Hey guys! I'm so excited to announce that today's blog post will be in collaboration with Font Femme. Font Femme Magazine is an all-girls STEM magazine with the goal of empowering the next generation of females in STEM. Visit them at www.fontfemme.com to read some amazing articles published by young females and hear more about the amazing opportunities Font Femme offers. Keep reading to hear more about Font Femme's mission thorough an insightful and empowering Q and A with Font Femme's founder. Q: Why did you start Font Femme? A: I’ve always been passionate about getting my community involved in what I’m passionate about through sharing opportunities. I started this magazine to not only share opportunities in STEM, entrepreneurship, and youth led initiatives with underrepresented women who are interested in getting involved in STEM, but to also foster a sense of community during a time where everyone is so isolated due to the pandemic. This is why I wanted to create this digital magazine – a space where all womxn can share their experience, involvement, and VOICE regarding the STEM world. It gives girls an opportunity to really explore their interests in the STEM field while also serving as a platform for girls to go above and beyond to WRITE about and SHARE their passions with the WORLD. Q: What impact has Font Femme had so far? A: We have 90+ writers, many of whom are college students studying at Princeton, UPenn, and UC Berkeley! Font Femme has impacted 1,300+ women globally. Font Femme is also organizing a 2-day makeathon event in which girls will be able to create their own startups and social ventures! Q: What is your favorite article published and why? A: I would say my absolute favorite is one of our first, “Beneath the Sheath of Professionalism” by Jamie Lynn. This beautifully and eloquently written personal anecdote vividly captures Jamie’s, once a high school rising sophomore with no research experience but an unbridled interest in biology, struggles in deciphering gene names & scientific terms while taking her readers through her journey during this summer internship and how she conquered these challenges. Truly a beautiful piece that makes even me reflect on how I should view setbacks as opportunities for growth. Q: What are your plans for the future in regards to Font Femme? A: Font Femme is organizing a 2-day entrepreneurship incubator that teaches girls that were in my shoes turn their passions and interests into a viable business! This makeathon will take place from August 11-12, and applications are open now on fontfemme.com! We will be having keynote speakers at the event, featuring distinguished female CEO’s like Toni Ko, founder of NYX. Font Femme has expanded beyond just a magazine. Our greater mission is to provide as many opportunities for students like me to use their interests in STEM or entrepreneurship to create an impact in their community, whether it be through sharing their stories through an article or leaving our events with a startup! Q: Any tips/words of encouragement for young women worldwide interested in STEM? A: Your only critic is yourself. Use any obstacle and setback as an opportunity to further demonstrate your own strengths, character, work ethic, and persistence: they speak so much louder than numbers and awards.
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1: Think of life as an adventureYes, I know this sounds stupid. Trust me, when I first tried this, I thought it sounded dumb as well... but surprisingly, this tactic has helped me value life a bit more. As a person who loves adventure movies/ TV shows, I've always loved the idea of going on an "adventure." So one day, I told myself... "hey, you know, you're already on an adventure: life." After telling myself that, I thought I was crazy and probably just really tired, but I decided to give it a shot anyway. So now, I like to tell myself that my highs and lows are just a really long winding road leading me to somewhere amazing. Visualizing life as a long road trip has really helped me accept my low points and cherish my high points. 2: Do something you love every dayThis is a really important one! A lot of us feel busy with work, school, family, etc. and feel pressured to spend every moment improving ourselves, supporting our families, and doing our work. While these are all really important, it is also important to do something you love each day! For me, I like to make my daily doodles. I've always loved art and think it's a great way to relax. But for you, it could be anything! Do you love playing an instrument? How about watching TV? Or taking a hot bath? No matter what you love, it is so important to spend some part of your day, even if it's only a couple of minutes, doing something you love. Trust me, it will make you smile. 3: Get some sunlight!As a person who dwells in my room all the time with the blinds down, I sometimes forget to go outside and get some sun. But for some reason, just sitting outside with the sun out and the wind blowing is so calming and helps me enjoy the day and my life. I find that whenever the sun is out, I'm in a good mood and enjoy life outside. Going outside and reconnecting with nature can really help to unwind and maybe even smile a little! Those are my top three tips for enjoying life's adventure! Like I said, I'm no expert and definitely have my bad days... but these days are also part of life! It's okay to have ups and downs... in fact, it makes your adventure even more meaningful. I really hope some of these tips have inspired you to take a moment and enjoy life :)
Hello everyone! Welcome back to the blog. It's already May, can you believe it?! Anyway, as you may know, May is Mental Health Awareness Month. So, I wanted to create a fun mental health challenge for you guys to challenge you to take care of your mental health! I'll be doing this challenge too, and will update you all briefly at the beginning of each blog post I make during May. I know, I know, it's already May 6. Sorry about that, my website was having issues uploading my blog post, but hopefully this will work. Anyway, are you ready to hear the challenge! I challenge you to do some type of self care every day and document it somehow. For me, I'll probably film a brief video. But you can take a picture, write about it, journal about it, draw it, etc. My hope is that at the end of the moth we will all have a little self care diary that we can look back to when we need ideas of how to practice self care. I'm so excited to start this challenge and have so many ideas for different self care practices. If you want inspiration, be sure to follow me on Instagram because each day I will include a self care idea in the caption of my Instagram post. Feel free