Spending Valentine's day alone can be hard, but there are many ways to turn it into an amazing self-care day. If you don't already know what self-care is, here's a brief explanation:

According to PsychCentral, self-care is "any activity that we do deliberately in order to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health."

In today's world, everyone is busy. Between work, school, friends, hobbies and more, it can be difficult to take a time to for ourselves. Even though this year's festivities take place on Wednesday, that doesn't mean you can't take time to de-stress and work on becoming the best version yourself.

A few things you can do include:

Meditate

Personally, I don't meditate often but I know when I feel anxious and worried, I like to take 15 minutes to relax and streamline my thoughts. You can meditate for 5 minutes, 10, or more.

Not sure how to meditate? There are all kinds of apps and videos that can help with guided meditation. A quick search on the internet should help you get started.

Clean your space

This may not seem like something anyone would want to do on their "self-care" day, but if they are anything like me, I find some solace in cleaning up my space. It's hard to get anything done or just relax when my room is a hot mess.

One of my favorite quotes is "Clean space, clear mind."

Create a Not-To-Do List

This is a new one for me. For the past two years I've been using a passion planner and in the month view it always has a "Not-To-Do List." For the longest, I didn't see a purpose for this space so I would put washi tape over it, but now, I get it.

The whole purpose of this list is to remind yourself of some things you should not be doing for the month. Some of mine have included:

• Get behind on homework
• Let your desk get messy
• Stress out about the little things
• Doubt yourself or your abilities

I don't always stick with the list I make, but it does help with keeping your mental and emotional well being on track.

Exercise

I hope you've been keeping up with that new year's resolution to workout 3x a week. If not, this is the perfect opportunity to get back on track. A quick 30-minute workout can do wonders. Here are some options for your consideration:

• Do some yoga and relax
• Get that cardio in
• Try some light lifting to build strength
• Or, simply go for a 30-minute walk (maybe take your dog with you?)

Exercise is a natural mood booster so get out there and give your body some self-care.

Organize your planner 

There's nothing like sitting down and organizing your planner. For me, planners aren't just for remembering what needs to be done. It's about writing down the things I have done, in simple terms, I use it to write down my memorable moments.

Take some time to jot down things you're grateful for this week, month or year. Use your planner to reflect on how you've been working toward reaching your goals or find new ways to reach them.

At-home Spa Day

This is my favorite idea because personally, I could really use a spa day. Now that skin, hair and nail care is easily accessible, why not spend the day at home, or with your Galentine, taking care of your outer appearance.

Time to bust out those products that you've been waiting to use and put that hair mask in, a face mask on and paint your nails while you catch up on your favorite TV show or just listen to some relaxing lo-fi hip-hop. The choice is yours! All I know is, you should feel 110% better and more relaxed for the rest of your week.

Self-care is often overlooked as something people don't have time for, but in my personal opinion, I find that it is something that needs to be like routine. Taking time to clear your mind and focus on yourself for a few minutes or hours is so incredibly important. Use this holiday to take the free time you have and work on yourself so that you can become the person you've always wanted to be.

Want more ideas on how to spend Valentine's day? Check out this post on how to spend it with your friends while on a budget!

How are you spending your Valentine's day this year? Leave a comment below or connect with me on my social media.

Many of us are back in school and that means back to living with our roommates. As much as we all wish we could be friends with our roommates, that's not always the reality. I would know, I've had about 10 of them in the last 4 years. Some are easy to live with, others are more difficult and few are near intolerable. Either way, we can make this experience more bearable.

Not all of our roommates were picked by us, so we have start with understanding that everyone comes from different places and were taught different things. When living with people we don't know, we have to be empathetic towards them and use good communication skills to reach a happy medium.

Set boundaries

Do your chores

Don't be petty

Congrats! You made it through the Fall semester!

Now, I hate to be the bearer of bad news... but, we now have to get through the Spring semester.

I know what you're thinking. "Another 16 weeks!?"

Yes, but we're going to set ourselves up to be as successful as possible and get through this semester as seamlessly as we can. Basically, the faster (and better) we get through the Spring semester, the sooner we can get to summer break.

Here are a few things you need to do before the semester starts:

Get organized

Meet with your advisor

Use a planner

Happy National Dog Day! To celebrate this amazing holiday, I'm going to detail all of the amazing ways Dallas, my dog, has made me a better person and improved my quality of life. Hopefully this inspires more people to adopt dogs.

