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Caffeine, Case Law, and Belonging: Notes from a 1L
Law school is teaching me things I expected—like case law, Pennoyer v. Neff, the most effective energy drinks, and how to read until I hit rock bottom exhaustion. But it’s also teaching me things I didn’t expect, like navigating a classroom full of strong voices, subtle cues, and the pressure to belong while consumed by…
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Missing What’s Here
A wild part about being in your early 20s is how much you start missing people, places, and things—even though they’re still here. Your best friend shares her new job offer, and you’re thrilled for her, but she’d be moving to a different city. You think about where you want to go to grad school…
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Freshman Year of Adulting
In 2025, I will be turning 23. Please do not remind me that I am halfway through my early twenties. If you asked me a few weeks ago, I probably would have said I am going on my second anniversary of my 21st birthday. Truly, what a gift it is to be in this exciting…
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Growing older
14-year-old Shaudeh’s bucket list: Hold on a minute. I am already at number 7? Looking back on my 14-year-old self’s bucket list, I truly exceeded all of her expectations. Varsity cheer captain, hit the freshman roommate jackpot, studied at USC Annenberg, Editor-in-Chief of the only print lifestyle, fashion, and culture magazine at USC, and submitted…
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I Blinked
I read a quote today that stated, “Enjoy being in the process of becoming.” I could not help but to stop and reflect. Embarking on my twenties, I always strive to be the best version of myself and make constant progress in my academic, social, and personal life. It is so easy to get caught…
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What “Inside Out 2” Taught Me About My Emotions
Every emotion has a vital purpose in our character, decisions, inner thoughts, and core beliefs. With that said, we are allowed and designed to feel all emotions, so don’t be afraid to let it all out! That’s what emotions are for. Consider it a power balance of inner your thoughts; a series of checks and…
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22 Things I Learned in 22 Years
1. Be the energy you want to attract. 2. People pleasing hides the real you. 3. People are allowed to decide they want nothing to do with you without any explanation. Hard pill to swallow, but take it like a champ. 4. The time you spend with yourself is as valuable as the time you…
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Two Cents from a College Senior
Dear college freshman, I know you’re ready for your first semester of school to be over with. Embrace the next few weeks of chaos. While the study days and exam periods are long and tireless, the nights are short. Laugh as long as you can, go get frozen yogurt with your roommate at night. Take…
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Sibling relationships: an ode to my younger sister
The screeching voice waking me up every morning, my car seat companion in the back seat of Mom’s car, the extra lump in my bed stealing the covers at night, my “Meet me downstairs for a snack?” dial. Sharing clothes, staying up late talking at the kitchen counter, my errand partner, always arguing about who…
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Take My Resume
A freshly twenty one year old. How can you trust me for advice on how to navigate the your twenties? Even though I am only a year deep into my twenties, I can assure you I know the ins, the outs and the full blown loops. A year and a half ago, I set out…
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Anti-New Years Resolutions Club
I’ll give it to you straight. If you want the life that not everyone can achieve, you have to move in ways that not everyone can move. 2024, graduation year and more. The motivation is there in all its tenacity. Here’s my hot take: I am anti-new years resolutions. Specific, individual goals are stronger than…
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An Anti-Burnout Holiday Season
Burnout (phrasal verb of ‘burn’): A state of complete mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion; to ruin one’s health or become completely exhausted through overwork. Holiday burnout is difficult to avoid when your brain is racing a half marathon every minute. Work deadlines, internship due dates, final exams— the list of commitments is endless. Focus on…
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Happy To Be Here
Happiness is not defined by how many friends you have, how many digits are in your back account, or how organized your future is. A crucial ingredient in the nourishing recipe for happiness is being excited. It is being excited for your iced dirty chai in the mornings. It is being excited about watching a…
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“I can’t go out.. I’m sick”
Time to be real. No one talks about the crucial internal battle of a college student: choosing whether to go out or stay in to focus on your fitness and wellness schedule. At the end of the day, prioritizing your well-being and health does not mean you need to sacrifice important elements of your 20s—…
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Little Things That Aren’t So Little
I am a strong advocate for the little gestures. Open the door open for strangers, chase the kid’s soccer ball down the pavement and kick it back to him, pay compliments, try to be larger than you are— even when it’s easier to ignore your instinct. I find that the best people in life follow…
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The Known As I Know It
The summer of unknowns, otherwise referred to as the dreaded summer before senior year of college. Three months brewing a deja vu comparable to that of the summer before my senior year of high school. Gradually, I’ve pulled back the curtain to reveal that I am not afraid of the unknown. Nor have I ever…
