After reading The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina by Zoraida Cordova, I spent some time reflecting on how I relate to the main character, Orquidea. While we are from two different countries and grew up in two completely different eras, we are a lot more alike than one might originally think.
Category Archives: self development
Why I’m Learning a Second Language and How I Began This Journey
As an adult, I can make an effort to learn a second language like I’d always wanted. The global lockdown provided plenty of time to devote to this daunting task, and the Enneagram 8 within me was up for a new challenge. After all, when else will I have time to undertake an enormous journey such as this one?
One more thing I should mention – I began dating my now-boyfriend-of-3-years, Monish, just two months before this lockdown began. The important thing to note about Monish? He was born and raised in India, having moved to the United States in 2017, and he is trilingual as he speaks English, Hindi and Gujarati. Not only did I already have a previous desire to learn a second language, but now I had an opportunity learn one that my new boyfriend and his family speaks – a SUPER win! In case you haven’t gathered this by now, I was beyond motivated and ready to get this language-learning-party started!
But… Where to begin?
Bailey’s 2022 Reading List
Before I get too ahead of myself, here’s my list of 14 books that I read throughout 2022. Nine of these fourteen books are considered part of the self-help genre. Three of these books are autobiographies and the remaining two books are fiction – one that I chose to read on my own and one that was part of a Reading Scholarship opportunity at my college. While autobiographies aren’t technically self-help, my opinion of that differs. We learn from the mistakes of others and reading someone’s life story with all of the ups and downs they experienced can benefit our own lives in many different ways.
60 Days Stronger Challenge
Back in August of 2020, I was talking with a friend and catching up on life. She mentioned that she was doing this online health and fitness challenge called 75 HARD. Being the challenge-lover that I am, I asked for more details and my jaw literally dropped as she spoke of it’s components. This challengeContinue reading “60 Days Stronger Challenge”
12 Journal Prompts for Healing
I’ve been seeing a therapist for over a decade now and she’s been recommending for years that I engage in journaling as a healthy coping mechanism in order to help me work through and heal from my past traumas. I’ve decided to give in and do some journaling, specifically around this topic. Except… I had absolutely no idea where to start. I stared down at the empty page and racked my brain for a few moments before giving up and heading over to Pinterest to see what prompts were out there.
An Inside Look at a Twentysomething’s Experience as a First Time College Student
“Tell me something about yourself” is a question that is frequently asked, yet often very difficult for many of us to answer. It’s become an increasingly difficult question for me to answer, as I’m involved in a wide variety of different activities, thus I often lose sight of where to begin.
My 2021 Reading List
For the year 2021, I set a goal to read 15 new books once again as 15 was my goal last year that I didn’t quite hit… I came so close again this year by finishing the year with a total of 14 new books read! While I tend to be an over-achiever, not reachingContinue reading “My 2021 Reading List”
I’m a 27-Year-Old First Time College Student
For me, attending college after high school wasn’t exactly an option. Sure, I applied to a few schools during the fall semester of my senior year like all of the other kids were doing, but I never actually pictured myself going off to school in the following year.
There are multiple reasons as to why I didn’t feel like college was for me. First of all, the financial aspect. My parents decided early on that they would not pay for myself or my two siblings to attend college – that we would have to figure out how to afford it on our own. This stems from the fact that my dad and my uncle put themselves through school in the 80s, so they believed that we should have to do it too. To be honest, I resented my parents for a long time for this but I’m now in a place where I actually appreciate their decision.
6 Amazing Books for Healing
If you’ve tuned into my podcast, Distressed to Joyful; Bailey’s Way, you’re probably fully aware that I am no stranger to trauma as well as the work it takes to be able to heal from it. Alongside working with my therapist, I’ve read many books to help me better understand the things that I’ve beenContinue reading “6 Amazing Books for Healing”
Healthy Habit Helper – Guide and Tracker
Research shows that it takes 30 days of doing the same thing over and over again to form a habit. Some of our habits aren’t the healthiest and therefore are not very beneficial (like picking up a Starbucks Frappuccino before work each morning or smoking cigarettes daily), while other habits are incredibly healthy and beneficial to our bodies (such as drinking 8 glasses of water or brushing our teeth every day).
If we have too many unhealthy habits in our lives, we are much more prone to weight gain, illnesses and even some cancers. But for the vast majority of us, changing our unhealthy habits can seem pretty overwhelming – even more so if they’ve been part of our lives for years or even decades. So… Where do we begin?
What Is Hey Bails Doing? 