A Review of 2015

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Wow, 2015 is almost over! This year has been full of life changes. From graduating college to accepting life changes, I have learned so much about myself. I am slowly becoming the person I want to be, and I couldn't be more proud of the progress I have made internally this year. Here are some of the highlights from this year.

I got glasses.
I got certified to teach ESL.
I earned a Bachelor's Degree in English at Frostburg State University.
I got a job that required me to work 40+ hours a week.
My brother became a Novice Buddhist Monk.
I did my best to remain optimistic and happy in every situation.
I actually completed one of my New Year's Resolutions. I read 12 books this year.
I almost watched the entire series of Friends (I'm in season 10.)
I cut my hair very short (I prefer long hair, but I wanted to get rid of my security blanket and embrace something new.)
I lived in Philadelphia for one month.
I roadtripped to Ocean City twice with my closest friends.
I went through an episode of depression and opened up to those closest to me about it.
I started blogging again and stuck to my schedule.

What did you accomplish this year?

Shannon

Check out my previous post here.

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My Happiness Project: An Overview for 2016

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I recently read The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and became inspired to make my own happiness project for the upcoming year. The difference between Rubin's project and mine is that I will only be doing six months of different categories rather than twelve. I will follow the first six months of categories the last six months. When I started working on my own happiness project, I realized that many of the things I wanted to work on could be combined. I ended up six categories that I don't think are too difficult to maintain.

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Monthly Favorites: December 2015

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Wow, this month has flown by! I feel like I just wrote my November Monthly Favorites post yesterday! I have spent a majority of my month working and reading. I haven't done as much writing as I usually do around this time of year, but I plan on focusing on it in the new year.

Here are my favorites this month:

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

I love this book! It came at a time when I needed to reinspire myself. I am so glad I bought it and read it this month, as opposed to asking for it for Christmas. I plan on writing a book review on this book. I will link it here when I post it.

Ghost Asylum 

Ghost Asylum follows a ghost hunting team that visit haunted places and attempt to catch the spirits there. I like watching these type of shows, as I am a believer in ghosts and demons. I think the team is hilarious and good at what they do. My favorite paranormal show will always be Ghost Hunters, but Ghost Asylum is a good one to watch if you are into this type of show.

Relaxing

I've been working 41+ hour weeks this month, so I have been loving spending some of my free time relaxing. I like to get a lot of my to do lists accomplished on days off, but I enjoy spending my first hour or two awake laying in bed watching YouTube videos or playing games on my iPad. Sometimes nothing feels as good as laying in bed doing nothing.

Solitaire 

I've recently gotten back into playing solitaire. My mom loves this game, and I always see her playing it. I decided to put it on my iPad for right after work when I need to relax and not think too much about what I'm doing. The game is fun, and I love trying to beat the best times and moves under the "winning deals" category, even though I always lose.

Comfy clothes

It's starting (more like trying) to get cold here in Maryland, so I have all of my sweatpants and hoodies ready to go. I love to curl up in bed with my hoodie on and pile my mass of blankets on top of me. Just thinking about doing this makes me happy.

Let me know your favorites for the month of December! Also, please note that I will not be posting on Friday as that is Christmas. I will be spending the day with my family. Instead, I will post on Saturday.

Shannon

Check out my previous post here.

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Winter Essentials 2015 Edition

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Winter is upon us. I love fall, but I believe that winter is a time for reflection and appreciating what we have. To help myself enjoy this time of year, I like to do certain things that I normally don't do year round and things that I do around the year, but do more of during winter.

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Book Review: The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

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Today's post is a book review of Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project. If you have read some of my previous posts you will know that I have been interested in starting my own happiness project for quite some time now. I decided to read this book to see if a happiness project was something that would be worth doing as opposed to making a group of resolutions at the beginning of the year that I never succeed at completing.

To give a brief summary, Rubin came up with the idea of a happiness project while on the subway. She saw her life passing by and wasn't sure if she was as happy as she could be. She came up with eleven categories and resolutions to go in each category. One category would be the highlight of each month, and she would add January's category with February, and then January and February with March, and so forth until she had to keep up all of her resolutions in December.

If you would like more of a summary of this book, I will link the book's Amazon page here.

Do not keep reading unless you have read the book or spoilers excite you.

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December 2015 Music Playlist

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Hello there!

