Sorority Myths Debunked

When I was younger I had always wanted to be in a sorority. I had no idea what they stood for, what they involved, or really anything at all. I just liked the idea of them — whatever kind of ideas a seven year old girl could imagine in her head. 

As I grew older I started to hear more and more about sorority life and sorority “stereotypes.” I thought I knew it all, I thought I knew what sororities were about. 

When I got to college I knew I wanted to go through the recruitment process, but as I was going through the process I realized I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. I was taken off guard and surprised, sometimes in good ways and sometimes in not so great ways. 

One thing led to another and I found myself being immersed in the “sorority culture.” I wasn’t too involved during my freshman year, but this year I’m living in the house and have the role of internal social chair. 

I think because I was so misguided by sorority stereotypes that I wanted to debunk a few myths and share with you why I think being in a sorority is such a positive, amazing, communal, and uplifting experience.

1. Living in my sorority house has taught me so many life lessons. From learning to live with 60 different types of women, to sharing space, to understanding how to make a positive impact in a community space. 
2. I’ve learned how to collaborate with different people for different projects. From designing cover photos on Facebook to having serious conversations with people, I’ve learned how different approaches with different people for certain things might be more beneficial than others. 
3. I’ve learned that girls are so unbelievable powerful and uplifting. I think sometimes people (especially girls) get caught up in an unspoken and unnecessary competition. Being in a sorority has taught me the importance of working together to solve problems and working together to make a positive impact. 

Of course there are the more fun sides of living in a sorority house — from sharing 60 closets to going on random spontaneous trips to a go-kart place — but for the most part, I’ve learned countless lifelong lessons. And for that, I am forever thankful.

If you’re considering joining a sorority, I say go for it. There are of course negative stereotypes and assumptions about sorority girls, but you can make a sorority what you want to make of it. 

Thanks for reading! 
xox
Chloe

FAILING

Let’s talk about failure. 

FAILURE.

The word kind of makes my heart beat faster, my palms clammy, and my head feel a little fuzzy. It’s not something I enjoy talking about, let alone feeling.

I hate failing. I mean it’s not like I know anyone who actually enjoys failing, but it’s the worst feeling in the world. And the weird thing is that everyone’s definition of failure is a little different. 

I just failed a test. Like failed failed. The second I got out of my class I ran to the nearest empty place on campus, called my mom, and cried. I didn’t even know I needed to cry but the second I told my mom I failed I just lost it. 

photo scan taken by my amazing amazing amazing mom 

And you know what she said? She said life goes on. She told me that there are ups and downs and everything in between. She said that currently, I’m having a down but it’s not the end of the world. Life. Goes. On. 

I might have to drop the class but I’m not a failure. One test, one class, one semester doesn’t define who I am as a person. I still have so many gains in front of me — maybe failures too, but those only make the good things seem even better.  

So if you’re ever feeling down or like you’re a failure, know that you’re not. It might seem terrible and irreversible in the moment, but even a day later life can seem so much better. You are amazing, and your grades don’t and shouldn’t determine your self worth.

Thanks for reading! 
xox
chloe

false facade

I was talking with my friend the other day and we decided that we live in the peak of human existence.

We’re living in a time where the climate is changing, but it’s still livable.
We’re living in a time where education on any given topic is, quite literally, at our fingertips. 
We’re living in a time where people get along, peace is essentially widespread (for the most part). 

The human species is thriving, surviving, and grasping on. 

However, we live in a time of false facades. We edit our photos to perfection, from which these photos were hand selected from a batch of twenty “identical” ones. 

It’s easy to make a bad smoothie from a hole in the wall smoothie shop look like the most tropical, exquisite, delectable purchase. 

It’s easy to make a less than stellar day spent moping around in your pajamas thinking about how awful everything is look like a cute lazy day spent with your more than perfect and snuggly cat. 

Our social media accounts are higlight reels. The best of the best. The hand picked perfect pictures. 

I was pretty bored yesterday and decided to photoshop my face onto an overweight girl from the internet to depict my break just to send to my best friend. She thought it was hilarious so I posted it to my Facebook just for the heck of it. 

And you know what? It has more likes than my profile picture. I’m not saying likes are everything — they’re quite far from it, actually — but I thought it was interesting. I shared a relatable and funny picture and it was noticed because no one else really posts pictures that are less than perfect of themselves. 

