reality.

"We are the girls with anxiety disorders, filled appointment books, five-year plans. We take ourselves very, very seriously.

We are the peacemakers, the do-gooders, the givers, the savers.

We are on time, overly prepared, well read, and witty,

intellectually curious, always moving…

We pride ourselves on getting as little sleep as possible

and thrive on self-deprivation.

We drink coffee, a lot of it.

We are on birth control, Prozac, and multivitamins…

We are relentless, judgmental with ourselves, and forgiving to others…

We are the daughters of the feminists who said,

“You can be anything,”

and we heard,

“You have to be everything."

-Courtney Martin

Good reality check for me this morning - all too often, I let so many of these things happen, or see it in the women I surround myself with.

Just a thought to go into the weekend with.

PS I have had some beautiful comments in regards to my Black Swan story - thank you all so much!

Have a beautiful weekend!

mint.

I can smell change in the air. I think there's going to be some good things come up soon - not necessarily talking about myself, but rather, the community I live in.

There are few things better than when things are clicking along in the best way possible. This week, there has been more than one bump in the road, but the ups have definitely outweighed the downs.

Since I like celebrations, I thought I would send out some love for my top five picks this month.

Lana del Rey. I am currently obsessed with her deep and soulful voice mixed with a nuvo-pin up look. Soundtrack of the moment: "Disco"

Dlish cupcakes - hands down, the best pick-me-up after a long day in the newsroom.

My choice is the salted caramel ones.

Cute Valentine's videos. Who says you need a sweetheart to enjoy all the treats?

Currently loving the mix of pink, red and gold together.

Coloured coats.

I have a funny story about this pink one I found at Zara last weekend (pictured above).

I saw this coat in the fall, and was this close to buying it, but couldn't part with the hefty $160 price for a jacket with bracelet sleeves.

This past weekend I was casually looking through Zara and saw the coat again

- it was on sale for 60% off.

It's now hanging in my closet.

You can find more coloured coats online at Asos.com.

Mint.com

I really, really respect people who have personal budgets and stick to them.

It can be hard as a student with limited funds to do this but this site

helps make things a little easier.

Also, McClung's Magazine will be hosting our launch party this Friday to celebrate our new issue - check out the Facebook event, and come to the Harbord House on January 27 to celebrate with the masthead! See you there!

mentality.

To be honest, I really, really dislike when people update their Facebook and Twitter statuses constantly.

Even in a choice career that favours the constant updating of social media (which I have no problem doing under a company account, that's the job) I have found it hard to share my work with others over the medium.

Every once in awhile, I would throw up a blog post or reporter piece for some people to actually see, instead of me constantly telling, what I was doing.

Things have changed. I'm addicted - especially when I'm generating fresh content every day.

Sorry in advance.

That's why I have created my profession Facebook page to share my latest work, thoughts, videos, et cetera on.

I find myself updating constantly, hope that's okay!

And I now take it all back. I'm now a part of the constant-update club. Le sigh.

Check out my latest piece below, it will be printed in tomorrow's copy of The Ryersonian.

Inside the Black Swan Mentality

All I can remember are the lights. White, bright, hot lights beat down from above and cause sweat droplets to form and drip down my spine. There was complete silence in the theatre; the audience held their breath, waiting for my next move.

“Okay Portia, get up, continue with your solo,” my brain said. Using all the energy I could muster, I tried to move my legs, but they were defiant and remained crumpled beneath me. Moments before, I had leaped into a grande jeté (a split leap) — a routine move I had been practising my entire dance career.

The next thing I knew, a pair of hands picked me up and carried my limp body off the stage. The show couldn’t go on.

repeller.

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.

Talent will not;

nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.

Genius will not;

the world is full of derelicts.

Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

The phrase 'press on' has solves and always will solve the problems of the human race."

- Calvin Coolidge

why.

This past week has been really eye-opening.

I have learned a lot about different people, how to balance work and play (something that has taken me forever to understand) and finally figure out some things about the future.

I feel like the question everyone is asking, blogging and wondering is "What are you doing when you graduate?"

There are some who have plans laid out well in advance. There are others that are riding with the wind to see where they blow to. Others are taking time to travel. Some are staying right where they are.

As scary as it is, I have decided that today is the day. I'm going to wake up everyday and treat it like my birthday.

Say what Portia?

Think about it. On your birthday, you are invincible. You can do anything you want, reach higher than ever before, dream bigger and say things with hesitation. We have the safety net of "it's my birthday."

Why do we lose that all those other days. Shouldn't we treat each day like we can change the world, indulge in our favourite things and seek something new and interesting. Why does this have to be reserved to only one day a year?

Why can't life be one giant birthday?

I'm so excited for tomorrow now.

Just a thought.

PS I'm going to try this out. Maybe I'm crazy, but the crazy ones learn from mistakes, or learn from success.

I may have to add a few more workouts in there though to compensate for the birthday cupcakes.