Above is an infographic created by PuppySpot that shows the many ways dogs can have a great and wonderful effect on people's lives both mentally and physically.

I really love that PuppySpot is creating awareness of the many benefits that dogs give us. Especially because I can attest to many of these benefits.

Here are a few ways my dog, Dallas, has impacted my life.

Mind: Reduces Anxiety, Pain, and Depression

Heart: Lower Blood Pressure

Body: Get the Recommended Amount of Weekly Exercise

Speaking of exercise and happiness, I'm sure we all know that exercise has great benefits such as "improving mental health and mood, reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, and increase your chances of living longer." - Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

I currently don't work out very much or at all, but walking Dallas daily for 30 minutes to an hour is a great start.

But keep in mind that these are just a few ways, there are so many other things dogs can do to improve someone's life. One way you can learn more about it is to get a dog and find out for yourself.

This semester I'm going to be living off campus...again. At home with my mom, to be exact. But now that I've spent nearly a year as a commuter student, I've learned quite a bit. Here are a few tips I have for you.

Meal Prep, Meal Prep, Meal Prep

Find a Cool On-Campus Hangout Spot

Join a Club

Get to Know Your Transportation

Use Social Media to Connect with Other Off-Campus Students

Make Awesome Music Playlist

Last year, I did a post about Dorm Room Shopping. If you are looking for ways to figure out what you need or what you don't need, I would highly recommend reading that post here.

So, now that we know what we need let's talk about some things you might encounter while living in the dorms.

Roommates

Having roommates can be very exciting and a great time, but they can also be not so great. Either way, it's okay. Personally, I found that living in the dorms was a great experience and I was able to learn more about sharing my space. Which is something I had never done before. (Only child here!)

In my college career, I have had 9 roommates, but not all at the same time. Some of them were great, some were okay, and some were just awful. Either way, I enjoyed the company.

Meal Plans

If there's anything I don't like, it has to be dining halls. That is the one thing I DO NOT miss about living on campus. I hated eating the food. It always tasted weird and made me gain weight very quickly. If you can, avoid the dining hall. Also, note that all schools are different. Some have amazing dining halls and others have really bad ones.

Moving In and Out

My biggest tip for anyone living in the dorms is: What you move in with is what you move out with.

I worked for my college's housing department for nearly 2 years and the moving in and out process was always the most difficult part for most students. They either brought too much or too little. Then when the school year was over, they had accumulated WAY too much stuff and had to throw away a lot of perfectly good stuff.

Don't over pack or over buy. Only bring what you need and only buy what you need.

Personally, I enjoyed the moving in process. I did not like moving out. It's all good though.

RAs

Every residential hall has one. Whether there's one on every floor or just one for the building, they exist. I, for the most part, loved every single RA I had. I was really close with most them and we are still friends today.

Residential Advisors put on events, workshops, handle your work orders, and are usually a good listening ear in times of need.

But do remember that they are students as well. They can't always be available but they do their best to be.

Your Friends Are Your Neighbors

The one thing I miss about living in the dorms is the access to my friends. My freshman year most of my friends lived in my dorm hall on my floor. I loved that we were able to hang out near 24/7 all year long. I always had a study buddy or someone to go to the dining hall with. We had late night adventures and it was always a good time.

I think this is the greatest pro I have for you today.


Those are just a few of the pros and cons you may encounter. Remember that everyone's experience is different. What I find a con you may find a pro and that's okay. We all just going along for the ride.

Let me know what are looking forward to about living in the dorms this year! You can contact me via my social media pages. I would love to start a conversation.

There are more than 7 billion people on the earth and you still don't have a love interest to spend Valentine's Day with. As sad as that might sound, not to worry though, because you don't have to be alone this year! As it happens, your best friend doesn't have one either! So why not spend it together?

I know that your best friend can't make up for spending the big V Day without a significant other but, they sure can come close. Here are a few things you can do with your bestie or a group of friends!

Who doesn't love food? Especially on "Single Awareness Day", as some people call it. Indulge in your favorite foods and deserts without feeling the guilt because your best friend is doing it too. Maybe invite some other people over and have big pot luck!