the best year yet.  Spend time making yourself the best version of yourself that you can possibly be.   We only get one life on this earth so you might as well make it the best one yet.  If you're feeling lost in your life right now this may just be what you need.

Now I didn't come up with this idea myself.  This idea or movement, I should say. is completely the brainchild of one fantastic Youtuber, MarissaLace.  I'm going to have all of her info listed below but basically she's started a movement with her followers of self love and choosing happiness this year.  After having a crappy 2015 when my dad passed away I'm all for spending some quality time with myself and becoming the best me I can be.

If you're interested in the year of you and MarissaLace, here are some #yearofyou videos to watch.

Finding Yourself
Year of You
What 2015 Taught Me

Starting the year of you out right, Marissa recommended some books to her followers.  While I haven't picked up all of them, I have picked up Adventures for the Soul by Shannon Kaiser and let me tell you it's AMAZING.  I highly recommend it.  I'm going to be writing a full review of it later but all I can say is that if you think the #yearofyou sounds like something you might be interested in then go pick up this book :)

To sum of the year of you, here my top 6 things I suggest doing this year:

 

1. Read.

While I would suggest starting this year off by reading the book I've mentioned in this post, just read anything and everything.  This year is about becoming the best version of yourself and to do that you need to grow.  Read autobiographies, memoirs, poetry, really anything that will help you learn.  I'm going to be doing reviews of books that I've read so far this year but I highly suggest starting with Shannon Kaiser's book.  You can also see what I'm reading on Goodreads if you don't want to wait. 

2. Get Uncomfortable.

One of my freshmen professors once said "If you're not uncomfortable, you're not bettering yourself."  I tell myself this whenever I'm ever in a situation that makes me reconsider every choice I've made that day.  While she wasn't talking about my ever awkward life, I feel like this is a good mantra to carry with you.   Growing up and learning new things isn't always easy.  If we all stay where we are comfortable then we will never meet new people and experience new exciting things.

3. Choose Happy.  Choose Love.

 

Spend time with the people you love.  Don't spend time with people who make you feel like you don't deserve the best.  People who constantly make you feel bad and worthless shouldn't be in your life. You shouldn't poor yourself into people who won't do the same for you.  Find the people who will build you up instead of those you constantly tear you down.  You are like a building under constant construction.  Don't let someone in your life that is constantly coming in with a wrecking ball to destroy what you've worked on. 

4. Get Organized.

You would be surprised how much stress is connected to your messy cluttered life.  If your room is super dirty and a danger zone then try cleaning it.  You will be surprised how satisfying a clean space can be.  Whenever I take the time to put everything in my room in order I feel so much better and much more relaxed.

5. Explore.

The thing I have most about lists like this is when one of the tips for growth is travel.  I'm a poor college student on a budget. I don't have the time or money to buy a ticket to Italy to go on a solo Eat, Pray, Love pasta trip of self exploration.  That being said, if you have the money to travel do it.  If you don't then this is for you.  Exploring doesn't mean buying a $1600 trip to Paris.  It means taking the time to explore yourself.  Find what you love.  Read.  Visit towns just outside of yours.  Find Youtubers and blogs that you didn't know about before. Just explore a world outside of your own.  You don't necessarily need to leave home to do that. The world is bigger than yourself.  Always remember that.

6. Most importantly: Make an effort.

 

If you want to change something about yourself you have to being willing to put in the work.  I once read an article with Chris Pratt where he used this metaphor to describe the work he put in to losing weight and getting in shape for a movie.  To summarize, his metaphor went something like this:  people always want to have white teeth but they want instant results.  You want white teeth now but you aren't willing to put in the work.
Basically, what I'm saying is this.  If you want to lose weight put in the effort.  If you want to travel put in the effort.  If you want to be happy put in the effort.  Doing all of these things takes planning.  This step is closely related to #4. If you want to lose weight then you need to have an organized plan.  Eat healthy foods and work out.  Don't eat salad for lunch and a tub of ice cream and think you're going to wake up looking like Beyonce.  You need to be an active participant in your life.  If you want something, you need plan out the steps to reach your goal.  Save money every month if you want to travel.  Figure out what you makes you happy and spend more time doing that.  Whatever you want, make an effort.  One month of 2016 is already gone.  Don't let 2017 start only for you to realize that you haven't done anything that you wanted to do in 2016.

Marissa's Links
Youtube
Instagram
Twitter
Snapchat: MarissaLace



XO

Emily