I wrote this in a notes app on my phone while I was at my grandparents' house last weekend...

"I'm over at my grandma and grandpa's and I'm having cell phone withdrawals. I don't have any service so none of my apps are working. Not Instagram, Bloglovin', nothin'. And I feel so foolish. Here I am, home for the first time in a month and a half and I'm "visiting" with my parents and grandparents while writing this out on my app so I can have my phone in my hand and that they'll have something to do. "

I've been reading a lot of articles about social media and phone addiction recently. It seems to be a hot topic due to the health problems it's linked to and the increases of depression and anxiety when we're on our phones too much.

As a young woman with such problems, the amount of time I spend on my phone and laptop is... troublesome.

I never thought I'd be one to admit it, but here goes.

I have a social media addiction. 

And a YouTube addiction. And why not throw email in with the mix? Basically anything electronic and promising to connect you with a better life or for you to look at the "beautiful, perfect" lives of others, I'm there. And here's the thing: I rarely ever create any content. I post on Instagram some, SOMETIMES write on this blog, and have submitted the occasional article to have it declined but besides that, I'm just a media sucker.

I feel like I don't have anything important to say, anything new or exciting for the world to see or read so that stops me in my tracks to even create in the first place. And that's bullcrap!

Everyone has something important to say, no matter if it's been said a thousand times or never before. I can't let myself use that excuse when it comes to creation. Of course a story has been told before; there are only a few plot lines out there, really. And how many articles have you read about the same topic, only to keep reaching out for more? It's not a bad thing to be inspired by other people's works or have your own opinion on the matter and then send it out to the world wide web. That's what we're here for!

But back to the overload...

Yeah, I spend way too much time on apps and YouTube, watching the lives of people I admire or strive to be like and just soaking in their aesthetics (embarrasing, I know). I've been an avid watcher for years and though I don't think it's a bad thing to watch a lot of YouTube, I do believe it's bad to watch them to escape your own life, which I do often. I am displeased with my life a good portion of the time, to be honest. So, I think that if I just watch some Alli Cherry  or CatCreature, whatever they're doing I'll be doing too.

And that's just not healthy, man.

I should be out living my own life and creating my own content, not living vicariously through others. I know, it's hard to not be sucked down the rabbit hole of closet clear out videos, but we must resist!

People on social media are not living perfect lives, I know that. But what I do struggle with at times in understanding that just because I'm seeing them having adventures, that doesn't mean I am too. Whoa. 

Well, those are my thoughts on that. I hope you are all doing well and are enjoying what you're reading. If you want, you can click on over to my Bloglovin' and follow me there, where you'll be informed when I post.

Until next time.

I've always wanted a blog since the first time I found blogger through some YouTuber around 2007. I wish I had more details to make this a better story, but that's honestly all I can remember. I can't tell you who or what blog it was, but the idea of people reading an online journal of sorts was fascinating to me. It wouldn't be until 2015/2016 that I would become interested in self-care.

As someone who has had depression all her life, it would have been helpful to be practicing mindful breathing, yoga, and clean eating for a while before I finally realized what powers these things had. And I'm still ignorant about the holistic game.

I have the bad habit of reading a lot but then not retaining anything that I had just learned. I drown myself in YouTube videos, blogs, books, podcasts, and magazines all about healing and helping oneself. Rarely do I put this "knowledge" into action, though.

I try writing it down in my "Self Help" spiral notebook (more on that later) and reading it whenever I'm feeling inspired...yet I remain in the oh-so-familiar slump.

Yes, I am getting into better habits again (I was a pretty well-oiled machine this summer), but with the stress of my senior year of college pressing down on me, it makes nearly everything unenjoyable and my drive to do things, things I love, diminish into nothing. That's why it took so long for this post #2.

There are some habits I've been sticking too recently, however. I'm dry brushing my trobles away before each shower, trying to do a quick morning yoga, and recently switched to natural deodorant which can surprise you with how much good it does for this girl.



Yeah. I bet I'll make it.

Hello everybody,

And welcome to The Mindful Tenderfoot.

With this blog, I plan to document my journey into mindfulness, slow and intentional living, and self-care through simple ideas that I pick up around the web or through the several magazines I read. It'll be a lot of trial and error, but I feel like that part of the journey gets overlooked too often with "lifestyle blogs" and that's not good for one's self-esteem. I know it's definitely not for me as someone who feels like she has to do everything perfectly, first try. If I fail, I'm a failure. If I succeed, it's not good enough, I could have done better. Sound familiar?

As a young woman in her final year of college, I am constantly in a state of comparison. The girl across the room has better skin than me, the boy next to me in class speaks up more and has better ideas, that model who I follow in Instagram has my ideal body I'll never get to. Everything and everyone are