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It’s 8 PM in Chicago and I’m waiting for my friend/assistant to arrive at our hotel for dinner… with a 4 AM wakeup call, I feel kind of naughty being out this late. I try and stay consistent with my 10:22 weekly bedtime (don’t laugh) and waking up at 4 AM is giving me anxiety! This morning, I woke up surprisingly happy after having a kind of underwhelming day yesterday. If you’re an entrepreanur, you know that the summer & winter season can be incredibly slow: selling, buying, writing, editing…everything closes down. I find myself yearning for Christmas when I’m in the midst of a stressful month like February, and during June/July and August I go back to eagerly awaiting September 1st when people start replying to all of my emails. Though I don’t sell anything commercial, I sell myself as a brand, so off-seasons are just as relevant in my life as they are to a normal salesperson. Becoming adjusted to the uncertainty of life is kind of required.

I’ve been briefly mentioning on my social media and This is Life Unfiltered about some exciting news that I have…but I don’t want to announce anything until I’m back in LA on Friday. This particular news has me very excited to announce officially, and has got me thinking a lot about this journey.  How a really upsetting day can so quickly turn into something positive the minute my mind allows positivity to come through…I don’t find myself to be a very spiritual person, but I do meditate and exercise daily which keeps me really grounded. On the slow days or the ones where I feel like nothing is moving, I remind myself how everyone wants to be in someone else’s shoes. Social media makes everything worse: no one wants to be themselves when they can try and live the life someone else is living on Instagram. When are people ever content with where they are in life? I don’t mean you should settle: I mean you should accept that you deserve more in your life if that little voice in the back of your mind is telling you that you do. More so, how can you be content with your life if you aren’t doing what you truly love? I joke often about the stress of this career giving me so much anxiety and occasional depression, but whenever someone asks me what else I could imagine myself doing, I laugh because I know that this is the life that I truly and utterly love. The passion you have when you live and die for your career is something that I can’t describe, that I wish everyone could experience even just once in their life.

If you don’t wake up everyday wanting to work, wanting to hustle and live your dream, what are you waiting for? Why don’t you ask the guy or girl out that you think is super cute because what’s the worst thing that’s going to happen: you’re rejected? I can guarentee that the amount of rejection in the business world I’ve faced since  I was 12 will never compare to one or two nos you might encounter. My biggest fear when I was younger was walking in the door at 5 PM, sitting down and watching TV every night Monday-Sunday. That’s cool for some people, but I never wanted to live a life based on a 9-5 career. The leap that I made to run a company for the past 6 years has given me so much wisdom and life experience that I do wake up everyday and want everyone to know the feeling of loving the life that you live.

You only have this one life: you might as well start living it now. And you might fail over and over again like most successful people do: eradicate the word failure from your vocabulary and think of it as a step in the right direction towards the next chapter of your life.

Helllooo! What a week it’s been! You guys, I have such crazy exciting news coming your way- I have woken up everyday this week so so happy. Oddly enough, I’m the happiest about what’s happening because I feel like it will vouch for those of you who are trying to follow your dreams but nervous it won’t pay off. Let me tell you, it will.

Whenever summer comes around, all I can think about is traveling. I’m constantly trying to plan a trip, go to a new city, or visit a somewhere totally new. To me, traveling is the best way to learn. You learn so much about yourself and what you’re comfortable with when you’re traveling. Since I started my blog at 12 and ended up going to New York Fashion Week when I was 14, I have learnt all of the tricks when it comes to cheap flights and good deals. There is no time like the present to start following your dreams. Take it from me: it pays off, but you have to work hard and be so so passionate.

ENJOY THIS VIDEO!

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a mental health disorder where invasive thoughts lead to compulsions. OCD is not something that should be joked about or taken lightly since it may alter people’s everyday lives. The compulsions and thoughts are so intrusive for some, that they cannot function in their daily routine, and it can lead to other physical or mental health concerns. There are a few typical ways to alleviate one’s OCD, which are through therapy, support, and medication. However, even though OCD is different for everyone, there are other tips and strategies as well that might help.

Understand Your Thoughts

When dealing with OCD, a person should identify what triggers their intrusive thoughts that lead to compulsions. A trigger can be anything, even something as simple as a certain smell or an object being out of place. Once the trigger is identified, the person should recognize their compulsions and impulses that follow. If someone pinpoints a specific smell as a trigger, they may then connect it to another task or gesture that they feel forced or pressured to complete. Writing down all the triggers, impulses, obsessions, compulsions, and thoughts can help someone learn about their OCD, and how to handle it further. Learning what certain emotions and feelings such as anxiety, depression, and stress occur for each particular circumstance can help as well. One compulsion may make someone more self-conscious than another, so recognizing how one responds to each circumstance will help him or her create strategies to stop their intrusive thoughts and compulsions.