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The Dreaded “Adulting” Summer
“So, what are you doing this summer?” The dreaded question of the season. How can I be convincing that I know what I’m doing? What volunteer work am I serving? What internship am I taking on? Am I traveling? Am I doing enough? What can I say to make me seem the most put together?…
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21 Things I Learned In 21 Years
1. The universe holds troubling times. Put faith and trust in the fact that everything happens for a reason. Even if you can not see it in the moment, everything will work out. Sometimes, it’s wild to look back and reflect on why things panned out the way it did. 2. It is impossible to…
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To My Beautiful Mom: My Eternal Role Model
My biggest fear is growing up, aging, and losing time. Now going into my senior year of college this fall, my biggest fear is the closest to a reality than ever before. One of my biggest worries is that I won’t grow up to be a woman as incredible as my mom. Everything I do,…
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Change It or Choose It
Good news: So much can change in 6 months Bad news: So much can change in 6 months Looking back 6 months ago, it is mind boggling how many people have come in and out of my life. In your twenties, you’ll come to find that there’s a role for every person you meet. Some…
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Excitement That Overwhelms
You can be in love with a million sights, souls, and minds. Never apologize for your light, your passion, or your enthusiasm. Enthusiasm fuels the world. I am a strong believer that every individual in this world bestows a quality that is difficult to put into words for others to fully understand. A characteristic that…
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Following the Social Cycles
The unassertive needs the confrontational. The talker needs the listener. The communicator needs the overthinker. Opposites attract, but where do we draw the fine line? College is a period to lose yourself and find yourself, a continuous four-year cycle. As you mature and adapt to new environments, the people who surround you will also cycle…
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Learn to Love Your Reflection
Developing a mutual trust with your body is understanding that your body will signal the cues for what it needs to function at its highest potential. Food freedom is learning to eat with less judgement, and more love and intuition. For those that were not aware, last week was national eating disorder awareness week. I…
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The Dangers of My Retentive Memory
I have always been the girl who looks “too deep” into something or someone. Maybe that’s because I understood from a young age that there is always more than what meets the eye. Without a doubt, my life became more meaningful the day I realized I would not get to live a single moment twice.…
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A Person to Call Home
Someone who respects you, even when you’re not around. Someone who asks how your day was before you have to ask first. The person who’s patient with you, even when you’re not the easiest to put up with. Someone who’s honest and loyal, an unfortunately difficult trait to find. The person who adores you not…
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Small, silent, accommodating
Small, silent, accommodating. I used to think that staying as convenient as possible was the best way to avoid conflict. Neutral and consistent, I am a natural people pleaser. The ropes of my internal safety net that I had mistook for a security mechanism, limiting me from new energy, new opportunities, and new experiences. Slowly…
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Dear Freshman Year Shaudeh…
Turn back the clock to the fall of 2020: a covid freshman in the dorms in San Diego. If only freshman year Shaudeh knew her world would turn upside down in the next two years. I am living the moments that my younger self dreamed of, and my older self will cherish forever. I am…
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Manifesting My 2023 Vision
What you think, you evolve. What you feel, you emanate. What you imagine, you transpire. Believe you have attained it and you will receive it. That is the core of the law of attraction. In 2023, I will attract better because I understand that it all starts within. The better I become, the better I…
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What SZA’s Album, SOS, Taught Me About Vulnerability
Following an outstretched bide in time, with an account dated back to the COVID-19 tunnel of September 2020, SZA fans are ripping past the tissue paper of an early Christmas present with the release of SOS, a prequel to her supernatural Ctrl album that provided a mystical new perspective for the R&B community in 2017.…
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Not Your Typical Holiday Mindset
Head empty after finals, the mind of your average anywhere but the moral values for the holidays. High school friends, recharging, and hibernating— that’s the ideal break. The farthest routine from finals review and research paper season. Slow your roll. Take a breath and appreciate the present at home. This holiday season, prioritize appreciating the…
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Flowing Not Forcing
I just like having a plan. That’s what I liked to call it. I have never been one to like surprises or choose to play a weekend by ear. I like fulfilled expectation and validation. Being a “planner” fills that void. The best relationships, the best nights, and the best conversations in 2022 occurred unexpectedly.…
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Good Things Fall Apart, Better Things Fall Together
Receiving the due respect, courtesy, benevolence, and attentiveness you deserve from the world around you is out of arm’s reach. When all is said and done, the only person that truly owes these qualities to you, is yourself. It took me some time to swallow this… people are allowed to wake up and choose to…
