think

Aggregated Advice: August

~ Hannah Kate ~ Leave a comment

If you Google “quotes about life” about 191 million results will come up. And while it’s hard to boil down This Thing We Call Life into a nice bitesize quote, these are a few of my favorites that I have encountered over the past month. Everyone has a different approach to life: “Don’t look back”, “Have a five year plan”, “YOLO” etc. I think the most important thing to remember is there is no right way to live your life because at the end of the day it’s yours.

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Source: http://claireelizabethbavis.tumblr.com
I suddenly realize it’s no coincidence the two middle letters of life are if.

– Michael Faudet

A year from now what will you wish you had done today?

– Liam Linisong

Source: quotablecards magnet

The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work.

– Oprah Winfrey

Source: Daily inspiration desk calendar

img_4626For weekday motivation I have been loving Shine, which texts (or Facebook messages)  you inspirational messages in the morning. It’s the perfect way to start the day and it’s not just a static piece of advice, oh no, it includes links to more relevant information and “why” and “how” you can accomplish their suggestions.

 

 

Summer Reading

~ Hannah Kate ~ Leave a comment

When I was in high school I wasn’t annoyed by summer reading, it was probably my favorite homework assignment of the entire school year. I always read the book from cover to cover even if I didn’t like the book. My required reading introduced me to some great classics and created interesting discussions once everyone was back in the classroom. I was usually in the minority of people who liked the book (and actually read all of it)—yes, even Fahrenheit 451. Aside from my summer reading, I always read a bunch of other books and this hasn’t stopped since I’ve graduated. Here are some of the books I have been enjoying this summer, some of them are new and some are favorites that deserve to be re-read. Continue reading →

Jamaica, Jamaica

~ Hannah Kate ~ 2 Comments

Traveling last week to Jamaica taught me a lot about how your expectations can affect the overall outcome of a situation. I was not eager to go to Jamaica, mostly because the main purpose of my trip was to get my student visa and as anyone who has ever had to get a visa knows the process is less than fun. It’s a lot of paperwork before you travel and then waiting at the embassy and a steady stream of stress throughout. I was planning on waiting for my visa, so I was in Jamaica from Monday to Friday. 

Now wanting to make the best of the situation, I went to the bookstore the weekend before and picked up two books, which I intended to finish during my trip (spoiler alert: I did). However, my grandma, who was accompanying me, informed me that we would be doing something every day. I’m honestly grateful that we ended up doing something every day because as cliché as it sounds life is short and it’s important to make the most of every moment. 

Continue reading →

Aggregated Advice: June

~ Hannah Kate ~ Leave a comment

It’s the first days of July, which I can hardly believe-the pieces below carried me through May and June. In these past two months there has been many transitions and changes in my life and I’m trying to figure out how to remain steady when the waves of life get a little high.

When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.

– Franklin D. Roosevelt

Seen on Soulpancake’s tumblr

The most satisfying pleasures are the surprising ones, the ones that can’t be engineered.

– Adam Phillips

Seen in  Rookie’s Issue 57 Editor’s Letter

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single minute before starting to improve the world.

-Anne Frank

Seen on my mom’s daily inspirational calendar

Procrastination is the thief of time. Collar him!

-Charles Dickens (David Copperfield) 

Seen in this useful article  on how to stop procrastinating

Great things happen when you have the courage to be yourself.

-Michael Sam

Seen on Refinery29’s Instagram

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5 Lessons I Learned During My Gap Year

~ Hannah Kate ~ 1 Comment

It has been two weeks since I got back from spending seven months in Paris and it honestly it feels like it was a dream. The time went by so quickly (side note: a valuable lesson I learned is that time passes quickly, so you should make the most of every second) and it seems impossible that I am coming home for the summer when it feels like yesterday I was waving to my family from the door of my of host family’s apartment. Taking a gap year was easily one of my top five experiences and I encourage anyone who has the opportunity to take one. Aside from the learning I was doing in the courses I was taking, living in Paris was its own education. After reflecting, these are the five lessons I learned from my gap year, which I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

Continue reading →

Aggregated Advice: April

~ Hannah Kate ~ Leave a comment

This month I have been thinking about doing the work, looking towards the future and being sure of yourself.

