You know that one thing in your life that feels so normal, so routine and mundane, yet it always sparks controversy when you bring it up in a casual conversation?

Mine? Regularly taking baths.

I know. Apparently, I missed the memo at some age that everyone stopped bathing, settling for the more “grown-up” option — showers.

And I always get the same reactions:

“You take one every day?”

“Isn’t it like sitting in your own filth?”

“Isn’t that so much work?”

To me, taking a bath is one of the best parts of my day. It’s a routine, it relaxes…

Community college was the best decision I made for my mental health.

If you told me to apply to a community college as a senior in high school, I likely would have rolled my eyes and vehemently rejected this idea. Now, I wish this was the decision I made from the get-go.

Like many teenagers these days, I am a product of our perfectionist, capitalistic society. I was an overachiever throughout my academic experience: President of everything — from the Science Club to Varisty Club; student-athlete on the girls’ swim team, manager of the boys’ team; Editor-in-Chief of the Yearbook…

Today officially marks 2 weeks since I got my second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. As a young person in my early 20s, I expected the vaccine to be a long time coming. But, as a high-risk Type 1 Diabetic, I have been anxiously awaiting the days when I could feel safe leaving my house for something other than a drive-thru. Now, I am ready to live my best life in Summer 2021.

I am definitely ready to get back to activities that require more fashionable clothing choices. …

The world is fast-approaching our one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic. This time last year, we bid adieu to our well-stocked, ergonomic offices as we prepared to work from home for what we thought would be a couple of weeks.

Now, here we are a year later, many of us working from childhood homes, kitchen counters, or a variety of other less-than-ideal workspaces. This long-term shift of our way of life has undoubtedly come with a lot of negative side effects, with back pain topping the charts as one of the biggest complaints doctors are hearing from their patients.

The…

Swimsuit season is approaching us once again. And with experts feeling optimistic about summer returning to a near-normal, I have started day-dreaming about the warmer, more-vaccinated days ahead.

One thing I have to say I don’t love about summer?

Swimsuit shopping.

Swimsuit shopping has been my most-dreaded activity and ultimate summer struggle for years! This may not seem like such a bad thing to most people, but unless you can easily determine your perfect fit among the unspecific and varying “Small, Medium, Large” sizing, it can be defeating.

When you type in “full bust swimwear” or “bathing suits by bra…

If you are like most people, it can be difficult to stay consistent with regular exercise.

“One in three adults in high-income countries fails to meet the World Health Organization’s physical activity recommendation to engage in 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise per week.”

Sure, we know that exercise is crucial to our overall health and wellness, and includes benefits like weight maintenance, decreased risk of health conditions and diseases, and improved sleep and mood. So why do so many people struggle to find motivation? And what can be done to finally motivate us?

I may have found the answer.

Why Can’t We Get Motivated?

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I read a statistic the other day that shocked me:

“People with type 1 diabetes are making roughly 300 more decisions per day than someone without type 1.”

300 decisions! On top of everything else we are worried about these days (pandemics, record-breaking storms, adjusting to remote work), that is a lot of decisions for one person in one day.

As someone who has been living with T1D for the past 15+ years now, I can personally say I have been feeling the burnout increase in recent months.

So, what does diabetes burnout look like? And how can a loved…