14 THINGS TO DO IF YOU’RE SINGLE THIS VALENTINE’S DAY

As soon as February hits, everyone starts thinking about Valentine’s Day. Some people detest it whether they are in a relationship or not, and others refer to it as Single’s Awareness Day. But if you aren't in a relationship, it is really like any other weekend night with your friends.

On this day it starts to seem like everywhere you look there is another couple.

 The day might start off with a bit of cynicism.

But once the evening starts to settle in, you realize it's going to be a great night.

1. Have a Girls Night Out. Break out the cute clothes you got on impulse buys over winter break. It's the perfect occasion for a GNO.

2. Try New Recipes. Does anyone else pin everything recipe on Pinterest but never actually take the time to make them? Pick a theme or a type of food, and choose a few different recipes to try out with friends. You could make a whole meal out of it, or order takeout and just make desert!

3. Have a Party. You don't have to fill your apartment or house to have a good time. Invite some of your single friends over, and who knows by the end of the night someone might have found their Valentine.

4. Plan a Classy Dinner Party. Want an excuse to get all dressed up? Make it a formal affair. Have someone bring a side dish, someone else bring a salad, and break out the nice glasses at dinner.

5. Make a Movie Run. It's pretty tricky to see movies while you are on campus unless you know someone with a car. Now's the time you could catch up on some of the movies you have missed this year on Redbox. Or get your friends and roommates to round up their DVD collections, and plan out your movie marathon.

6. Spend Some Time With Ryan Gosling. See if you can get a collection of Gosling's best roles together. If you don't have a date, you might as well have someone to swoon over.

7.  Get a Group to Go Out to Dinner. Don't feel like making a meal? Plan a group dinner at nearby restaurant, or see if any of your friends have a car to open up your options. You might even want to make a reservation if you know how many people want to go.

8. Find an Event Around Campus. Check out the nearby venues to see if any of the bands you like are coming to town. Or maybe there is some events at popular places on campus or some student organizations that might be worth checking out.

9. Have a Gift Exchange. Instead of Secret Santa, plan a Secret Admirer's gift exchange with friends. Set a $5 or $10 limit, and treat each other this Valentine's Day.

10. Host a Girls Night In. Celebrate your singleness with a night filled with facials, food, and friends. Grab a few movies and your favorite nail polishes. Maybe even combine this with #2 to have snacks while you and your girls are relaxing.

11. Go to the Movies. If you are able to get off campus, check out the latest films with a large popcorn to pass around. Maybe you will even a group of cute single guys at the theater.

12. Go on a Scavenger Hunt. Ever seen the movie Sleepover? Those girls may have been graduating junior high, but that doesn't mean that idea is juvenile. Set your boundaries around campus, and come up with a list of things to find or accomplish. You could even have a battle of the sexes with your guy friends and create a little friendly competition.

13. Make Breakfast For Dinner. For some reason eating pancakes for dinner sounds more fun than eating them as an actual breakfast. Get your friends to pick up whipped cream and maybe even some chocolate chips and sprinkles. If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, you will be extra prepared for a fun night.

14. Attend Someone Else's Party. Just like any other weekend night, someone is hosting a party so you don't have to. Go over to a friends apartment or meet up with friends who have somewhere to go. You might even meet some of your friends' other single friends.

Valentine's Day might seem like a commercial holiday that highlights the fact that your love life is non-existent. But it doesn't have to be that bad! It is another night filled with possibilities. Don't write it off before the it even begins, because it might just be one of the best nights of the semester.

A version of this post first appeared on Her Campus.

WHAT I WOULD TELL MYSELF AT SIXTEEN

At 16 I was positive that I had it all figured out. I knew then that I was destined to be a healer. I wanted nothing more than to be able to see the world in terms of figures and numbers, because I had to be good at math and science if I wanted to be successful in life. Everyday I tried to suppress my desire to write and create imaginary places in my mind. I had been writing stories since I was able to write, but I had wanted to be a doctor just as long. 

If there was one thing that I was even more sure of, it was that I needed to have it all figured out then. People told me that I had time to decide, but those same people had been asking what I wanted to do since I was old enough to understand that grown-ups went to work. Looking back I realize how much pressure I put on myself. To some degree, it is normal. People often hold themselves to higher standards than necessary, and those standards can cause a lot of anxiety.

1. You don't need to know what you are going to do with the rest of your life.

Some people change their career two or three times in their lives. They go back to school or decide to start their own business, or they try something completely different. It's okay to change your mind. It took my dad telling me one day that it was okay if I decided not to be a doctor for me to realize that. I had been telling people I wanted to be a doctor for so many years; it had become a part of me. And everyone was so proud. Maybe I didn't realize they could be proud of me if I chose to do something else.

2. Stop punishing yourself when you don't get the grade. 

I spent way too many nights doing homework from time I got home from school until I went to bed. My grades were always on my mind. I wanted to go to a good college, and in order to do that I knew that I had to get good grades. But I always pushed myself harder than I needed to. Now, I would tell myself not to be so hard on myself, because in the end the grades didn't matter as much as I thought they would.