to Dm @the.doodle.project on Instagram with any photos, videos, etc. that you document your self care with and I will feature you on my story. I hope you all love this challenge and at least try a couple days of self care. So far, I have: gone for a run, taken a bath, done a face mask, watched Netflix, taken a nap, and cooked a tasty meal for my first 6 days. I love you all so much and hope you try this challenge out :) <3 The Doodle Project Today, I want to talk about comparing yourself to others. We all compare ourselves to others, and it's a habit that's impossible to just stop. It's sad that we live in a society where we begin to compare ourselves at a very young age. My first memory of comparing myself to others was in kindergarten, when I wondered why my best friend could read better than me. Turns out, her dad forced her to read every night whereas my parents only made me read a couple times a week. But that's not the point of the story. The point is that we begin to compare ourselves when we begin to walk, talk, think, read, write, etc. Now these skills are, for most of us, engrained into our minds. I don't really have to think about reading or writing, I just do it. And that's how a habit or skill is formed. You do it over and over again until it becomes second nature. But unfortunately, comparing myself to others is also a practice that I've done over and over again, and I'm sure you have too. But even though It's harmful to our mental health, we continue to do it because we don't know how to stop. Right now, I could tell you "Stop comparing yourself," but I know it's not that easy. It's something you have to do slowly and in baby steps. So today I want to talk about some of those steps. The first of which is not letting these comparisons define your worth. As we continue to compare ourselves to others, we begin to let our beliefs of what we should be like define our worth. But we are not defined by how much money we make, our grades, our relationship status, our mental or physical illnesses, our past mistakes, etc. How do you chose to define yourself? Do you highlight your positive qualities or focus on the negative. For my whole life, I've focused on the negative. I've told myself that I'm ugly, stupid, unsuccessful, and mean. But recently, I've been trying to change this habit. And I'm not going to lie, It's pretty hard to change this habit. But what I try to do is after every negative thing I tell myself, I also say a positive. I try to show myself that I am creative, energetic, motivated, and passionate. And if I'm being honest, I'm not too good at this practice. But with repetition, it will become a habit too. I like to think that if negative self talk and comparing myself to others became a habit, being kind to myself can be a habit too. So, I challenge you to start trying this practice. After each negative thing, say a positive. It takes time, and practice, but one day, hopefully it can become a habit! Hopefully, this post inspired you to begin to recognize and fight against your tendencies to compare yourself to others. It definitely isn't easy, but it is worth it! Keep fighting, you've got this! <3 The Doodle Project Today's blog post is going to be quite different, mostly because it's not about quarantine and it doesn't mention the coronavirus (except for now haha). What I'd like to discuss today is the importance of daily reminders, and the power they can have in helping minimize hateful self talk. We've all talked badly to ourselves before, but I noticed that I consistently belittle and shame myself and it has a negative effect on my mental health. So a while ago, I decided I was going to do something about it! But it's really hard to break such a consistent habit that many of us have. So what I started to do was give myself a kind reminder after every time I say something bad to myself. At first it took a little practice. It wasn't easy to tell myself something kind, yet it's so easy to say something mean to yourself. But I noticed that the more I gave myself a kind daily reminder, the better I felt, even when I talked negatively to myself. So, I've compiled this list of different reminders you can give yourself and why they are important! Hope you all enjoy :) "You Are loved"Such a simple, but important reminder! It's easy to feel like you aren't loved. Especially when you constantly talk negatively to yourself and hate yourself. Hearing those terrible words and phrases each and every day made me feel like I wasn't loved not only by myself, but others. But that's not true! I guarantee you there is at least one person in the world who loves you. I love you! Reminding yourself that you are loved is incredibly important. It's easy to loose sight of the idea that you are loved, but it is so true. I love each and every one of you. Saying this reminder can help you love yourself a little bit more too. "You are strong"In my darkest moments, I did not feel strong. I felt weak, scared, alone. I felt frail and broken. But I was not, I was strong and so are you. Because every day we wake up and keep fighting. We continue on no matter how broken or shitty we feel. Every day you wake up and breathe is another day you spend fighting. And that takes serious strength. I know you may not feel strong, but this is a reminder that you are. You are strong, brave, and amazing and I know that you will get through this. Telling yourself this reminder can really help you keep fighting. Even when I felt weak, I would tell myself I was strong. And it helped, I kept fighting and I know you can too! "You don't always have to be productive"As a perfectionist and ambitious person, I feel like I constantly need to be productive. I'm the kind of person who plans out my day to the minute and crams it full of activities. Maybe it's to take my mind off of my worries or situations, or maybe it's just because that's how I am, but either way, it's not healthy to be productive all the time. You need a break sometimes. So reminding yourself that it's okay if you're not productive is an important way to help yourself accept the idea that you can take a break. Your mental health is your first priority, so take a break if it will help you! "You are allowed to feel"You are allowed to feel. It is important to feel. Angry, scared, sad, upset, stressed, happy, tired, you name it. Feelings are so important, and suppressing them can damage your mental health. I've grown up suppressing all of my feelings. Trying to be the perfect child who is always happy and quiet. But this is not a healthy practice at all, let your feelings out! Remind yourself that you are allowed to have feelings. You are human. Feel your feelings and don't let anyone tell you that you are not allowed to feel.