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My Depression Story

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This is a different post for me to be making. This is extremely personal, and I am happy to open up on my blog in an effort to share my experience and help others who are in need of it. Please remember that if you are depressed, you need to talk to others about it and possibly look into getting professional help, depending on your situation. I have only recently started turning to others about my depression, and I wish I would've done so sooner. Always know that when on this blog, you are loved by all that are here. If you wish to, please comment and share your own personal experiences with depression. You can get in contact with me personally via Twitter or Facebook, or really any of my social media sites, if you do not want your story to be posted publically.

As a disclaimer, please know that I am no expert when it comes to depression. I am only stating facts that I know about depression and my own personal experiences with it.

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A Reflective Walk in Nature

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Hello there.

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Book Review: Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

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I recently finished reading Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love. I had been wanting to read this book ever since the movie came out and my mom couldn't stop talking about it. I decided to buy the book when I saw it on the clearance rack at Books-A-Million a couple of months ago. I went to Books-A-Million because I had a giftcard from last Christmas to use. I have never been so grateful for a giftcard in my life.

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A Famous Event That Occurred on This Day: Attack on Pearl Harbor

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I don't think I've ever shared my interest in history on my blog before. I've been thinking about introducing a new segment where every once and awhile I make a post about a famous event that occurred on a certain day I am blogging. Please let me know what you think about this type of blog post. I'm always interested in getting feedback on my post ideas and writing.

 Attack on Pearl Harbor

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Stripped Down Challenge: Blog Edition

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I was trying to figure out what today's post should be, and I couldn't come up with any ideas. I have most of December's posts planned out already, but the inspiration for what to write about today just wouldn't come to me. I thought about the Stripped Down Challenge, which was started by Jonah Green as a response to Essena O'Neill's criticization of social media. I thought, why can't I do that? Instead of turning a camera on and talking to it for ten minutes, why not write instead?  The time limit for this challenge is ten minutes, so for ten minutes I am just going to write. No edits. Nothing. Just me typing. Let's see how this goes.

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December 2015 Goals

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December is going to be a busy one. My work shifts have increased, which leaves less time for doing certain things that I like to do. But this also gives me more time to work on certain goals that I think are important to start on before the new year.

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Monthly Favorites: November 2015

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Another month has come and gone. Here are my November monthly favorites:

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Reflection: Things I Am Thankful For

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Lately I've been spending a lot of my time thinking about being thankful. It seems odd that we have one day a year that we focus on being thankful but then take everything we have for granted the other three hundred and sixty four days, especially the night of Thanksgiving, where we in America spend our time fighting one another for the best deals (also known as Black Friday). I'd like to try to change my mindset to where I see the good in the bad and am able to find something to be thankful for even when I am taking everything I do have for granted by focusing on what I don't have. To start this change, I'm going to list things I am thankful for.

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A Day in Philly: Eastern State Penitentiary and Rocky Steps

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On Saturday my friend Addye and I drove up to Philly to see our best friend Bridget. We spent the car ride jamming to old Now cds and catching up. Once in Philly, we took a tour of the Eastern State Penitentiary and went to the Rocky Steps for some exercise (and picture taking). We got a mix of bar food for lunch, including one of my favorite foods, french fries. After lunch, we went back to Bridget's apartment to relax before eating dinner. We wound up watching Hocus Pocus and watching Vine videos until we got dinner down the street at Jimmy Johns. Addye and I then drove back to Maryland, wishing we didn't have to leave.


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Artists to Listen to

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I love music. Every genre. Every artist. Every song I hear. I can't get enough of music. Even though I listen to all music, there a few groups that have stood above the rest lately. If you want to learn more about the groups talked about in this post, I will have their websites linked somewhere in this post.

Walk Off The Earth

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Quotes That Make You Think Vol. 1

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Hello, everyone! Today's post is full of quotes that are meant to make you think and potentially change your outlook on something. I'll let the quotes speak for themselves. I hope you enjoy!

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Books I Plan On Reading Nov-Dec 2015 Edition

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I love reading. It is one of my favorite things to do with my time. Reading is also beneficial, as it helps me improve my writing and helps educate me and improve my memory. Here is a list of books that I plan on reading by the time 2015 is over:


Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

I have been reading Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love this month. I like Gilbert's writing style, and I love to read about creativity. I'm looking forward to this one for sure.