3. Don't compare yourself to your classmates.

My class was over 800 people. I'm pretty sure we had some of the best and the brightest in the state. Senior year, our "Top Ten" comprised of something like 21 students. One of my friends was retaking the SAT with me, because she had gotten a couple wrong and wanted a perfect score. She had gotten a couple wrong. Needless to say she is now at Harvard, and I am certain she will change the world. But among students this focused, it was hard not to be competitive. It was as if there was an unspoken competition about how many AP classes you were taking, how many extra curricular activities you were involved in, and how many leadership positions you held. Comparing yourself to other people isn't fair. You come from different backgrounds. You had different opportunities, and you think differently. Please know, that is okay.

4. Dress for yourself.

I would tell myself to make sure that every day I got up and got ready for me. Don't compare your sense of style or clothes to anyone else. Your curly hair doesn't have to be straightened to be pretty, and don't let anyone else make you think otherwise.

5. Write more.

The only way to improve is to keep writing. The world isn't meant to only be seen one way, and it needs more people who are willing to go after what they want. Write stories. Write poems. Write, because you can.

6. Stop stressing about college.

You will get into college. And you will love it. All of your hard work is going to pay off, and it won't all be for nothing. It won't be an easy decision, because nothing that really matters ever is. But you will end up where you are meant to be, and you will wonder why you spent all that time worrying about it.

7. Don't worry about boys--especially the older ones.

Boys are great. But in high school, there are so many other things to be concerned with. My dad once said that it was better to just have friends that were boys, because then I could have as many as I wanted and they couldn't be jealous of each other. Maybe he was only trying to make me feel better, and I didn't end up actually having that many guy friends until college, but I would say it was pretty good advice.

8. Keep an open mind. 

You don't have to be A or B. There are so many possibilities of what you can do in this world, and you don't always have to stick with your plans. I think some of the best experiences come from trying out something you wouldn't normally do or choosing a path that you never considered before.

9.  Take more risks. 

 Try out new things--even when you don't want to. Walking on the right side of the road might seem like the right thing to do, but then you will never know what you are missing on the other side.

10. I am proud of you.  

I will never be able to change the past, and I am okay with that. I am proud of the person I was in high school. Looking back, I could have cut myself some slack every once in a while, but overall I am pretty happy with the way things turned out. Most importantly, I have grown since then. I am able to look back and know now that it is okay to relax, because the world is not going to end if I don't figure it all out tomorrow. 

What would you tell your younger self? Would you have done anything differently?


Today's post was inspired by The College Prepster.

GOALS VS. ACCOMPLISHMENTS

 

Lately, I have been extraordinary lazy. I have had all these big ideas about what I want to get done. So many days start with ambition and hope. But then I get tired, and I usually watch Netflix. Friends is now on Netflix, in case you have been living under a rock for the last few months. I am addicted. I used to watch the reruns all the time on Nick at Nite and ABC Family, but it is still funny every time. Plus, this time I am watching them in order. 

In my head my day should go like this: 

7:30 AM: Wake up. Get ready for the day. 

8:00 AM: Make my morning smoothie. 

8:30 AM: Start writing and learning Java Script. 

10:30 AM: Take a mid-morning break (20 minutes or so).

12:00 PM: Lunch time. 

12:30 PM: Resume blogging/writing short stories/scholarship applications. 

2:30 PM: Break. 

3:00 PM: Read a book. 

5:00 PM: Eat dinner/ go out to dinner with friends. 

7:00 PM: Spend time being social. 

10:00 PM: Watch an episode or two of Friends. 

11:00 PM: Go to bed. (And feel accomplished). 

In Reality: 

Between 9:00 AM and 10:30 AM: Wake up. 

Between 10:45 AM and 1:00 PM: Eat some sort of meal. 

Between 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM: Think about being productive. Decide to start later. Turn on Friends. (Maybe even read a couple pages of a book.)

Between 3:30PM and 5:30 PM: Feel bad for not doing anything all day. 

Between 5:30 PM and 7:30 PM: Someone makes dinner. 

Between 8:00 PM and 10:30 PM: Goof around with my little sister and watch something with my family. 

Between 11:00 PM and 12:30 PM: Watch more Friends. 

So, Taylor. You didn't get anything done, again? 

Now, not every day goes like this. But winter break is somehow half over, and I feel like I have not accomplished anything. I was hoping to get a lot more writing done. Unfortunately, I have not had the motivation or inspiration lately. I want to change that.

This month I have a little more time on my hands than usual, and I want to stick with my writing goals. A few months ago I decided that I wanted to get at least one piece of writing done a week. I was pretty consistent for a while. I was updating my blog more frequently and writing for Her Campus more. With the New Year I would like to make sure I stick with my goals, and I would like to make sure that at least once a month I finish a piece of writing that is not for my blog or Her Campus--or school.

