BYOEOL (Bring your own elixir of life)

Punxsutawney Phil needs to stop gate-keeping

February 16, 2024

It’s February 16th. Valentine’s Day has come and gone. If they haven’t already, the winter blues have set in and you may or may not look like Elle Woods after Warner dumped her for being too… blonde (which would literally never happen in 2024.) Thankfully, according to reliable source Punxsutawney Phil, it will be an early spring this year.*

*As a society, we should reconsider taking pointers from a rodent that works one day a year and is supposedly 138 (he drinks from an "elixir of life.”)

By now, everyone has turned on their Google Flights notifications or begun stalking SeatGeek for cheap concert tickets. For those of us who are seasonally affected, we need something to put on the calendar to look forward to — that and Vitamin D gummies.

🗓 Mark Your GCal

With that being said, the girls have officially claimed Q2 as their own. Check out some of the upcoming albums being released just in time for spring:

Are you wasting your time?

I recently saw a post from a newly 30-year-old who felt like she wasted her 20s. The comments were flooded with 30-somethings agreeing that they too wasted the decade and 20-somethings asking for advice on what they would do differently.

The definition of time well spent is a personal one, deciding what’s considered quality time vs. wasted time. The first is usually birthdays, weekend trips, dinner with friends, finishing a good book; the latter… doom-scrolling?

Do we ever feel like our time is well-spent if it isn’t on a European vacation? And how can you PASS/FAIL an entire decade by deciding whether or not it was wasted?

In a social media generation where we know too much about our friends, our exes, and random girls we met in a club bathroom, it feels impossible to keep up with the Joneses.

You can and should set goals to strive for, implement routines for yourself, and work on getting out of your comfort zone. But those things aren’t a finish-before-you’re-30 box to check off. They’re life-long practices you must choose to pursue every day.

Has anyone ever turned 30 and thought to themselves, “What a GREAT use of the last 10 years of my life, I feel completely fulfilled and proud of the way I spent every minute.” (If you have said this, we’d love to interview you.)

Wasting your 20s isn’t real, but a figment of your imagination. This time is one of learning, experimenting, being uncomfortable, and figuring out what you like and don’t like. Sometimes those lessons will lead you down a path that’s not a good fit, giving you the false perception that it was a waste of time. When in reality, you’re the only one who gets to make that call.

✍️ Weekly REPORT

by Katie Burke

Reading: About to start the Harry Styles-inspired Wattpad fanfic The Idea of You… any thoughts?

Eating: Leftover Valentine’s Day chocolates.

Playing: Board games!! Current favorite.

Obsession: Being an AMC A-Lister. This is not an ad but it will make you feel like you’re a regular at an exclusive club.

Recommending: Hibernating :)

Treat: A new gym set! Nothing is more motivating than feeling like Workout Barbie at 6 am CorePower.

Here’s your Friday reminder: You are exactly where you need to be — if you were supposed to be somewhere else, you would be there instead.

Have a great weekend however you choose to spend it :)

👀 Tweets of the week