Change up Your Style

For many people, OCD means having to perform tasks in a specific order. They must have everything ‘perfect’ or to their liking or their intrusive thoughts lead them into thinking something may go ‘wrong’. Whether it be cleaning, hoarding, a certain number, or to arrange things, switching up one’s daily life routine may help them combat their obsessions and compulsions.

For instance, some people may feel the need to wash their hands every time they enter the room, so forcing oneself not to wash their hands would be combatting their OCD. Other people feel the need to have numbers in every situation, such as tapping a wooden surface five times in a row, or even completing exactly three brush strokes for every section of hair. Tapping the surface four times and only brushing one’s hair for two strokes would be forcing yourself away from the compulsions, and might help to alleviate some of the overall thoughts, stress, and possible anxiety. For people who must have everything arranged specifically, mismatching socks or shoes, wearing clothing backwards or inside out, or directly changing up other routines may help. Hopefully through combatting one’s OCD, their intrusive thoughts won’t force them into completing the unwanted tasks anymore, and they can feel relief.

Social Support Group

When a person struggles with OCD, there should always be people surrounding them who are supportive and understanding. A good social support group is critical so the person doesn’t feel helpless and alienated. The best kinds of social support come from friends, family, and professional therapists.

Everyone suffers from depression and/or anxiety from time to time. I certainly struggle with both on  a regular basis, and that’s why I’ve had to research my own ways to battle anxiety and depression since I’m pretty busy these days. Struggling with one’s emotions and internal thoughts may be difficult, but there are ways to help besides receiving medication, therapy, or hospitalization. While these strategies may not work for everyone, they’re bound to at least provide a calming relief for a positive pastime!

Breathing exercises

Deep breathing is a way to let go of the built up anxiety and depression inside one’s body and mind. Especially when breathing slowly, it encourages relaxation and lessons stress. There are multiple breathing exercises and techniques besides just taking in a few short breaths, so finding the one that suits a person best is most important. Some of the possible breathing techniques comprise of meditation breathing, the 4 7 8 technique, and breath retention.

 Exercise

Exercise is incredibly beneficial for uplifting a person’s mood since it releases endorphins in the brain, and they help to increase feelings of euphoria. Exercise also reduces stress, and can make a person feel better since they’re physically and mentally helping themselves. I always turn to exercise when I’m having a rough day: exercise truly changed my life. And, exercising to maintain mental health feels so much better than exercising simply to stay “thin”. Beneficial exercise techniques include practicing Yoga, Tai Chi, running, and dancing!

Take in Enough Sunlight

Even though too much sunlight can lead to sunburn and health risks, if taken in at the appropriate proportions, it can be advantageous to reducing depression and anxiety. Sunlight can encourage the release of the hormone serotonin in the brain, which also helps to make a person happy. Without sunlight, a person can get depressed much easier due to low levels of serotonin, which may then cause anxiety, stress, and overall panic.

 Smile & Laugh

Smiling and laughing are usually associated with participating in activities that make a person feel good. Surrounding oneself with items, people, or tasks that make them feel good is eminent as it boosts their mood and overall state of being. But, even when a person forces himself or herself to smile, it releases the hormone dopamine in the brain, which is one of the chemicals responsible for feeling happy and rewarded. The brain is supposed to think that when the face is smiling, something good is happening, so a person will automatically start to feel better. Even if a person is feeling depressed and anxious, simply smiling at themselves in the mirror can make them more optimistic.

Meditation

Meditation has been known to have numerous benefits, some of which include reducing stress, increasing one’s energy, and helping with sleep. Stress is commonly associated with depression and anxiety, and can lead to a panic attack or breakdown; so limiting it would help all around. Depression and anxiety tend to use up one’s energy, and without it, a person tends to feel even more depressed and in the wrong frame-of-mind. Increasing a person’s energy can brighten their day and overall spirits, and make them feel better about themselves. Sleep is also extremely important to help with one’s anxiety/depression. Through Vipassana meditation, a person’s mind is cleansed to create room for happiness all while taking away their suffering.

Margie Fox graduated from Tufts University in 1984: she majors in history, and was absolutely clueless about what she wanted to do with her life. 

After going back and forth with multiple ideas, Margie decided to go to the London Schools of Economics to get another “useful” degree in international history… eventually, she moved back to Boston and after  a series of ridiculous sort of jobs, she moved to DC in 1987 and got a job at Ogilvy PR. During her time at Ogilvy, she realized what she really wanted to do was public relations.

