whitmantra-blog

[whitmantra-blog]

Hello, Would you be so kind in typing out the 30 day minimalism challenge. I am a bit hard of sight and can't really read some of your writing. I would really appreciate this as i would love to do it. Thanks for considering my request.

No problem! My writing’s pretty difficult to read (especially in felt tipped pens lol) so I gotcha.

Here it is, the 30-day minimalism challenge––with my own personal tweaks & changes.

1. Stay off social media all day. Try to be present and not think about what you’ll post next, or what everyone else is doing.

2. Meditate for 15 minutes. The time is not the most important thing here––just focus on your breathing and try to just sit for as long as you can.

3. Declutter your digital life. Get your accounts in order, write down passwords, empty your digital trash can, delete messages, sort photos. 

4. Don’t complain all day, and notice how much better you feel––even when shitty things happen to you.

5. Identify 3-6 top priorities. They could be life priorities, or things to focus on today. Write them down and think about them as you go about your day.

6. Follow a new morning ritual––get up earlier, try exercising, or just do things in a different order. Try to make it so you look forward to getting up.

7. Streamline your reading list. Contain it to one paper that you know where it is, and can reach for on your next trip to the library.

8. Take extra time for solitude. Look for extra opportunities today to spend time with yourself, and try your best to enjoy it.

9. Downsize your beauty collection. Throw away old makeup, nail polish, etc. Clean the drawer of your bathroom that you stash Q-tips in. Get it down to the bare minimum.

10. Throw out 3 things in your room. Just get rid of stuff that you don’t need. It’s healthy to throw things away, even if you think you’ll want it later.

11. Evaluate you commitments. Take a look at all the responsibilities you have that might be causing you stress, and make sure they’re things you want to be responsible for.

12. Define your goals for 2015 (or 2016). Get out the paper and start brainstorming how you can kick ass this year.

13. Clean out your closet. Donate the clothes, give them to a friend, or store them away for a bit until you decide they’re done. Clean your closet and reorganize.

14. Take a step towards a new skill. Practice a foreign language. Buy a yo-yo. It doesn’t need to be a big step––just do something to get the ball rolling.

15. Examine your daily habits. As you go through the day, think about the things you do all the time. Make sure they’re good habits. If they’re not, focus on eliminating a few.

16. Don’t buy anything for 24 hours. Feel the extra money in your pocket and bring your own food.

17. Practice single-tasking. Let each thing you do occur with complete focus and intense precision.

18. Leave today unplanned. Try your very best to be open about what you have planned (even in your head), and go with what you want to do in the moment.

19. Go for a walk and practice mindfulness. Don’t have headphones in. Look around at the world you live in and be there.

20. No TV all day––read instead. Start with that reading list you started earlier.

21. Journal for 20 minutes. Brain dump, or write a story, or a poem. Get something on the page no matter how shitty it may be. 

22. Create a new bedtime routine. Earlier would be cool, but if you’re not feeling that try relaxing for a few minutes or drinking water or switching things up.

23. Identify your stress triggers. Make note of things that really worry you, and try to think of ways you could prevent a burnout or meltdown.

24. Practice gratitude. Thank people, give them a compliment, or just notice how nice things are today. 

25. Leave today unplanned. (This is on here for a second time because I have so much trouble with it). Learn from your first unplanned day and try again. 

26. Go bare-faced. Stay in if you feel embarrassed––but let your skin breathe.

27. Clean out a junk drawer. Or ten.

28. Let go of a goal. Look back at the goals you’ve made and think about the feasibility. If there’s one that’s not looking like it’s going to happen, make peace with it not being a priority right now.

29. Turn off your notifications. You don’t have to stay completely tech-free, just turn off the sound and stop expecting a text.

30. Evaluate your last 5 purchases. Be mindful of where your money usually goes. If they’re shitty purchases, focus on what you need vs. what you want.

There you go, guys. Go kick December’s ass.

[whitmantra-blog]

nov 22 / / 3:06 pm I ran out of flashcards, so I made some new ones. : )

[whitmantra-blog]

edit: i’m okay. thank you, kind souls who reached out to help. tgif.

can someone that is willing to hear me vent message me asap? i had a really rough day and I’m sad and don’t know what to do.

