Engineering my life

I haven't blogged anything for a while (mostly because I keep forgetting I have a blog) but I figure this is a good time as any to revisit! I've been in Europe for about two weeks now. I came to present at a conference (Thermodynamics 2015) in Copenhagen, Denmark and then decided to do some exploring after because why not? So here's what's been up! I arrived in Copenhagen on September 13th and instantly realized I had packed very poorly. It was super windy and cold and all I had packed were tank tops, shorts and two light jackets/cardigans. It's not that I hadn't checked the weather. It's that in the warmth of North Carolina's sunny days, 65 degrees just hadn't seemed that cold. Anyway, jet lagged and all (I had flown from California), it took a few days to get my sleeping schedule in order. My friends, Mariah and Laura, were also presenting at the same conference so we spent the first few days mostly just attending conference events and having oc

As human beings, I think most of us struggle with just letting things be. We overthink. We create complications for ourselves and then wonder why life couldn't be more simple. We look for happiness from external sources, failing to realize that true happiness comes from within us. We expect others to respect us, while constantly making decisions without respecting ourselves. We complain about situations without trying to actively come up with solutions.  Maybe it's time we stopped. I'm slowly beginning to learn that life is as simple or complicated as we want it to be. If you're not happy about something, change it. Or at least try. It's not always going to be a quick fix but more often than not, there's always something you can actively DO about the situation you're in. If you're in a complicated relationship or situation, get out. Now. Because you're better than that. If you're spending more time focusing on the negatives in y