Why? Because of the facade of perfection that has been mindlessly placed on our generation. Your life doesn’t have to LOOK perfect to FEEL perfect. Push yourself outside of your comfort zone and live for more than the perfect picture. FEEL happy don’t just LOOK happy. 

We might be living in the peak of existence, but maybe it just looks that way? 

Thanks for reading! 
xox
Chloe

aaptiv

You know when you find something new and you want to share it with the entire world and just scream how great it is from your rooftops? I bet you know the feeling. Well the other day I was avoiding a conversation, and like us millennial seem to do ever so often, I jumped on my phone and scrolled through the infinite bounds that are known so well as “social media.”

As I was scrolling, I saw an ad for an app that had something to do with working out. I was bored, too full from lunch, and dressed in workout clothes that I had no intention of actually working out in, so you could say I had a calling to look more into the app. As I started to research it more I decided that it seemed pretty cool and hit that download. 

I literally — not ten minutes ago — finished the 15 minute leg workout, and let me tell you something… it was amazing. The music was good, the instructor tells you what to do and is motivating, and it went by so quickly.

I looked at my phone thinking I was only 5 minutes into the workout but I was three minutes away from being done. 

Now I’m literally sore, in the best way possible, from 15 minutes of doing a workout in my bed room. I can’t wait to try the elliptical and treadmill workouts once I get to the gym. It’s so awesome because you have someone telling you what to do, the music is already picked out (the worst part of working out on my own is picking good and motivated songs), and it’s fun!  

This isn’t a sponsored post whatsoever, I just needed to share this amazing discovery with you all.

If you’ve tried aaptiv before, what do you think?? 

Thanks for reading! 
xox
chloe

little black dress

I feel like little black dresses have been under appreciated lately. I haven’t been hearing much about them and it kind of depresses me. I’ll be the first to say it: I’m a minimalistic fashionista. I don’t like all the bells and whistles. The simpler the better. Honestly, if I could just wear jeans and a striped tee everyday and not feel like a cartoon character (the ones that never change clothes) then I would be my happiest. Instead, I scramble everyday to find a variation of that outfit. 

Recently, Tobi.com reached out to me to work together and I couldn’t have been more excited. Before they reached out I had purchased a sweater and a suede jacket, and let me tell you, they are two of the most awesome pieces I’ve ever order online — which is saying a lot! 

Anyway, I picked out this little black dress and I fell in love with it. It’s a little different that “just a dress” because of the cutout and thefitted waistline. I’m obsessed. This dress will most likely be making an appearance at my sorority formal in the spring, and I can’t wait. 

I think the reason I most love little black dresses is the fact that they can be worn with anything. Like you could totally dress it up with fancy heels and bag and necklace, or dress is down with some booties a cargo jacket and big bag. The options are endless, even for a minimalistic person like me! 

Let me know which outfit you like better in the comments below: casual or fancy. 

dress | fancy: shoes | bag | necklace  | casual: shoes | bag | jacket 

Thanks so much for reading! 
xox
Chloe 

Conquering Self Doubt

I’ve always known that I want to do something creative with my future. I don’t know exactly what this creative thing is, but I know I’m not cut out for being something conventional like a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. It’s not in my DNA, I thrive on being creative. 

However, this past semester, I started to doubt myself. I started wondering if maybe I’m not as creative as I thought. I started questioning my originality and my ability to think outside the box. It got to be so bad that I stopped pushing myself. I stopped trying new things, I stopped thinking creatively. I suppressed my “weird” thoughts and feelings.

I think I started to doubt myself because I stopped trying new things. I felt trapped in this bubble of repetitiveness. Wake up, class, eat, sleep, and repeat. I felt like I was in this cycle of never ending boringness. 

Every once in a while its so important to break the cycle and get out and do and see new things. 

A few days ago, during the first big snow of the year, I forced my friends to drive up to the mountains and take pictures. We’ve been to this spot before, but I needed to get my creative juices flowing and experience the beauty of nature with my friends. 

And you know what? That half hour of being creative and outdoors was just the wakeup call that I needed. I’m back to myself, and that’s how I know I’m not pursuing the wrong path. I’m doing the right thing with my life and future and everything is going to be fine and workout just like it’s supposed to.

Thanks for reading! 
xox
chloe