I hope you all enjoyed this quick blog post and implement some of these daily reminders. I love you all, and as always, if you ever need to talk, I'm here for you. My Dm's are always open on @the.doodle.project. Have a great day/night/any other time of day. <3 The Doodle Project Hey guys, welcome back to the blog! I don't know about y'all, but to be honest I've been feeling pretty lonely during self isolation. I've actually been enjoying it, since I've had way more time to myself and less school haha, but I've been finding it really hard to maintain relationships. I'm not a very social person (shoutout to all the introverts out there), so I haven't initiated a lot of calls to my friends or family. Sometimes they call me, but if I'm being honest I don't think I'm all that important to them. So here I am, left alone in quarantine with only my dogs to comfort me. But today I decided to do something different. I called one of my friends up today in between classes. Then I realized that I really needed to get on top of maintaining my relationships, since I've been feeling pretty down and lonely. So, I compiled this list of 5 ways for me, and anyone else who needs it, to maintain relationships during quarantine. Also, a little side note, but I promise this is my last quarantine post. I know y'all probably don't want to hear too much about it, so after this week I will move on to other content. <3 1: Call A friendI know this seems really obvious and you're probably wondering why I even decided to include it. But honestly, never underestimate the power of a phone call. For me, it's really difficult to call people for some reason, so I've been working up the courage to call up my best friends. I finally got around to it today, and I'm so thankful I did. It's important to talk to people throughout these uncertain times, since they can be your support and can help you think of things other than the pandemic. If you don't really want to call people up, you can also text. And, as always, I am always here to listen if you want to talk. Dm me on Instagram (@the.doodle.project) if you want to talk. I'm here for you :). If you're comfortable, FaceTime or Zoom can be great ways to talk to people face to face. I've been having family dinners with my aunt and grandparents over Zoom, which are so much fun! I'd say that maintaining verbal connection with those in your life is incredibly important, especially right now. Now is a time where we need to join together and support each other, and talking to friends is a great way to do so! 2: Mail your friends a care packageI just recently did this with my friends, and it was so fun! Sending care packages to your friends is a great way to let them know that you're thinking of them and you care about them. Adding items that are inside jokes, funny, or sweet can make them, and you, feel so much better during these difficult times. And don't worry, if you don't want to go to the post office, digital care packages are just as good. I sent digital care packages because my friends weren't accepting mail. I put a long letter, a funny video of me doing a makeup challenge, and a collage in my digital care package for them. It's also a great way to spend some free time and get your mind off of the crazy things happening in the world right now. 3: Talk through any conflictThis point is especially important if you're living with someone else during self isolation. I don't know about you, but being around someone every hour of every day is a disaster waiting to happen in my household! If you get into an argument with the people you live with, it's important to talk it out. Don't avoid the conflict, as that will most likely make matters worse. Have a respectful conversation with anyone you've argued with to try to work out the problem. On another note, if you and your friends fight over FaceTime, text, etc. it can be easy to ignore them and the problem. However, just because you're not at school, work, etc. doesn't mean you can avoid them. It's best to have a respectful conversation to work out the problem over FaceTime or Zoom, as uncomfortable as it may seem. Talking out conflict is essential to maintaining healthy relationships. 4: Take A breakThis one is so important! It's okay to take a break from the people in your life that are frustrating you. As I mentioned above, it is important to work out conflict, and I am not saying to avoid that conflict. Instead, I'd like to enforce the idea that if someone is making you uncomfortable, anxious, angry, etc., it's okay to take a break from that relationship. Now is a good time to figure out which relationships you have are healthy. I've realized which people in my life actually care about me and my well-being, and have also discovered the people who don't really care about me. If you want to take a break from anyone for any reason, you should definitely do so! You are your first priority. 5: Support your relationship with yourselfMaintaining relationships also means maintaining a good relationship with yourself. Take this time to do some self-care and reflection. I personally have been loving journaling as a form of self care. It's so nice to let out my feelings through writing. Also, check in with yourself. How are you feeling? Are you anxious, tired, sad? Recognize those feelings and realize that they are valid. It's okay to feel sad, anxious, angry, unsure, insecure, and every other emotion you can think of. It's hard to be alone with yourself for so long, so if you ever need to talk, I am here for you. Maintaining your relationship with yourself is the most important relationship to maintain. I hope you guys liked this post. As always, I am here if you need to talk! Also, important update: my Redbubble store is open! I've designed mental health related stickers, so feel free to check them out. I'm still getting used to digital art, but I promise my skill will improve. I love you all so much and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe.