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Facts About Me That Pertain to the Present

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It's been awhile since I have posted on this blog (other then the post I made on Friday). I'm not the same exact person I was in the past so, I would like to share some facts about me that pertain more to who I am now.

1. I am teaching myself how to speak Thai. I will be travelling abroad to teach English in the next few months, and my ideal destination is Chiang Mai, Thailand. Learning Thai has been tricky because it is a tonal language, but I am getting the hang of speaking some of the basics (finally).

2. I have an undying thirst for knowledge. I've been doing crossword puzzles, reading, watching videos, etc to learn as much as I can.

3. I have a terrible short-term memory, so I am working on improving it. I'm trying to improve my memory through reading and memory based games/puzzles.

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Since We Last Spoke

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Friends! It has been another long period of time since we last spoke. There have been many changes in my life, and I am finally in a place where I am ready to share them with you. Before I begin, I would like to express my deepest thanks to all of you that keep up with my posts. I haven't logged into Blogger in a couple of months, and I was amazed at the increase in traffic on my blog lately. So, now that thanks are out of the way, let's get into my life.

1. I am currently typing this post on my iPad Mini 4. I have wanted an iPad for awhile now, and for my birthday this year (October 13), my parents bought me one. I contributed to some of the cost, as I thought this gift was way too expensive for them to solely purchase for me. I got a new laptop back in the end of August, but I'm having issues with the wifi, so I thought why not give my iPad a try? So far, I am enjoying this (and not just because autocorrect is my best friend).

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Adulthood

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Hello friends!

I have been busy since we last spoke. I got into AND attended the course that I wanted to take to certify me in Teaching ESL. I learned a lot and made some lifelong friends out of it. Now that I have finished this course, I feel like there are so many things I can do. My dad told me that this is the beauty of being a fresh college graduate. I can do anything I want now. I just have to do it.

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My Last Semester of College

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Hi everyone!

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Things That Make Me Smile

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Hi everyone!

There are so many things that make me smile. Here are just a few:

Puppies

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More Places I'd Like to Travel To

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I did a post awhile back about places I wish to travel to. If you haven't seen that post you can check it out here. There are so many places I want to go. Here are some more.

1.) Morning Glory Pool Yellowstone

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Quote: Be the Reason Someone Smiles Today

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Music I've Been Loving Lately Vol. 1

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Music is a huge part of my life. It inspires me when writing, helps keep my not-so-great singing voice active, makes me feel, and always evolves. I love the mystery of never knowing what a new song is going to sound like or how it will make me feel. These are a few songs I have been loving lately:

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What I'm Good At

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Lately I've been observing myself and others, and thinking about the things we say. Oftentimes, we're down on ourselves, thinking that there's nothing we're good at. I caught myself the other night talking like this. I told my mom: "People like me aren't good at much, so we work with what we have." When I reflected on that statement I recognized that I'm good at many things. I just don't seem to notice them adding up. Here's a list of things I'm good at:

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Book Review: Paper Towns by John Green

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Recently, I finished reading Paper Towns by John Green. This is the third book I have read by him, after Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars. I'm a fan of John Green's characters. They are always dynamic and witty, and keep the reader on their toes. You never know what they're going to say or do next, which I quite enjoy.

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Declutter Your Life: Small Changes

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Today I decided to clean out a couple of the bins that had things I gained in college over the past year. The containers were taking up space on my desk as well as blocking the walkway to my dresser. During the process, I recycled empty boxes and bags. That condensed the clutter by half. I then went through my belongings and decided to give away most of my things as I don't need them anymore.

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Inspirational Quotes Vol. 1

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I've been feeling inspired the past few days. I'm staying ahead of my work for my winter intersession course, reading the news, watching history videos, and researching for a new novel idea I have. Just incase you aren't feeling as inspired as I am these days, I thought I would give you guys some inspirational quotes.

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My Goals for 2015

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thelifeofshannonarielle.blogspot.com/

I feel like I am the millionth person saying this, but I cannot believe it is 2015! Time seems to be flying by!

1.) Wake up around 7 every morning and begin my day. As a college student, it is common to find myself easily sleeping in until 10 or 11 each morning. This year I would like to set myself on a wake up schedule, so I have more time to accomplish my goals before going to bed earlier. I've realized that staying up until 2 in the morning isn't helping me in any way.

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