I want to write more fiction. Also, I have thought a lot about it for the last few years, and I want to try my hand in poetry. The last time I wrote a poem was for my creative writing class in the Spring of 2012. And in fact, I think I ended up making it into a song, anyway. My biggest high school regret is not taking that poetry class I almost switched into with one of my favorite teachers my senior year. So this semester my goal is learn to write at least one decent poem.

One of these days I will start actually being productive.

For now, I feel like this:

When my brain feels guilty for not doing anything: Taylor, you should really do something besides watch Netflix and play Trivia Crack.

But then I think: 

I would love to keep writing, but I have a plans with Rachel, Ross, Joey, Phoebe, Chandler, and Monica in a few minutes. Until next time.

What goals have you been putting off? Are you watching Friends, too?

2014 IN REVIEW

It never ceases to amaze me how much can change in a year. We are always looking forward to the future, dreaming of what it could bring and hoping that every day will be better than the previous. As with every year, 2014 had its ups and downs. The difference with this year is I learned how God's timing doesn't always align with our own plans. I believe it's important to look ahead and do what you can to forge a good path for yourself, but this year more than ever I began to realize the power of the forces that we cannot control.

When I say God's timing doesn't always align with our own, I mean that sometimes we can have ideas about where we see ourselves in a certain amount of time or things that we want to happen, but sometimes things take longer. It's easy to get into that "I want it, and I want it now" mentality. We want to make progress over night, and we want our dreams to come true, but it's never simple. This year, the most important thing I learned was to remember that when we don't get something we want it's because there is something better in store for us. 

I am grateful for the downs that turned into ups, and I am grateful for all of the unexpected ups that made all the downs make sense. This year was one I will never forget.

January

• I got to spend an entire month at home for break. 
• I went skiing for the 2nd time in my life with friends from my dorm.

February

•  I surprised my mom with a weekend at home for my birthday. I swear she looked like she saw a ghost before she started crying, because she was so happy I was home. It was the best.
•  My friends made me the best birthday surprise ever (the video above)!

March

•  I learned HTML and CSS and created my first web pages. 
• The Badger Basketball team got into the Final Four! On Wisconsin!

April

• I made my first podcast ever for a class project. 
• I volunteered at the Wisconsin Film Festival.

May

• I completed my freshman year. 
• My floor had a bonfire bonding night to close out the year.
• I started watching my 4 year old sister, Sydney. I even thought I would blog about it.

June

• I discovered how massive the blogosphere is.
• I decided to start taking my blog more seriously. And the construction began. 

July

• I went to Basilica Block Party for the 3rd consecutive summer. 
• I contributed to hitRECord--Joseph Gordon Levitt's online production company.  
• I got together with a couple of college friends to send another college friend birthday cookies. 

August

• I decided to sponsor a blog for the first time.
• I had my last day working at an Ice Cream and French Fries shop.
• I moved into my first apartment.  
• I ran my first 5K Color Me Rad. 
• I started making blog friends! (This was one of the most exciting parts of diving further into blogging).

September

• I started my second year of college. 
• I got accepted to write for Her Campus-Wisconsin.
• I got a job at a local television station. 
• I participated in my first blogger Twitter chat.

October

• I declared my major in Communication Arts--the Radio, TV, Film track, with a Digital Studies minor.
• I wrote my first sponsored post!
• I signed a lease for a house next year.
• I got to see two of my best friends when they came to visit for Halloween. 
• I got to go to Q&A with TV writer, Stephen Falk.

November

• I saw Ingrid Michaelson live!
• I got to go to a Q&A with documentary filmmaker and UW Alum Jason Cohen.
•  My grandma beat cancer!

December 

• My apartment hosted an Ugly Sweater Christmas party.
• I finished my 3rd semester of college. 

A year ago, I wrote a New Year's post that admitted I have always been a writer. It wasn't easy for me. Being a writer is something I have struggled with for years. It is a part of my identity that I have had a hard time coming to terms with. It is not because I am ashamed of my writing--it's something more than that. I guess part of it is that I have always feared that other people won't accept me as a writer or that I will never become anything as a writer. This year changed that for me. I had people reach out to me to tell me how much they enjoyed reading my blog. Some of these people I hadn't talked to in years or seen in forever, and I never imagined some of these people were even reading my blog.

There is nothing that compares to feeling of someone saying that what you love doing matters. At first, I even had to peek through some of my old posts wondering what ones people were referring to as "good" or "refreshing." I questioned myself, because I had this constant internal battle over whether or not I had what it takes to go after my dreams. After a while, it really started to hit me that this is what I am supposed to be doing, and I couldn't be more grateful to that have had this kind of encouragement. 

Thank you to everyone who has supported my passion. Thank you to everyone who has reached out to me and told me that you enjoy reading my blog. Thank you to everyone who has made this year a dream come true. Your words mean more to me than you will ever know.

Happy New Year! And may 2015 bring you everything you are wishing for!


P.S. Most Popular Posts of 2014:
7 Things I Never Want My Little Sister to Feel
College Guys: Expectations VS Reality
6 Signs You are Ready for Winter Break
Fall Favorites
10 Things You Learn At College (Technically 2013, but it got even more popular in '14)