Spotlight Artist #1: JAYMES YOUNG

I've wanted to do this for a while, but I couldn't think of someone I wanted to write a whole post about. I finally listened to Jaymes Young's new EP, and I was so incredibly impressed that I knew my first Spotlight Artist post had to be about him.

Young is a relatively new artist. His first EP Dark Star was released in September 2013. I personally like his newer EP Habits of My Heart more, and I will be talking about all of the songs in this post. I will also include two of my other favorites by him.

You Be You, I'll Be Me (Mix #11)

Mix 11 YA YA YAAAA :]

Lush Extravaganza [Haul]

I went to Lush, and I did a BITTTT of SHOPPING ;) Let's just say I have NO restraint when it comes to Lush.

Breathing in a New High (Mix #10)

Mizzzzz 10!

My Birchbox Experience

Halloooo welcome to another beauty post. This one is going to be about my Birchbox experience.

This is actually going to be a little different than other people's Birchbox blog posts because I am not actually subscribed to the monthly boxes. I simply went on the site to look up makeup and find good deals. I have only made one purchase (shown below) so far, but needless to say, I am IMPRESSED. 

You Will Rise to Victory (Mix #9)

Here is some more new music that I've been really enjoying :) This is a favorite.

Lord, I Just Don't Care (Mix #8)

Mix EIGHT! Let's go let's go

We Were Making Love By Wednesday (Mix #7)

Let's go mix 7! This is probably one of my favorite mixes yet. 

Would You Want Me If I Want You (Mix #6)

Mix SIXXXXXX :]

Money Can Buy You Happiness.. for About 5 Seconds

Money plays a confusing role in our society today. Its most basic use is to exchange it for material things we want, whether that be a good or a service. This seems harmless. Money starts getting problematic when we blur the line between it and material goods. 

All of a sudden, the money we have translates to the number of things that we own, and people begin to think that money is happiness. This is the unhealthy truth. 

I'm Not the Only One (Mix #5)

Get ready for mix 5! :)

Bad Intentions (Mix #4)

I love writing these posts man! It's so fun choosing songs to put on here. Leggooo:

Maturity

College is a weird place. It's a step up from high school, but I don't think most college kids are ready to be adults either. Something I noticed is that a lot of college students think they are a lot more mature than they are.

I am definitely not saying that I am completely mature, because I'm not, but I did realize that this mindset really bothers me. And with this, I have a few qualities that I think characterize people who are not quite as mature as they think.

1. Thinking They Are Always Right
A big part of being grown up is being able to accept others' thoughts and opinions. Even if you don't completely agree, it's important to be able to at least see the other side of a situation rather than turn your nose up to it immediately. It is good to be confident in who you and what what you think, but those who can see a situation from any number of sides will ultimately be more successful. 

I Could Be Your Fantasy (Mix #3)

Wooo second music post in a day! I was just so excited after the first one that I wanted to do another :D

A Paradise Without Day & Without Night (Mix #2)

Helloooo! I'm back with more good music. Here we go!

Everyday Chill Makeup

Hi! Alright I'm back for another beauty post.

I don't wear makeup on a daily basis, but when I want to look a little better and brighter, I'll wear some light makeup after I cleanse and moisturize my face. These are the products I use:

Disappointment

Disappointment is something everyone will go through at least once in their lives. It is a fundamental part of being human. Not everything will go as you hope, and disappointment is the sad emotion that comes with that. 

You can be disappointed for any number of reasons, and I think it is healthy to feel this way once in a while. It keeps us grounded, and the ability to come back up after feeling down is really important. 

For me, I deal with this poop emotion by distracting myself. First, I distance myself from whatever disappointed me. Whether it is a person or a test score, I try to focus on other things for a little bit. Watching television really helps me, as does reading while listening to music. Reading especially can really take your mind off anything. I love that reading really sucks you in 100%, and it is really convenient in times like this. I tend to listen to one song over and over while I read so that the emotions I'm feeling are engrained into the song. 

The song I am listening to right now is Light a Fire by Rachel Taylor. I actually heard this song on Vampire Diaries. It's a really emotional song, and I think it is very fitting for how I am feeling. The melody in the background is just so powerful, but also soft. I love that this song can embody the way I am feeling. 

Getting Motivated

I am a very motivated person, so I like to stay busy whenever I can. I figure that I only have one life and one chance to accomplish as many things as possible. This means that in the few instances when I am feeling unmotivated, I am REALLY lacking drive. When this happens, I ponder life, and by the time I get back around my thoughts, I'm feeling motivated again. Here are just some of the things I think about:

1. We literally only have one life. I know that certain religions preach reincarnation, and I am definitely not saying it can't be true, but no matter what, we will never remember any life other than the one we are living now. The moment that is passing right now will never come back, and we are living on a set timeline that has a start and a finish. That scares the HELL out of me. Take advantage of every moment you have. Definitely take breaks, but work as hard as you can the rest of the time.