“Mes plus beaux souvenirs sont ceux du futur.” – Salvador Dalí

Seen at the Espace Dalí in Paris. (My fondest memories are those of the future.) 

“You better back up that beauty with hard work.” – Rosanna Scotto

This quote caught my attention while reading about the patterns of successful people.

“You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.” – Rosa Parks 

Seen on Glamour’s Tumblr.

“We thrive not when we’ve done it all, but when we still have more to do.” – Sarah Lewis

Seen on the TEDxNYU Instagram.

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.” – Thomas Edison

Mad about Madrid

~ Hannah Kate ~ Leave a comment

I kept forgetting that I was going to Madrid, which is understandable since my friend and I put our trip together in less than 24 hours. I really wanted to travel somewhere during my spring break, but didn’t have anyone to go with. I was talking with my friend and she mentioned she had a few days free and wanted to go to Spain, and I said, “Well, I would love to go to Spain.” And by midnight that same night we had plane tickets and an Airbnb booked. I was going to Spain! 

Honestly, one of the best parts about studying abroad is the opportunity to travel: you can take a plane for an hour and a half and you will be in a new country with a different language and culture. 

I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do once I was in Madrid, but knew I needed some sort of plan since I was only going to be there for two full days. I did a quick Google search of “Top 10 Things to Do in Madrid” and found a few things that really caught my attention. 

So without further ado here’s what I did and ate in Madrid…  Continue reading →

Vampires, Tattoos, and Hackers… Oh My!

~ Hannah Kate ~ 2 Comments

So here’s a fact about me, like a lot of  millenials   people, I don’t really watch TV in a traditional sense, I can’t remember the last time I sat down in front of a TV and watched a show all the way through with *shudder* commercials. (This could also partially be because I have been living in another country for the past 5ish months, but I digress).

Most of my television watching is via Netflix or watching the highlights the day after on YouTube. However, I miss the rush of filling up a week’s worth of new shows on my DVR and slowly weeding out the terrible Fall debuts like my own personal Hunger Games. 

And it seems the networks are trying their hardest to make sure I was aware of their new shows. Billboards, ads before I’m trying to catch up with my favorite YouTubers, ads before I’m trying to watch a movie in the cinema, etc., etc.

I have hit a bit of a slump, so used the majority of my Christmas iTunes gift cards to experiment with a few new shows. I tend to give shows a little leeway and won’t make final judgements based on their pilot (everyone deserves a second chance). However, there are shows that have immediately captured my attention and I actually rewatch the pilot (I don’t even know how many times I’ve watched the pilot for Suits). Here are my initial thoughts about the shows I purchased (in no particular order): Continue reading →

Aggregated Advice: January

~ Hannah Kate ~ Leave a comment

I read and hear a lot of things and think, I should probably write those things down. This will help me in the future. Then I thought, I should collect all of this information and put it on my blog to help other people. So here is the first “Aggregated Advice” post, which will be posted at the end of the month. Be sure to check out the links, as they might be the source of the content or something else that ties in nicely with the piece of advice.

“You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” – Jim Rohn 

Taken from this Lifehack article on finding your passion.

“The standards by which you live must be your own standards, your own values, your own convictions in regard is right and wrong, what is true and false, what is important and what is trivial. When you adopt the standards and values of someone else or a community or a pressure group, you surrender your own integrity. You become, to the extent of your surrender, less of a human being.” – Eleanor Roosevelt 

Taken from the February 2015 Rookie Editor Letter.

“To make living itself an art, that is the goal.” – Henry Miller 
“If you don’t imagine, nothing will ever happen at all.” -John Green 

Seen on Upworthy’s Facebook.

“Goals are dreams with deadlines.”

My mom sent me and my sister an e-mail to encourage us to go after our dreams and make them come true by turning them into goals. (Thanks, Mom!) I encourage you to do the same and make 2016 your most successful year.