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Level Up
Get ready to level up mentally, emotionally, spiritually, energetically. It is all coming. Do not underestimate how much can change in the last few months of 2022… it is time to get serious about your goals. If your life just got a little more challenging, you are climbing up to the next level, Stay consistent,…
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Stressed, Blessed and Pumpkin Obsessed
I will be happy once I— pause right there. Be happy with what you have. Be happy with where you are at. In fact, love where you are at. This fall, put a hold on destination chasing and adore where you are socially, academically, physically, mentally. Continue to prioritize what is important to you and…
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The Falsities of Timing
Time— a phenomena no mere mortal can master when it comes to its toll building connections. We meet the truest friend the month before parting ways. We cast gaze at the most attractive person… to find out they are already taking @TomHolland. We encounter someone who encourages our energy, but in unseasonable time. “It would…
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Welcome to the Comeback Era
Accept, allow, and move on: welcome to your comeback era. A comeback era is distinguished by a mindset shift. I will be prioritizing my joy, positivity, and peace. Following this guide, I encourage you to do the same. Realistically, this has been a weird couple of months for me. Nonetheless, I have learned a lot,…
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Zero Expectations
In all honesty, this week’s blog Thursday rolled in way faster than I expected. Typically, I have an inkling a week in advanced about what topic I am going to cover based on what events the incoming week holds. The topic I cover is usually one that I have a better understanding of by the…
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Little Miss Romanticizes School During Midterms
Aside from pumpkin spice galore, spooky movies, and planning Halloween costumes ridiculously early, the start of fall this means that the semester is inching toward the one thing every student dreads—midterms. Stress levels are rising, anxiety is spiraling dangerously out of control and all-nighters are becoming almost mandatory. The off days and memorable moments at…
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Channeling the Highest Version of Yourself
Confidence is a mindset. It is completely up to you as an individual to design it and live by it. I find that my biggest regrets are not saying hi, not shooting that text, not asking that question in class, or not putting myself out there. In other words, my biggest regrets root in situations…
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Embracing Loneliness As An Extrovert
Finding joy and pleasure in being alone— a phenomena echoed in my ear that I never quite understood. Being a people person is intuitive to me. Perhaps because I am genuinely invested in getting to know every individual I encounter. The highlight of my day: seeing my five roommates (and five honorary roommates, the coolest…
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First Blush: The Value of a Morning Moment
Let’s talk about that 8:00am action. Not a morning person? I am about to turn your world upside down. Here is the secret: you need a routine or moment that excites you about leaving the safe haven of your bed. Set a goal that drives you to jump out of bed in the morning. A…
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Exploring College Friendships: Prioritize People Who Prioritize You
Typically, I share aspects of character building, wellness, and healthy habits that are current and that I am fully knowledgable of in my own life. There is no doubt that these thoughts are current, however, by no means have I mastered it. My optimal advice and lesson when approaching college friendships is to accept that…
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Because of you, Mom
Because of you, mom, I can write my S’s in the right direction. Because of you, mom, I can blow out my own hair. Because of you I love with no bounds, give with no limits, and let sparks of creativity enrage. A symbol of selflessness and upmost love, my mom puts every individual before…
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Simple and Guilty Pleasures
Speaking truth and nothing but the truth. Authenticity? Expect nothing less. I am coming clean about my simple and guilty pleasures. Simple pleasures are all about the present— brief, positive, commonplace. A specific peak of utmost satisfaction, sparked effortlessly. What’s the best part about simple pleasures? There is no cost and no loss. If you…
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Happy Birthday, Dad!
Eternally humble. The only phrase that hoovers close enough to putting my Dad’s character in words. To know my Dad and his story, is to love him whole-heartedly. I owe it all to you. A true story of “started from the bottom” and now you’re here… and I am lucky enough to be here with…
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Drafting a Play Book for a Successful Season: Back to School
It’s halftime! 2 years through college and 2 more years to go. Catch your breath, re-access your game plan, and refocus mentally, physically, and emotionally. Who’s on your team? Who’s on your starting line up? What’s the play book looking like? I’m leaking my best plays for you and your team for back to school:…
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20 Things I Learned Over 20 Years
20 Things I Learned Over 20 Years 1. Take photos often.2. Trends fade & become cringeworthy. 3. Friendships need to be nurtured.4. Never put more into a relationship than you are receiving.5. Bigger risk leads to a bigger reward.6. Think long term. 7. Right person wrong time is myth, it’s never too late or too early to…
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Much love, Shaudeh Farjami 