Over the last few months I finally got to experience summer in Chicago without snow and dreary weather! And it was incredible! Since I’ve been working in Pilsen, a neighborhood on Chicago’s southwest side, I fell in love with it so here is my guide to the best of Pilsen. From food to culture, Pilsen is one of the greatest neighborhoods Chicago has to offer. I’ve been working near the 18th street pink line stop, so most of these recommendations are within walking distance of it. Gentrification in Pilsen Over the last decade, Pilsen has experienced rising rents and increased development as neighborhoods like West Loop on its north side…
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Vegan for a Month
My meal planning struggles have reached new heights this summer, since I have to cook all my meals, so I asked my cousin, Kaitlyn, to write about her experience trying the hardest thing in the whole world: her month meal planning as a vegan. Veganism. Carnivores everywhere clutch their steaks in disbelief and pray it isn’t contagious. Family members furtively assure themselves it’s a phase and will be long over with by Thanksgiving. The rest of the world looks on in various stages of derision and apathy at the tree-hugging hippie trying in vain to save the cows. Take it from me. In my extensive month as a vegan (plus…
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I Tried (and Hated) SoulCycle | #DoYouEvenLiftRo
After running the marathon and trying CorePower Yoga, I decided it was time to try another cult exercise class, SoulCycle. I wanted to do a whole month of classes, and spent the spring saving so I could afford them. I was so excited to try it, so you can imagine my disappointment when I finally took my first few classes. Honestly, I’m the ideal SoulCycle client. Health-conscious millennial blogger that I am, I love exercise, loud music, and cardio. SoulCycle should’ve been the single greatest addition to my exercise plan. I planned to try a whole month of classes, saved money for them, and even talked my mom and my…
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Working Woman: What 9 Women Wear to Work
I’ve been having a little trouble adapting my near uniform of athleisure to the working world so I asked a bunch of my friends to tell me about how they dress for their summer jobs (in a variety of fields). Then I went through my own closet to force myself to wear real adult clothing. I have amazing friends, working in a variety of sectors across the country (and the world!), so I called upon them to teach me how to get dressed for work. This is what they said! Becca I work in two very different areas: an office space and in my own photography business. Mixing the two…
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Namaste Beaches: My Week at CorePower Yoga | #DoYouEvenLiftRo
After the marathon, I figured it’d be good to spend my exercise time doing something a little less extreme to my body. In my eyes, there really isn’t anything that puts less stress on your body than yoga so I decided it was time to give yoga another try. I challenged myself to a week where I went to a CorePower Yoga (CPY) class every day (which is convenient, since CPY offers a free week of Yoga). CPY has a cult following on campus primarily populated by girls in other sororities so I decided it was time to claim a spot for mine. I recruited my sisters that stuck around…
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I Ran a Marathon: Bay of Fun(die) | #DoYouEvenLiftRo
This was the hardest thing I have ever done. After six months of relentless training, I took a few days off of work, jumped on a plane to Boston, grabbed my mom and my friend Katie, drove 7 hours up to Canada, and ran 26.2 miles of non-stop hills on an almost 80 degree day with barely any shade. Six hours of grueling pain later, I crossed the finish line. This is what it was like to run my first marathon at the Bay of Fundy. Deciding to Run I played soccer throughout my childhood and ran cross country in high school, so I was reasonably active before college. Last…
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End of Year Review 2016-2017
What a year! In a whirlwind, I’m ~officially~ halfway done with college and I made it out (mostly) alive. Remember those goals I had for the year? Well, here is how they went and a sneak preview of what the summer could have in store for me! This year was a rollercoaster of emotion. Life knocked me down a few times, but I came back better than ever, and am ready to take on the world. As you know, at the end of every quarter, I try to do a comprehensive life review-here are the Fall and Winter incarnations- to make sure that I am on the right track. The…
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5 Tips to Help You Survive Finals When All You Want is Summer
I’ve mentioned a few times that I go to a school on the quarter system, which is really great until the end of May. The worst part about being on the quarter system is that while all your friends at other schools are off enjoying the weather and reveling in the endless joy of summer, we are stuck taking finals. So I reached out to my friends to see what tricks they use to make it through these last couple weeks of school, and to bring you a comprehensive guide beating those “It Should Be Summer” Blues. 1. Avoid Reminders of Summer While Studying Its easy to let FOMO get you…
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Healthy Self Criticism
This year, I’ve spent a bunch of time and effort trying different ways to maximize my awesomeness: everything from starting to time track to running a half marathon. These projects came out of the initial set of goals I created for this school year. With only 5 weeks until the end of this school year (the deadline for my goals), I have been thinking about the way I evaluate my progress. This is how I evaluate myself holistically to make sure that I am motivated for the next steps, but also proud of the progress I have made. With all the running and weight lifting, I stopped stepping on the scale for…
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Beyond the Newsfeed: A Guide to Making the Most of Your Phone Time
This week, I was minding my own business scrolling through my newsfeed, when I saw an article that said that college women spend an average 10 hours a day on their phones. This was absolutely crazy to me, so this is how I use my phone time, make the time I spend with it work for me, and what I’m doing to prevent cell-phone addiction (which is a real thing). The Study The 2014 study, out of Baylor University, surveyed 164 college students on their cell phone use across 24 categories to identify the ones most associated with cell-phone addiction. They found that most cellphone use is driven by a desire to…