30+ years later, with stints at most major agencies in NYC, Margie founded her own agency — Maloney & Fox, with one of her best friends in 1997. After 15 years, Margie Sold the business and then went back to Ogilvy PR as the US consumer creative director/managing director.

Followed by a spectacular crash and burn stint as the global creative director at another agency, 
Margie tumbled into a stint at a jewelry wholesale manufacturer as their creative director/marketing maven. The company was sold to a Berkshire Hathaway Company and after that, she decided to start her own company, Fitz+Hen. 

ENJOY EPISODE 25!

I checked into the Empire Hotel in Manhattan today, which was the filming location for much of Season 2 of Gossip Girl. Why I bring that up is because I am rewatching Gossip Girl for the 1400th time (I’m obsessed) but in Season 2, Jenny, one of the main characters, rebels against her strict father who doesn’t fully support her dreams. In the show, you watch a young girl go through finding herself and losing herself in a period of time. Eventually, she realizes that rebelling against her family will never leave her content and happy. Many young people know the feeling of their family not supporting their dreams: actress, singer, writer, doctor…you’re one lucky person if everyone in your life supports what you want to do.

When I first started my blog, my parents didn’t support it at all. I have very “normal”, working parents who did what they could to support me when I was younger. I was never given money, a car, or support when I started this journey because for the most part my parents didn’t have the ability to give me any of the above, and they weren’t exactly prepared to give feedback to a daughter who works in the entertainment industry. I love my parents to death! but I do wish that they had been more optimistic when I was younger because it would’ve been easier for me to ask them questions if I felt more comfortable talking to them.

As a parent, it’s hard to imagine your children making mistakes or doing anything out of the ordinary that might not guarantee them an ongoing income for their entire life. Anyone truly under the age of 27 is experimenting, learning about themselves, and making mistakes along the way. If you have plans for your life that are different from the plans your family have for you, the first step is sitting down and talking with your family. You could create a powerpoint presentation with some ideas (I did this to try and convince my parents to believe in me!) with a rough plan of where you want to be and how you’re going to get there. There is no guarentee that your parents will jump on board immediately, but starting the conversation is the most practical first step.

On the topic of college, if you’re convinced you don’t want to go to college OR want to take time off before going to college, I highly suggest against hiding this from your parents. When I realized I didn’t want to go to college to pursue my career, I was very vocal with my parents. They knew that I was making money off of my blog, and they knew that I didn’t do well with traditional schooling. I was really nervous and intimidated to start talking about what I’d do if I decided not to go to college because every young person is expected to graduate high school and go to college. If that’s the right path for you, then that’s great! It might not be, though.When I applied to NYU and got rejected, I told my parents that I thought I could truly pull this career off and that they needed to believe in me. They didn’t at all, and still hesitate sometimes now when I ask them if they’re glad they didn’t force me to go to college, but I believe deeply in myself and the power that teens have. Regardless of your decision, no one should ever put you down or make you feel less than you are. Be yourself, be honest from the minute you start having certain feelings, and realize that your parents just want the best for you. Once you prove yourself a little bit, your parents will be as supportive as they can be, I promise!

I wear workout clothing 24/7! I don’t care if I’m headed to the gym or headed to lunch, I’m always ready to be comfortable in my workout sneakers and pants. I find myself constantly wearing my leggings and sneakers to meetings because why not, right? There are a few looks below that are sporty styles I adore, and like to copy my style off of!

The preppy hat

A hat never goes out of style. Opt to wear one that’s got some type of cool engraving on the front, and make sure to try a hat on before you buy it! You can wear a hoodie with a hat underneath to be incognito on your Sunday morning. 

Cheap leggings

You truly don’t have to spend a lot to look great. Instead of spending $200 on a pair of Spirtual Gangster pants, buy yourself 5 pairs from Gap or Primark. You’ll save money and look cute doing so! If you’re curious about how sporty style became a trend, it’s actually been in style for years. Though brands like Lululemon haven’t been around for ages, wearing leggings and sneakers has been in style since the 80s!

Where to give those old sneakers

Once you overwear your sneakers, they’re no good anymore. It’s important to make sure that you have a few pairs of sneakers that are always stylish and comfortable: when they’re old, give them to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. Brands like TOMS are awesome because they are super comfortable and give back to people every time someone buys a pair.

Wear what makes you feel good

Think someone in your class looks better than you at the gym? Who cares! Wear what makes you feel good.