All the Things You Do (Mix #1)

Music is an obsession for me. I am constantly listening to it, and it has been part of my everyday life for abouttt 7 years now? That was when I got my first iPod. Since then, I've been on the constant hunt for new, amazing music. This has led to the inevitable start of a music post on this blog.

Some words to describe my music taste:
-chill
-electronic
-indie/alternative
-house
-cutesy
-rap
-catchy

Obviously these words could be used to describe a lot of different genres, but as I post more of these, you'll start to have an idea of what I like. A lot of my friends come to me for music, and they usually like what I show them, so here goes.

Let's Get Fit!

Three weeks ago, I started a new workout guide. It's called the Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guide. I heard a lot about it from my friends, and somehow her pictures were showing up all over my Instagram. I had been going to the gym frequently beforehand, but my friend bought the guide, and she wanted me to start it with her. 

Basically, it's a 12 week guide that gives you specific workouts 3 days a week. The rest of the days, you do cardio or interval training depending on how far into the guide you are. I am now on week four, and I've had a great time following the guide! I like having a set workout to do each day, and now, my day feels incomplete without at least a 30 minute workout. At the end of the 12 weeks, you're supposed to have a thinner, leaner body that you can show off proudly. 

DAYUM you smell nice.

Hello! Somehow it's been the longest week ever, but I have not put up a blog post in 4 days! How is that possible...

So yesterday night, I left my apartment to go to the library and study, and as I was walking toward my bike, I noticed something in the basket. Usually, it's just fliers or something boring like that, but this time it was a little rectangle! I curiously picked it out of my basket and realized that it was a freaking cologne sample! I actually had a few just sitting in my basket, and I was thinking "aw man. I can't even use this." Regardless, I kept them and went to the library.

When I got there, I realized I hadn't even taken a whiff yet, so I brought it to my nose. YEP, I JUST STOPPED THAT SENTENCE RIGHT THERE BECAUSE RIGHT AFTER I SMELLED IT, I WAS LIKE "HOLY CRAP! THIS SMELLS FREAKING AMAZING!"

^this is it right here. life changing stuff...

Lacoste Live Eau de Toilette I honestly don't know what it is about this cologne man. It smells like straight up man, and it actually reminds me of one of my friends. Maybe he uses this cologne... but honestly. Two thumbs up! My friend that I was meeting at the library also agreed, and we were both smelling the samples like crazy. When we got back to our apartment, she gathered all the samples she had in her bike basket, and we brought them up and put them all in a little container on the living room table. That way, if anyone comes into our apartment, they can take one. Actually I have no idea why they would want it... but whatever, it makes our apartment smell nice.

When I was younger, I really didn't understand the appeal of cologne, but now that I've smelled this... DAYUM. All boys should smell like this. Seriously every girl I have shown this cologne to loves it. So boys, if you're reading this, you know what to do ;)

Music Lovin'

I have been trying to think about what I should write about for my first real post. I am seriously just drawing up blanks. What the heck would I want to read in a blog? I think my best guess would be something about travel or makeup, but I don't really have anything to say about either at the moment. I am sitting at home, and I am not wearing any makeup.

I think an easy topic to talk about is music! I am pretty much always looking for new music because when I am constantly listening to it, songs get tiring pretty fast. A cool thing I do with music is separate it by when I get it. So for example, I have different playlists for every school year and every summer. It would look a little something like this:

15/16 HS Soph
16 Summer 2011
16/17 HS Junior
17 Summer 2012

The numbers in the front are my age, and then I just add what time period it is. And then I add songs to the playlist of that time as I add them to my library. That way, when I go back and listen, I can feel all of the same emotions I felt during that part of my life again.

It's honestly a really cool thing. As a result of doing this, I have a lot of "feels" songs that make me feel happy, nostalgic, sad, excited, etc. when I listen to them. Music is an amazing part of my life, and I hope that you try this out so you can document your life into music as well. Honestly it's the easiest way to retain memories because it takes no extra time like a journal would, and it is so easy to access when you want to. For journals, when I want to read something from a few years ago, I always have to hunt for the right day. It's so annoying! With the music, everything you need is written right there.

If you do this, please let me know in the comments so we can bask in the glory of music together. Mwah enjoy!

Introduction

So. I am starting a blog.

Maybe I should introduce myself? My name is Shulin, and I am a college student. Some words to describe me are: good listener, smiley, and fluffy animal loving. 

I have a lot of thoughts that I keep to myself, but tonight, at 3:00am, I decided it would be best to share these thoughts with the public. Obviously not everyone will agree with all of my thoughts and opinions, but I think I am pretty good at seeing things from most perspectives.

I am not quite sure what I want out of this blog. I think I would just like to write about anything that is on my mind really, and I guess I would also like to give advice. I am in no way saying that I am qualified to give the best advice, but hey, my friends always come to me so why don't I come to the people of the internet?

I think that's pretty good for an introduction. Hope you likeee