<3 The Doodle Project The longer we've been in quarantine, the more afraid I've become. What started as a small virus in Wuhan has now become a worldwide pandemic, and I have to admit: that's pretty scary. A lot of people worldwide have experienced anxiety as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. And that's okay. We're in a middle of a really scary time, and your feelings are valid. Countless people have reached out to me voicing their concerns regarding COVID-19, so I decided to create this blog post to give you guys some self care ideas for this difficult time. Hopefully, these help you to de-stress and take your mind off of our crazy world. Just know that this will all pass. And, as always, if you want to talk to someone, my DM's are always open. I will also soon be making a blog post with helplines and resources that you can reach out to if you're feeling anxious. Now, on to the tips! 1: Listen To MusicNever underestimate the power of music! Seriously, countless studies have shown the benefits music has on mental health, as it can calm you down and take your mind off thoughts. There are tons of music playlists and apps out there with calming music, but I prefer to make my own. Recently, I made playlists containing songs for some of my moods. Making different playlists is a fun, engaging activity that helps me calm down and take my mind off being anxious. Making your own mood playlists is really simple. All you have to do is compile a list of your favorite songs and then categorize them by mood. For example, I like to listen to the song "Riptide" by Vance Joy when I'm happy. This activity really helps me when I'm anxious because it allows me to think about something else. 2: Watch TVWatching TV is definitely something I've been doing a lot of during my time in quarantine. TV is a powerful tool to allow you to focus on something other than COVID-19 when you need a break! I have especially been loving comedies. There's nothing better than a good laugh, especially right now! I've been loving Brooklyn 99, Good Girls, The Good Place, and The Circle (on Netflix). Speaking of watching TV, I just want to touch on the idea that it's okay if you're not productive during quarantine. Many people, including myself, feel increased pressure to use their time wisely and be productive, but honestly this just isn't a reality. Focus on you and your mental health, and if you think you need a TV break, watch some TV! 3: Call SomeoneSocial distancing can result in feelings of loneliness for a lot of people, but remember: social distancing doesn't mean social isolation. Calling people up on zoom, FaceTime, etc. can help provide you with some social contact to help with feelings of loneliness. Personally, I've been calling a lot of friends who I haven't talked to in a while. I've also been having family Zoom dinners, which have been so much fun! It's also a great way to spend time when you're bored. With commutes, shortened work and school hours (for some), and limited activities, I've found myself having a lot more time on my hands. Calling up a friend and talking to them has helped me get my mind off of COVID-19 and has helped with my feelings of loneliness. 4: JournalJournaling is one of my favorite activities to do right now! It's a great way to let out my thoughts and unwind. I've been journaling in two ways. First, I've been writing daily about my thoughts, activities I did, what's happening in the world, etc. Usually, the entries are not very long and take less than 5 minutes. It's just a way for me to express my thoughts and let them out! I've also been doing visual journaling, which involves filming a video of myself for future reference. Video journaling is a fun way to look back to 2020 in the future and see how much I've grown as a person. It's also a fun activity to do to document a moment in world history! In both ways, looking back on these journals in the future, we can see how much we've grown both as an individual and as a global community. :) 5: Have Some Tea or another hot drinkHaving a good drink can be a game changer! I'm not sure if it's just me, but a nice, warm cup of tea can totally change my mood. I've especially been enjoying hot chai and matcha with almond milk. Chamomile has also been one of my go to's. This probably sounds kind of stupid, but a warm cup of tea can make me feel so much better when I'm feeling anxious. If tea's not your thing, try coffee, hot chocolate, or any other hot drink!
I hope you all enjoyed this post and that you try some of these self care tips to help during this difficult time. We will get through this together, and if you want to talk, my DM's are always open (on @the.doodle.project). Have a great day/night/any other time of day! <3 The Doodle Project |
ReminderThese blog posts are not a substitute for professional medical advice. ArchivesCategories |