When I heard 13 Reasons Why was coming out with a second season, I honestly felt nauseous. Last year, I binge-watched 13 Reasons Why to write an article for Rolling Stone (read it here). When the editor initially reached out to me, I told her I’d give her my honest feedback after watching the whole season. And I did: that article went viral, and touched on many topics relating to teens, social media and mental health. As someone who has battled anxiety and depression, I felt like I was my 14-year-old self again after I watched the first few episodes of season 1. At the end of the season, I felt like the show glamorized teen suicide. Instead of showcasing a young girl committing suicide and never coming back, the show focuses on her somehow still being alive when in reality, that’s not what happens when someone commits suicide.

Though Netflix added a disclaimer at the beginning of the season, I think that they aren’t paying enough attention to the repercussions of this show. I would have preferred them to create focus groups, discussions with Selena Gomez and Mandy Teefey, and buzz around social media and mental health. Instead, they continue to glamorize the idea of this show. When Season 1 came out, multiple young adults committed suicide after watching Hannah Baker kill herself: because the show doesn’t accurately portray suicide. When you end your life, it’s over, and over for good. One disclaimer isn’t going to stop those young people from harming themselves. I highly advise parents to encourage their kids to either not watch the show, or watch the show and then discuss it at the dinner table or over tea with you. Parents and faculty are the people who truly determine how teens perceive certain topics, and suicide is a heavy one that people shouldn’t learn about alone.

At the core of the show, we see Hannah Baker as an insecure, vulnerable teen who doesn’t have enough support to get her through the rough time she’s dealing with. Many teens can relate to the feeling of sadness and isolation, and unfortunately schools don’t offer many resources to young people to help them battle depression and anxiety. 13 Reasons Why introduced the topic of teen suicide to our society, but doesn’t do anything but glamorize suicide. I spoke with NBC, CNN, CTV, Rolling Stone and more about why I thought 13 Reasons Why glamorized teen suicide early last year. Head to my press page to read and watch what my initial thoughts on the show were, and they haven’t changed for season 2.

“Those who say it’s run its course are missing the point. 13 Reasons Why was never about one girl’s suicide. It’s about endemic problems with society and shining a light on the [issues] young people have to deal with on a daily basis.”

Happyyyy Fearless Friday! I was planning to buy plane tickets to Europe with my friends this week, but we’re not buying them until next week. So, I switched gears a bit for my Fearless Friday…and I bought myself some designer stuff! Anyone who knows me knows that I’m pretty frugal when it comes to shopping, and I don’t often spend a lot of money on “material” items. I’d rather spend money on a plane ticket than a bag, any day. But, I’ve wanted this one Gucci belt since I was 17, and the fact that I can finally afford to buy it means a lot to me. So, I splurged. Sure, I’ll have to work a bit harder next week to make the money back, but who cares!

If you’re looking for a bit more inspiration, check out the video below on turning your side-hustle into a full-time gig. Be fearless everyday!

This post is a paid partnership with Danbury Fair Mall in honor of S.L.A.Y. on May 19th! 

What better day to post a picture of my best friend and I than on the day I posted an episode for This is Life Unfiltered on friends! 

I’ll be in Danbury, Connecticut on Saturday to host a panel of incredible individuals on self-love and body image with Danbury Fair Mall! I’m wearing an outfit above from White House/Black Market, which is one of the stores in the mall. What’s fantastic about Danbury Fair is that it’s a place for everyone: young, older, and in the middle to hang out. You can grab a coffee from Starbucks and shop with your mom, or bring a group of girlfriends and spend the day in Primark. Yep, Danbury Fair is the only place in Connecticut with a Primark store! With more stores like Six 02 (Foot Locker’s edgy streetwear brand) and Godiva, there’s something for everyone at this mall.

I wouldn’t usually wear a dress like the one I am wearing above, but immediately after seeing the salesperson pick it out, I fell in love. I still can’t believe how friendly and encouraging all of the staff in the mall are: feel free to browse or buy, and they won’t bother you either way like many salespeople do. What’s worse than wanting to leave a store because you feel forced to buy something? My style has evolved so much since I was younger (scroll through old blog posts, I’ve come a longggg way) but there’s nothing like going into a mall that makes me feel like I’m 15-years-old again. “The mall” was our hangout spot when I was growing up! The only difference is my mall only had Kohl’s and Danbury Fair Mall has everything and more, but you get the idea.

I look forward to meeting you all on Saturday and kicking off summer with lots of positivity and love!

Check out the Danbury Fair Mall website for a full rundown of what is going on on Saturday!