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Hello world. Quick not-so-shameless self promotion here for my terribly inconsistent instagram (but regardless of this fact), please check it out! thank you! x 

www.instagram.com/lelefaaleava

Current Music Favorite as of 2/11/15 (While I'm On A Roll / I Remember That I have A Blog)

Hey guys! So this was definitely not requested or anything but I felt like sharing some of my current music favorites (if not to look back at later out of curiosity and get a little insight into my life at this moment). There really hasn't been a running theme or any connection between my current favorites,  but most of them are songs I've returned to listening to (and some new ones!).

Songs:

Brand New Day / High Hopes / All I Want / After the Fall - all by Kodaline

Creator / Starstruck
by Santigold

Busy Earnin'
by Jungle

Word Up
by Cameo (Haha weird one but trust me it'll grow on you)

Bad Habit
by The Kooks

What I Did For Love (Feat. Emeli Sande)
by David Guetta

Wait Your Turn / Rehab
by Rihanna

Chains / Jealous
by Nick Jonas (hey let's roll with it)

Worth It
by Fifth Harmony

Sooner Or Later
by N.E.R.D

Undercover Martyn
by Two Door Cinema Club

Specific Favorite Artists (pretty much in love with anything they do):
Kodaline
Jungle
Santigold

Why I Love Mindy Kaling (And Other Things)

To start off, I want to address the fact that this post will most likely be all over the place in a kind of flurry of excitement and interest for my favorites of life-- but hopefully it will have some sort of cohesive theme tying everything together-- if not, I apologize for wasting 5-10 minutes of your time. (Or more, some of us are slow readers, okay?)

So yes, from the title and featured photo I was inspired to write about one of my favorite people, Mindy Kaling, from just recently finishing the current episode of her TV show The Mindy Project, which also just so happens to be my favorite show (comedy wise) at the moment. In this episode, (no spoilers to be had in upcoming sentences) a lot happens, along with the usual antics of lovable yet usual characters, and in some parts some of my favorite characters and their relationships with people became in jeopardy. (it's all good, for those of you who watch, don't you worry).

Seeing as I'm not a 30 something year old or even let's say (for more detailed example) a young event planner in her late twenties who likes to unwind after organizing things all day and just take time to laugh and enjoy the genius writing and acting of Mindy Kaling and the cast--- I can't really pretend like this show reflects my own stage of life. But regardless of this, I find the show to be just as funny, well written, and dare I say the dreaded "r" word? (relatable-- oh there it is).

It's kind of an odd show to be obsessed about and at the same time it really isn't. Every character on that show never fails to amuse me and although some of her pop culture references can be borderline offensive, not to say that's unusual for television, she is genuinely intelligent and funny in a way that you feel like you've known her for years. I'm beyond in love with the Mindy Project and with the current status of the show's plot (revealed through the most recent episode), I'm excited but also nervous for the future of the show!

Also involving the original Mindy, Mindy Kaling, although I am equally in love with "Mindy Lahiri", her book Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns) has been one of my favorite twenty-minutes-before-bed little something' (unless I pass out first, I have an extremely low tolerance of fatigue come to think of it). And not because her book is just some flimsy read you don't really mind falling asleep in the middle of, but because with the free time I do set aside to read, usually before bed, I am always laughing and in full enjoyment of her completely witty yet totally effortless stories and experiences she shares. When reading her book, I feel like immediately hopping on a plane and heading out to meet her just to tell her how much I love it, along with most other aspects of her life. She's an intelligent and yet comically youthful woman who definitely has inspired many of the more exciting upcoming endeavors in my life and I am very hopeful that I will one day get to meet this awesome lady.

But anyways, two suggestions for your week. Yes, both revolving around the same person and both similar comedy material but for good reason. I think you'll be happy you checked her out.

2014: In Reflection, 2015: Here we go --

Alright, so I think I, like most people, tend to separate myself out by every year. This past year was me "then", and the New Year is me now (a "clean slate"). This is just part of the completely natural tendency to push aside the old, and the worn; basically what hasn't been working. I've never had any real problems with this notion but when I really thought about the materialization of the "New Year" philosophy, (i.e. January 1st: packed gyms that might've been almost empty days before, a surplus of new and power-walking pedestrians to avoid, and complete 180° diet turn arounds) I have to admit that I believe there are other ways to go about re-inventing yourself, or just simply improving.

For starters,
- I think as much as we'd like to forget all the mistakes, faux pas' and passing trends we took a part in, it's important to remember and accept them in order to respect yourself and your potential for change and transformation (as painfully embarrassing as it is to even spend one second on ye old profile pictures)

What I really mean by this isn't that you can only grow if you shove the past in your face and get over it, but that yes, some pictures, choices and old attachments can be mortifying but every moment up to now helped you grow and in an odd and almost counter-intuitive way the bad helped to create some good.

Secondly,
Drop the diet. I don't mean that you should drop the idea of eating healthier-- that's always a good thing-- but just having the idea that what you did was wrong and you need to change (yada yada yada) can be more destructive than beneficial. Keep the ideology that you deserve to be healthy, but don't guilt yourself into it. From what I know, and have observed, it's better to take it slow and only change what you eat because you want to, not because you think you have to. Some of healthiest and best foods for you actually taste great! (matter of opinion)
Examples of some of my favorites: Quinoa, Dates, Cauliflower, Spinach, Kale, Apples

Also if you haven't tried KIND Bars, you really should. Delicious.

Now I'm hungry. Anyways, to go along with that, don't ditch your burgers or occasional fries-- but if you're looking to eat healthier for your health, and not for an image, then I definitely suggest some of the examples aforementioned.

Lastly,
I think one of the best things about the New Year has to be the fact that it's always a bit of a blind sighted/bittersweet mile marker. A whole YEAR has gone by and you don't know exactly how many you'll have (Oh god, not a cliched and cheesy reference to our own undeniable mortality, nooooooo).
Yes all of the love, friends, views, moments, food (for feelings toward see 5th word in sentence) and yes sometimes embarrassing mementos of the last year were all wrapped up in 365 days. There's a lot to be grateful for I'm sure (in the fact alone: that you are alive and well) and especially if you can look at it and appreciate yourself for getting through it and hopefully making the most of it. And if not, look toward 2015 with an intention for complete and total commitment to it. Hopefully by the time another New Year's comes you won't be drawn to "start from scratch" but to add onto something you're proud of. Not because of what you did but because of how you did it and because of what you learned along the way.

Thank you 2014. You were great.
Beyond excited to make 2015 even better.