I wanted to visit somewhere that would let me discover something new, while enjoying a calm and serene environment to reduce my anxiety. Colorado did that for me these past 5 days. As soon as we landed in the western state, I felt different--1 mile above sea level.

RAD-I-CAL SOFT-NESS - "RADICAL SOFTNESS IS THE IDEA THAT UNAPOLOGETICALLY SHARING YOUR EMOTIONS IS A POLITICAL MOVE AND A WAY TO COMBAT THE SOCIETAL IDEA THAT FEELINGS ARE A SIGN OF WEAKNESS." -- LORA MATHIS

It’s been a weird couple days/week for me. And by weird I mean I’ve been profoundly unproductive. And for the last couple days I’ve been trying to motivate the countless chores, errands and responsibilities I need to take care of -- ranging from needing to take my car to the dealership, making a doctor’s appointment, to writing a 300-word story that I should’ve finished yesterday. But instead, for the last couple days I’ve found myself in a total funk--to the point where I’m finding myself waking up way too late, and going to bed way too early because I’m doing nothing of importance. Wasting time makes me feel absolutely suffocated by anxiety. I feel utterly worthless, like I’m not taking each day and living to the fullest. So today is Sunday, I have a million things to do, and I’m perfectly okay with knowing I won’t get everything done. But the first thing I’ve done is get out of my house, get a change of scenery. For me, that’s as simple as sitting at one of my favorite coffee shops, drinking my favorite latte’ and people watching. And most importantly, I knew I needed a spot to just get some writing done. Both my required writing for work, and my required writing for me. So my first piece of advice is just take a moment to do something you really enjoy, but that’s also stimulating. Because after just writing this paragraph, I feel already a cleanse has begun in my body.

As I’ve gotten busier with my adult life,  I feel like I’ve gotten good at a lot of things: being professional, getting better at wearing heels (kinda), exercising, half-assing college courses, FULL-assing college courses (that’s my very classy term where I actually find myself learning something in school...yes it happens), indulging in my hobbies, and most importantly--developing a clear and productive plan to move forward towards my career and goals. But a couple of things have fallen by the way side as I've entered the bustling years of my 20's; my mental health, managing my stress, sleep schedules, and I definitely don’t drink enough water.