With the amount of death hovering in the air recently the melancholy can be taunting. I noticed it especially as one of my idols lost his battle to suicide. To combat all of this anguish, I like to focus on positivity. In times like these when I’m not feeling overly bright or cheerful, I like to remember the small things. Life can be so simple to enjoy if you’re willing to be happy.

 

Please note that in saying that, I in no way want to negate feelings of anxiety or depression. I completely understand the overwhelming authority mental illness can hold over our lives. However, when we’re not in that sunken place happiness should be celebrated!

 

Without further ado, here are five small things making me happy right now.

 

STAYING ACTIVE

It wasn’t easy, but I have finally separated the connotation between weight loss and exercise. As much as I respect people who go to the gym to “fix” things about themselves, I find that to be a really unhealthy mindset. Personally, when I work out to build stamina and feel stronger everything about my life feels better. I sleep better and earlier, I’m less anxious, my life just feels more organized and at peace. I love being able to create workouts and pushing my body to complete them to my best abilities. I’m an incredibly competitive person with myself and this is really the only outlet I have to do that. Plus, the more time and effort you put into yourself, the more confident you feel.

 

My recommendations to make getting active easier:

• Check out Sarah’s Day she has unreal 15-minute workouts in real time and they are amazing. I know she’s like a size nothing but she’s so relatable and her relationship with food and fitness could not be more normal and inspiring. Her motto is “listen to your body” and I couldn’t agree with that more. Living a healthy lifestyle is not going to be practical unless you do it reasonably and not restrictively.
• Get wireless earphones. Honestly, I don’t know why this took me so long to do because I am such a sweaty grub. My headphones constantly fell out doing anything and it really hindered me disassociating to focus on my workouts. I know almost nothing about tech, but these are sweatproof, stay in place and are comfy to wear- even with all my piercings.
• Get an app that keeps your workout in check. I love using Seconds because it’s easy to plan out my workouts with. I love creating different circuits and this makes it a breeze. Plus, I can still hear the instructions/countdown over my music so there’s never any thinking involved during my workouts.

SKINCARE

In a dream world, my skin is clear enough to get away with wearing Glossier makeup. I want to get to a point in my life where people don’t tell me how sick or tired I look when I choose to not wear makeup. However, that means actually putting effort into my skin. Acne wise, my skin is pretty easy and with age (wow what a tragic statement) I’m more combination than oily. So, maintaining my skin is a breeze. But I am riddled with hyper-pigmentation and that my friends is a bitch. I’m literally trying to erase marks that have been here from high school but I have finally found the right recipe. Clearing up my skin has given me so much confidence and I love being able to go out with natural makeup looks. I’m nowhere near where I want to be, but l love seeing the progress.

Products I recommend:

• Dermarolling!! It’s a great way to get products to better penetrate your skin. It helps give a smoother, more even and plumper complexion which is great for those of us with acne scarring and big pores.
• Kiehl’s has a dark spot solution serum that I put on after I roll my face and it has made a huge difference.
• The greatest influence on my road to clear skin is using a glycolic acid toner. Even when I don’t wash my face, I still use this toner before applying my makeup. It keeps my oil at bay while still correcting those scars and just, God bless.
• I don’t know why it took me this long to figure it out, but dewy skin is actually everything??? My skin feels so much healthier when I use a facial spray. I even go as far as spraying my face between every layer of face makeup and it not only sets it but makes it look really healthy and vibrant.
• If I ever breakout, it’s hormonal acne and it’s because I’m getting my period. Because it’s expected I never stress about it. I’ll just pop on this sulfur mask overnight and by the time I wake up the acne is gone. I have never relied on a face mask more.

COCKTAILS

Honestly, I don’t drink that much but there’s something about patio season that makes me want to indulge. I’m not much of a beer drinker and wine is great and all with a meal, but when I want to wind down, cocktails are my go-to. I’m pretty boring, and anything mixed with vodka is probably going to make me happy. Lately, if it has lime and mint in it, I’m a happy camper. It’s all about finding the subtle blends to elevate that care-free mood.

My go-to drinks:

• If I’m feeling lazy or I’m drinking in public, the Georgian Bay Vodka Smash is my favourite. It blends lemon, lime, grapefruit and mint with club soda and vodka for a great summer cocktail.
• Mojitos!! What is a better summer cocktail than a mojito
• I’m slowly realizing how boring I actually am…but vodka, cucumber, lime, mint, agave, club soda. Delicious.

 

REKINDLING FRIENDSHIPS

Thanks to good ‘ol Instagram I am far too informed of the lives of people I used to know. For the most part, I don’t care all that much to be honest. But we all have those friends we fell out with for no particular reason and I love to see them succeed. I don’t know what’s changed recently but I’ve been making an effort to befriend those who I used to be close to. At first, it was nerve-wracking, but these are such wonderful people that not being friends is just silly. Don’t get me wrong, rekindling friendships with people who knew you when you were ugly both physically and emotionally is a ride. But it is a beautiful one. There’s a sense of understanding between us that you just can’t get with new friends. If you needed a reminder, here it is to put effort into the relationships that matter.

FOLLOWING BODY-POSI INFLUENCERS

In the air of spending time on Instagram, I have been obsessed lately with following plus-size influencers. Who would have thought that filling your feed with happy and successful people that look like you would have positive results?? I love seeing confident people, I love seeing people capable of vulnerability and creativity. By following all of these body-posi babes I’m honestly more comfortable in experimenting with the content I post. I’m constantly saving posts to a collection as feed inspo. Finding the line between living a life worth sharing and curating a life to share isn’t always easy but at least I’m having fun.

 

I’d love to hear what small things are making you happy lately. In times like these, sharing positivity even in the smallest ways can go a long way. Stay strong, rest easy.