Treat Yourself First

Ah, it’s once again Valentine’s Day, so much fun for a single person. Not. If you enjoy romance or not, it’s the day we have to see it everywhere and probably stay at home without plans. Which is what I want to talk about, no matter if you’re single or not you need to take care of yourself. It’s the most important thing for you and both your physical and mental health. And that’s what this is all about, self-health. Everybody needs to take a day to themselves and focus solely on them, so why not while everybody else is out on a date? Be your own date, because then there’s no pressure anyway. We all need a stressless night every so often and so I want to suggest some ideas for yours.

1. Have a spa night. Now I know, this is the cliche for a girl but just listen to me, a good face mask and manicure can do wonders. I always do my own nails and so it gives me awhile to really zone out of everything else and only focus on the task at hand… no pun intended. But really there’s a million things you could do to focus on just your outer self to make you love what you see. A hair mask, pore strip, body scrub, anything that comes to mind when you think of a spa. Because really if we can focus so long just to look good for a date, why can’t we take that care on what’s underneath the makeup and curled hair.
2. Have a movie night. If you know me really well, you’d know I’m a huge movie buff. I watch movies all the time so for me this isn’t anything special but to make it special I’d watch something I never get to see or binge my favorite series. Personally, I love having a night with some good homemade popcorn and getting to watch the whole High School Musical series or any other musical because they’re my favorite. Whether it’s rom-coms, musicals, or sci-fi, it’s always great to sit there all night and watch your favorite no matter what anybody thinks of it.
3. Have a gaming night. Okay, here’s a secret most people don’t know, I love video games. I’ve always loved playing them but my total favorites are the Lego games where I get to destroy everything because goodness it’s a stress reliever. I think though video games is either considered such a geek thing or a guy thing not many girls take the time to just play something by themselves. Honestly I love when I’m home alone and get full control of the Xbox and get to play, so maybe you would too.
4. Have a cooking/baking night. Once again another favorite of mine. I love baking specifically because it makes my perfectionist mind at ease for a little while. Everything has to be certain measurements because it’s an exact science unlike other things, so for me to take time to focus on it or cooking is so nice. Having something that I know has to be perfect is my form of self-care, because it’s something that I know I can make go right. That’s weird probably, but no matter what we all have to eat so take the night and make it yourself.
5. Have a craft night. Coloring, painting, knitting, or sewing, no matter what it is they’re a great stress reliever. I can sit there and lose myself while doing a coloring page because it takes all my focus and I forget everything else. All of these suggestions though are things we claim we don’t have time to learn or just do, so take a night and ignore that thought and just do it. Learn how to sew, finally knit that sweater, or do that painting you’d been meaning to make.
6. Have an exercise night. Don’t kill me on this, but like the spa idea it’s about making ourselves look good for us. We need to take the time to focus on physical health as much as everything else we do. Because exercise is great and not just for making you look good for yourself but for your mental health. So stretch it out, watch a video, and lose yourself in one of the best ways to get your heart racing that isn’t somebody who’s hot or makes you nervous.

The whole point to this, is to love yourself first. Focus on you, because how you feel about yourself is how you present yourself. And no matter if you want to admit it or not, when we express how we’re feeling inside into the world it isn’t always for the best. So it’s important we learn how to stop hating ourselves because it’s hard to love somebody who doesn’t love themselves. No matter if you’re worried about dating or not, nobody is really going to want to be friends with somebody who’s not proud of who they are. Taking care of yourself isn’t the end of the world, we should always come first in our own lives, so take some time for you. Don’t care about anybody else for the night, because it’s okay to be selfish when you realize you need a break and to focus on you. We need to learn how to focus on us a lot more, so start off with the one night that you may have to yourself, and then go from there.

Inspire yourself everyday to be a better version of yourself for you, not anybody else. And I don’t know where this quote is from but; “Fall in love with taking care of yourself,” because you’re the most important thing in your life until you have children. Relax with your animal if you have one and enjoy this Valentine’s Day no matter if you’re on a date or going to take the night to yourself.

Stay inspired, Emily.

Wait, What Do I Need to Take to Prom?

Prom, it’s something we either look forward to going to or dread. Some may have great memories, some may have horrible memories, but no matter what you typically remember your prom night. Now though even if prom night is great, getting to that night can be stressful; you need the dress, the shoes, the date, the hair, the makeup, and soon enough you may have forgotten other things you’ll possibly need for that night to remember (High School Musical 3 reference, anybody?). After going to two proms, I’m here to help you remember specifically what you may need for the night of in your handbag… at least beyond the obvious phone and possible charger. So here we go, my list of things you might forget to bring, that you might need for prom night.

1. 
   Jewelry, at least if you’re anything like me this is something you purposely forget BUT, it is what completes your outfit so you may not want to forget it. Plus it’s always a good idea to bring a spare in your bag if you have a malfunction with what you’re already wearing. 
2. Makeup, no matter how much setting spray you use there’s always that chance you need a touchup. Make sure to bring your concealer, powder, mascara, and lipstick/gloss they’re mostly likely what you may need to make adjustments to during the night.
3. Hair products, from bobby pins to a comb to hairspray you never know what you may need on that bathroom trip during the night. I highly suggest packing at least five bobby pins though especially if you’re wearing an undo and have thick hair like me, it’ll save your life… trust me.
4. Nail file and possibly clippers, it doesn’t matter if you got acrylics or your natural nails, there’s always a chance your nail could get broken or uneven and you don’t want that to put you in risk of being able to get caught on your dress.
5. Pads and tampons, pack at least one of each. You never know when a friend or yourself might need it. I myself was on my period both years at prom and so being caught without something would have been a nightmare, especially since I had a white skirt my senior year!
6. Deodorant, hand sanitizer, lotion, disposable toothbrushes, and gum. To be totally honest, these are just things you need in your bag no matter the event because ultimately you never know when you may need any of them. Just bring them and be safe rather than sorry.
7. And finally, pain killers and bandaids. Now the bandaids are in case you forgot to break in your shoes and get blisters, but the pain killers… well they’re in case you not only forgot to break in your shoes but are in heels and don’t wanna take them off, too much dancing makes you hurt, or you just get a headache from the loud music. Really though, pain killers saved me at prom both years and so I suggest taking some with you.

Now of course this is just what I personally suggest taking, and I highly do recommend it, both years I went to prom I was the only person who thought to bring a handbag and ended up helping more than just myself because it’s something a lot of people don’t think about. Did I forget anything you need to bring? Do you have any suggestions for people? Leave me a comment or tweet me them! Until next time, have a safe prom and don’t worry if it isn’t exactly what you expect it to be like, no matter what you’ll never regret going.