[whitmantra-blog]

can someone that is willing to hear me vent message me asap? i had a really rough day and I’m sad and don’t know what to do.

[whitmantra-blog]

How did long did it take before you could jot down an entire outline without needing to cross out a word or two? It's mind blowing how flawless your notes are. Especially since you are mainly using pens. It's not like mistakes can be erased. I'm always making small blunders that require an ugly strikethrough. Even when I already know how to spell something, I make mistakes every now and then. Do you use lots of whiteout? or can you share tips on precise mistake free note-taking?

Wow, what a compliment! Honestly, I don’t think I’ve noticed any growth or improvement in that area since I started in terms of the wrong word––spelling comes pretty easily to me––and if I do make a mistake I usually just live with it. Pens bring a lot of anxiety with their permanence, but for me it’s harder to have consistent sizing and placement of words than it is to write them. 

So, I guess my best tips would be to go slowly when outlining, think about what you want to write before you write it, and don’t be too grandiose with your words. Get to the point in your writing, so you don’t have to cross out a word because you didn’t know how to spell it. Additionally, small “blunders” may be super noticeable to you but indistinguishable in your unique handwriting to everyone else. Try not to worry too much about getting everything right, even if you’re making notes solely for “aesthetic” (which I don’t endorse). Keep going with it, and the small mistakes will blend into the wonderful whole of what you are creating.

[whitmantra-blog]

I have to rant for a little bit, I’m sorry.

I live two hours away form Roseburg. In second period today, our principal announced what had happened, and kids were sad but not at all surprised. In third period, teachers were ordered to lock their doors and keep kids inside as police officers started running through campus because of a copycat threat. We stayed after school, blinds closed and in silence, and our homecoming parade was cancelled.

I know that there’s a lot of political opinion on guns and laws and stuff and I’m really pissed that it’s so easy to purchase a gun in the US. But sitting in third period today, having my teacher hurry to lock the door and close the blinds and for all the students to be anxiously watching the door, was the scariest moment of my life, politics completely aside. And I hate that in my wonderful community it almost happened. I hate that I have to be fearful to go to high school. 

It’s one thing to be a student and watch reports of all the shootings, especially since Sandy Hook, and watch them with a kind of grim acceptance. It’s another thing to be in your chair shaking and feeling like a sitting duck and having to face losing your life or your friends in that moment––and nothing even happened at our school. I had been numbed to gun violence until today. Now I’m just really, really sad.

[whitmantra-blog]

september 19th / / 5:18 pm corner of my desk as I study history :)) weekends are wonderful.

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september 14th / / 4:37 look at me, writing notes and shit...love making outlines on blank paper <33

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kinda hard to do homework when you're staring at your new favorite album

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august 22nd / / 8:30 pm zach condon, why do you do these things to me...your music is too beautiful

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coast, drawing, forests and a welcome september on the horizon.

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coffee yin yang?

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august 20th 2015 / / 9:16 a.m.

some mornin’ planning before my coast & music festival adventure : )

[whitmantra-blog]

do you know any other studyblrs that are sophomores or juniors? thank you

yo yo where all the high school kids at

we’re kind of rare, I guess. going through the blogs I follow super quickly (i.e. I definitely missed some), here are studyblrs that are 13-17 (I think) from multiple countries––desiretolearn, nightlystudying, sassy-studying, studying-space, thestudyharder, vestiblr, dactyls, and the apropos justahighschoolsenior.

you should also check out the index over at thestudyblrnetwork, who links to studyblrs by age, classes taken, language, location, school system, etc. There’s a high school tag there somewhere, as well as much more. it’s kind of a really beautiful thing <3 hope this helps!

[whitmantra-blog]

: )

reblog if...

you’re a studyblr that posts (at least some) original content!

reblogs are cool but I’d love to see more new stuff on my dash versus just the posts I’ve already seen several times :)

[whitmantra-blog]

so I finally got around to trying duolingo and it is the shit!! highly reccommended. why did I not try it months ago when summer was still young

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to all studyblrs studying english: I would be actually so happy to look over papers or help with english words/grammar/anything at all because I fully understand that it’s confusing as fuck and can make no sense even to an american.