life Tag

Yoga has risen above its conventional limits and turned into a worldwide peculiarity embraced by millions looking for physical, mental, and otherworldly prosperity. At the core of every effective yoga practice lies the direction of a skillful instructor. A decent educator goes past simply driving students through the present; they move, teach, and enable their students in their yoga process. Here are the fundamental qualities that recognize a capable yoga teacher: Authenticity and Presence An authentic instructor exudes a sincere enthusiasm for the practice and a strong commitment to it.Read More
I would like to share something that happened to me on Facebook earlier this week, and no, it had nothing to do with cat videos or a political yelling match. Monday afternoon I came across this piece in Gizmodo. For the “too long, didn’t read” crowd, it is a case study in Facebook’s community standards. User Erin La Ninfa, who runs the blog “Just Another White Hoe,” created and posted the above image to Facebook to find that she and the friends who shared it were flagged and the imageRead More

Posted On May 15, 2017By Jackie RodriguezIn Miscellaneous, Opinion, Ramblings

Not Your Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is an especially tricky holiday for the best of us. It’s even worse when your relationship with your mother leaves something to be more than desired. And it’s the hardest thing to see‒ Facebook posts from friends that love their mothers, each one a special story about their mother and the things they’re doing to repay them. Stories about the way they never can. And scrolling through each one becomes a chore because you don’t have your own to add. This is the life of someone with aRead More

Posted On December 16, 2016By Samantha SurfaceIn Girlzone, Lifestyle

An Open Letter to My Friend Who Lost a Parent

Dear Club Member, I’ve been where you are before, but you’re there now and that’s what matters.  We are members of a club that does not discriminate, but no one wants to be included.  I remember telling you I was part of this club only to have you look at me with compassion and forgiving eyes, but telling you I hope you don’t have to join for a million lifetimes.  But you’re here, with me by your side, wishing we were anywhere but here. We stand side-by-side because one parentRead More
26th birthday
Today is my 26th birthday. Two years ago, on my 24th birthday, I wrote a list of the 24 lessons life had taught me in 24 years. So, on this, my 26th birthday, I would like to amend and add to that list. Some things change, some stay the same. Here’s what 26 years on this planet have taught me: 1. Don’t drink shitty beer. If it ain’t craft-brewed, it likely tastes like horse piss. 2. Not everyone finds offensive jokes funny. Some people find them offensive. These people suck, though.Read More

Posted On November 27, 2015By Jackie RodriguezIn Girlzone, Lifestyle, Miscellaneous, Ramblings

The Ten Commandments of Copacetic Living

College is well underway and it’s that time of the year, everybody! The time when you want to slowly smother your roommate with a pillow when they sleep because their little habits are starting to seriously annoy you, and you’re wondering why you didn’t just shell out the extra three thousand for the single suite. Interspersed with the grand moments and adventures where you find yourself really grateful that you didn’t opt to live alone, of course. But if you still find yourself sighing loudly instead of laughing loudly becauseRead More

Posted On October 21, 2015By Allyson DarlingIn Dating For Women, Girlzone

This Is How You Lose Him

I want to lie on the grass. I need to be connected to something that isn’t people buzzing, or the untangling of old loves in written form, both analytical and emotional — twenty-three pages long. To something that isn’t death, or tension, or burdens that don’t belong to me, but that I’ll carry strong and true. Is this how Holden felt? Is this how a mental break begins? One moment you’re in a museum and the next you must lie on the grass. (No matter if 6,787.5 dogs have urinatedRead More

Posted On October 5, 2015By Jackie RodriguezIn Advice For Women, Girlzone, Lifestyle

5 Things Not to Do at College

From your resident college student, here are five things you absolutely should not do while attending college. I mean, you can do them, but people will not like you and will probably write mean things about you on Yik Yak. 1. Introduce yourself to the professor in a 300-student lecture I know it’s like the new “thing” – introducing yourself to the professor increases the chances of them giving you extra credit or letting an absence slip by – but please, for the love of all that is good and holy, doRead More

Posted On September 19, 2015By Samantha SurfaceIn Girlzone, Lifestyle, Miscellaneous

Accepting Acceptance

I never know when the outburst will occur. When tears will start rushing down my face without any barriers to block them from my lips. The saltiness of my tears tantalizes my tongue and I am brought back to the moments I want to forget. This is what grief feels like: for a death, a loss, or a departure of some sort that was not warranted or desired. Good-byes were always a wretched sound to me, even if their time was now and I should have met them yesterday. IRead More

Posted On September 8, 2015By Jackie RodriguezIn Girlzone, Lifestyle, Miscellaneous

What It’s Like Living with Epilepsy

Living with Epilepsy is like this: It’s going to a theme park with your best friends, only to pass out and have a seizure in the middle of a ride, and waking up with all of them around you. It’s asking, “how long was I out?”, in a heavy, slurred voice, hearing, “only a couple minutes”, but feeling like it was forever. It’s heavy limbs and incredible nausea, being unable to eat your favorite foods in your favorite place on what should be your favorite night. It’s the inability toRead More
College has forever been pushed as perhaps the greatest time in life, but does anyone ever mention the drawbacks? Well, besides the pretty much unimaginable cost, which is touted as one of the biggest drawbacks to anything ever, but doesn’t actually feel real to anyone. For example, I currently owe $8,032 to my university. Having never seen more than five hundred dollars at once, this number feels obnoxiously big and like it could be way, way, smaller. But wait, there’s more…   1. There’s walking. Like a lot. Can someone please explainRead More
It’s a little known fact that when I was graduating high school, I was also getting my PhD in life. So here it is, for your viewing pleasure– what your (leg) shaving style says about you!   Standing, one leg propped on the shelf First of all, what the fuck is wrong with you? Do you want to slip on the wet tile and fall and HACK YOUR LEG TO SHREDS? What if you slice open a vein while you’re trying to get that Gilette-promised close shave? You probably alsoRead More
1) Being anxious doesn’t mean we are not grateful for what we have: Many people with anxiety disorders are labeled as pessimists, and in some ways, this is quite understandable. I can tell you first hand that sometimes even I am shocked at the worst case scenarios I will come up with. That being said, when we are not anxious, many of us are extremely optimistic. We love our lives, our jobs, our friends, and truly take time to appreciate the people we get to share those experiences with.  Read More

Posted On July 13, 2015By Samantha SurfaceIn Dating For Women, Girlzone

What Happened to the Break Up?

The best story ever told was between someone’s fingertip and their beloved’s skin- a love story of some sort or the tale of two individuals coming together. The only thing more epic than the beginning of a love story is the ending- the final touch or the end of the caress. In today’s society, it seems as though the only thing being touched is the screen on a smart phone to start a text message, and sometimes, the ending of an affair isn’t even granted that courtesy. From my datingRead More

Posted On July 9, 2015By Jackie RodriguezIn Lifestyle, Miscellaneous, Ramblings

How to have the Ultimate Beach Trip

Summers are the one season that fools everyone. People go around talking about the weather and how nice it will be, and how much socializing they’re going to do with their friends, and all that ever happens is those same people who hyped the sun are now bemoaning its presence and sheltering themselves indoors with Netflix. There is no cure to possibility of heatstroke, and the desire to socialize is often trumped by the overwhelming urge to sleep in an air conditioned bedroom with every shade drawn. The only thingRead More