Project Geode: Year of Sweet

For a long time now, I’ve been saying, “when I’m 16, my life is gonna change.” Now, I knew it wasn’t all of a sudden going to be amazing just because of my birthday, I knew I’d have to plan and make sure that this year was going to be my year. When I turned 16, I thought: well, I said my life was going to change, let’s get started then. So, here I am!

About a week ago, I decided to start Project Geode; a segment on Daily Gem about growth and living a happier and healthier lifestyle! I picked the name Project Geode 1. because it matched Gem, and 2. because of something I heard in a Barbie movie. I know that might sound stupid, but I remember in Princess and the Pauper, Barbie picked up an unopened geode and said: “unassuming on the outside, but a treasure within.” I thought that this was the perfect name because it represents the beauty within!

“Unassuming on the outside, but a treasure within”

Barbie – Princess and the Pauper

I’m so excited to share my journey with you! With all the craziness going on in the world right now, it can be harder to focus on positive, but I think we can do it!

Change doesn’t just happen overnight, this will take some time, but it won’t happen if we don’t have a plan! I’ve broken up Project Geode into 5 basic steps:

1: Planning/ Creating Your Vision

The first thing I did (which I will get more into in a sec) was create a vision board for this year. I titled it Sweet Sixteen: Full Year of Sweet, Here’s How. This vision board outlines the lifestyle goals and changes that I’m going to make to be happy while working towards them!

2: Organizing Your Workspace

Having a clear space is the best way to have a clear mind. But, it may not always be easy to have the motivation to clean and organize. During the first week of quarantine, I cleaned my room. It took 5 days (it was really bad), but it was so worth it! I can now move around in my room, and it is so much more relaxing to be in there and not have to see a mess wherever I step. Now, I clean up my room about once a week to make sure it will never get that messy ever again.

3: Finding Your Style

Although organizing your wardrobe is a huge part of this, finding your style doesn’t just mean a closet refresh. It also means making a space that screams YOU! Although this may not seem to be a super important part to living happier and healthier, little things like this make a big difference! Having a cohesive design to your room, stationary, office, etc., will make you feel much more organized and put together! And finding an aesthetic that suits you will give you so much confidence! This will basically be your “brand” because it’s an expression of yourself in a stylish and cohesive way!

4: Mental Health

The steps above will already put you on the right path to improve mental health, but another big thing is trying to think positively! Obviously, it can be hard at times, there are so many struggles, especially in a teen’s life. I know it is very difficult for some people to think positively about themselves because we compare ourselves to others and the media so often. A few small things that I’ve started are writing affirmations to improve my confidence, and by doing small things for myself, like baking a fancy treat or wearing fruit and veggie socks!

5: Physical Health

Mental and physical health go hand in hand, and healthy looks different on everyone, so I won’t really focus on the physical results, but the mental ones! The main goal of this step is to feel healthy, and as a result, happier! Some of the primary health things I want to change in my life are eating less sugar, sticking to a morning and night routine, thinking more positively, and being more active instead of looking at a screen in my free time!

Next week will be all about setting goals and how to achieve them! I’m so excited to share this journey with you, and I’d be even more excited if you joined me on this journey! You can use #theprojectgeode to post on social media about your own journey of growth, or anything from productivity and organization tips to healthy recipes!