Journalism

I have always been inspired by simple yet practical ways to provide positivity in my everyday life. I am always on the hunt for new ways to increase my happiness whether that is an inspirational quote or a social media platform all about spreading positivity, especially since the pandemic started. I thought I had heard and seen everything there is to know about finding ways to be happy until I stumbled upon Gretchen Rubin’s podcast all about creating ways and learning tips on how to be happier. “Happier with Gretchen Rubin ”, by a writer who studies human nature and is the bestselling author of “The Happiness Project,” is a podcast that she shares with her own sister Elizabeth Kraft, who is a writer and TV producer. The podcast was created back in 2015 but their conversations are still thriving and better than ever. These two sisters give advice on ways to be happier throughout our daily lives and they talk about tips and tricks on how to form better habits. Rubin and Kraft sometimes ...

Little did I know 7-year-old me would soon leave the house that built me. Of course my parents had told me several times, “Figure out what toys you want to bring to the new house,” but I'm not sure that is what I was worried about the most. My parents sat me down to tell me the news that we were going to be moving to a new house in Veneta, Oregon which was about an hour away. This new house would be closer to my mom’s work which is what my parents wanted. Being the 7-year-old I was, I had no idea where this Veneta place was but all I knew is that it was too far from our house here in Mapleton, Oregon. I could not wrap my head around the fact that my parents wanted to move when we had all of these amazing and fun things to do where we already lived. Did this mean no more boat stories at the coast from Nana or spending time with my parents in the backyard? At this time I was living that only child life. It was just my parents and I with a couple goldfish here and there. We had a big...