Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, depending on where you are right now. It's currently 1:14pm for me, sitting in my parents' house in the middle of nowhere, at my mother's desk, writing on the laptop she loaned to me. Welcome to my stream!

I just wanted to start off this first note by discussing the world "mindfulness." It's a word we've all heard before, but what does it really represent? It could mean many things to many different people. For example, I asked my boyfriend what it means to him. In his own words, "being able to see what is not said." To him, it means not having to ask when something or someone changes - you can just.. tell. In fact, mindfulness to him is being aware of your surroundings, which is something that quite a few people would say if you asked them what they thought it meant.

However, mindfulness goes beyond just being aware of your surroundings; it is also being aware of yourself. Whether it be your emotions, the way your clothes fit on your body, the way your body feels in the current moment. Today, I want to delve into personal mindfulness. As in, what can you do for yourself today in order to practice mindfulness? I was inspired to ask this question by a book that my boyfriend got for me a few months ago: "Be Mindful - A Journal for Wellness of Body and Mind." Well, I suppose it would be considered a journal like the title suggests. Though, I've barely written in it. His purpose for buying me the journal was to get me out of my head, and I've defeated the one simple reason he bought it for me.

One might consider this a test of the mind. Why haven't I filled it out? Could it have been laziness? Lack of motivation? Sure, I could come up with any excuse. Any reason just to say "I didn't feel like it." If that is the case, then I haven't been mindful. In fact, in order to be more mindful, I could fill out all the pages in that journal, deep-dive into myself until I understood exactly how I felt. Or.. I could do something else. The same goes for you, dear reader. I'll ask the question again: what can you do today to practice mindfulness? I want you, reader, to think deeply about something that makes you question your life. Your situation. What can you do that will make you understand how you're feeling? That will make you want to take care of yourself? Even though most people think, as I've stated before, that mindfulness starts with noticing others and being aware of others, it's simply not true.

Mindfulness starts with you.

Thank you, dear readers, for giving my stream a chance. I want you to take my words to heart, and do what makes you feel good today. What makes you more aware of yourself. That is the most important first step.. in being mindful.