Category: Twentysomethhings

3 Fun and Virtual Ways to Practice Social-Distancing #StayTheFHome

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Hello my amazing readers! I hope you are holding up well. I know last blog post I said I didn’t want to write about the current global pandemic but it’s been brought to my attention that many people are not understanding that we need to practice social distancing right now to flatten the curve. For information on that click here.

As an Aries sun and extrovert queen I am completely aware of how hard it is to stay home and not hang out in person with our friends. However, this entire COVID-19 situation has helped me learn various ways I can hang out with my friends virtually until we are able to leave our homes for more than essentials. These virtual hangouts are a great way to get that social interaction in without putting yourself or others at risk of spreading COVID-19.

Have A Zoom Party

I know, we are over Zoom as many of us are attending Zoom University or Zoom School of Law but listen, Zoom parties/hangouts have been getting me through this entire social-distancing thing! In the past few weeks my friends and I have done everything on Zoom from our school hosting a Virtual Bar Review (Bar Review is a law school event when student organizations  take turns hosting an event at a local bar every week), Wine Wednesday, my birthday party, and a regular Zoom party (ya girl was the DJ). While it’s clearly not the same as going to the bar, it is still a fun time and you get to see everyone’s faces. Group Facetime could also be an option but not everyone has an iPhone and we don’t want exclude our Android using friends. Make sure to have a password for your chats as people have been getting hacked on their Zoom calls.

Host a Movie Night on Netflix Party

I am so upset it took social distancing for me to discover Netflix Party because it is truly a Godsend! One night a group of friends and I watched 3 episodes of Black Mirror (White Christmas, Black Museum, and Hang The DJ for all my Black Mirror Fans out there wondering) and it was literally so much fun. How it works is you download the Netflix Party extension here and then someone invites everyone through a link and all of you can watch the show/movie/whatever you decide to watch synced together at the same time. You can even pause it if some needs to use the bathroom or get some more snacks/wine! I really enjoyed it because there is also a chatbox on the side and you can type your feelings while watching. It’s especially fun when you watch something as crazy as Black Mirror with people who have never seen it before. I am super excited to have more Netflix Watch Parties in the future. This is not only a good tool for social-distancing. My best friend lives in Tulsa and I already know I’m going to plan some movie nights with her from now on, even after this social-distancing life is over. It is also useful for couples in long distance relationships to plan their own version of Netflix & Chill, hahaha! To download Netflix Party extension click here!

Play some Virtual Card Games

You and your friends can play different card games here. I haven’t had the chance to use this particular resource but one of my friends shared it in our group text and it sounded like so much fun. They even have they have their own version of Cards Against Humanity called Remote Insensitivity. Set this up with a separate video chat and it will be a blast. I have yet to use this resource yet but I’m looking forward to doing so on some of the other virtual chats I will have over the next month or two or however long.

These are just a few of the many resources we can use during this social distancing time. I’m sure there are many that I will discover as we continue this practice of staying home and interacting with our friends on their internet. We can also use the good ol’ fasioned Facetime, Skype, Google Hangouts, and other video chats that exist.

Do you have any favorite virtual ways to social-distance and still hang out with your friends? Let me know in the comments below!

4 Podcasts You Should Listen To Right Now

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In the last few years I’ve strayed away from watching TV shows and gravitated towards listening to podcasts. Whether I have a flight to catch or want something to listen while I’m grocery shopping, podcasts always come in clutch. This past Monday was International Podcast Day and I decided there was no better way to celebrate than to list some podcasts I’ve been listening to lately. These podcasts are listed in no particular order and you should definitely check out ALL of them after reading this post.

1. Slay Girl Say Podcast

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The Slay Girl Slay podcast, a podcast for women of color, encourages WOC to do things to promote their own wellness, professional lives, and so much more. Slay Girl Slay is one of my favorite podcasts to listen to while I shop at Trader Joe’s on Sundays. Host Ashley Leggs always has a personal anecdote to relate to life’s greater messages and encourages her “queens of color” to level up! The topics of the episodes range from tidying up our spaces,  being a woman of your word, getting your “ish together, and everything in between. Some days I don’t have the energy to sit through an hour long motivational podcast episode and the thing I love the most about the Slay Girl Slay podcast is that most of the episodes are 30 mins or less. They are perfect for when I wanted to hear something uplifting that is also short, sweet, and straight to the point. I listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts but it is available on many different places podcasts are listened to.

Recommended Episode:  “Be A Woman of Your Word”

2. Dique! Podcast

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Sarah Vega, a Dominican Afro-Latina, started this podcast and her own media company of the same name. I discovered the Dique! podcast after I started listening to The PlotTwist Podcast. The PlotTwist Podcast is on the Dique! Network. I can’t remember which episode I listened to first but I remember being blown away by how honest Sarah was about everything she’s gone through in her life so far. One of the things I value in my own life and brand is being upfront without oversharing and I feel that Sarah also approaches all of her work this way as well. Listening to the Dique! podcast feels like gettin’ put on game by an older homegirl who has been through some things in life and keeps it real with you. She holds no punches and sometimes I get a gut check when she’s not even talking to me. I listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts as well.

Episode I Recommend: “This is what I learned…” Series Introduction. This is the most recent episode of the podcast and it gives you just enough to know what Sarah delivers in her podcast.

3. Tea with Qwns Podcast

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I went to college with hosts of this podcast and I love what they’re doing with their platform. Hosts Jerralyn and Janine are two sisters who weigh in different topics from pop culture to politics, self-love to sex, and whatever else they feel like having candid conversation about. The ladies sometimes bring different guests into the conversations as well which often leads to an even more likely listening. While the podcast is titled “Tea with Qwns” it isn’t just targeted towards women. As the ladies say a qwn is “a fierce and fabulous individual who overcomes adversity and keeps their head high while strutting every step of the way.” This definitely a podcast that 20-somethings want to check out.

Episode I Recommend: “Episode 2.2: The Tea on Friend Breakups”

4. And That’s Why We Drink

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I always have a podcast I listen to that’s a bit of a palette cleanser from listening to self-help/get your shit together type of podcasts I listen to and And That’s Why We Drink is currently that podcast for me. This podcast is a Paranormal and True Crime podcast and honestly I’ve been obsessed since the later half of this past summer. Em tackles the supernatural while Christine Not only do I love spooky things but the hosts Em and Christine’s banter is hilarious. There are some episodes I literally can’t listen to in public because they will have me cracking up out loud (when LOL actually means laugh out loud and not “hahaha”).

Recommended Episode: Just start with episode one and work your way through it. They reference previous episode topics sometimes and you don’t want to be out of the loop.

Podcasts have honestly become of my favorite things. Sometimes I like to give my eyes a break and just listen to something entertaining that’s not music. I’ve also thought about starting my own podcast but that’s a whole other blog post hahaha. Hopefully you find your new fave podcast from this post! I like to think I have good taste.

I’m always looking for new podcasts to check out. Are there any that you love to listen to? Drop the names of them in the comments!

A Guide To Alcohol-Free Fun For Twentysomethings

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The other day I was talking to some of my friends and one of them said something that has been stuck in my mind. She said “I need to find hobbies or things to do that don’t involve alcohol.” Ironically enough, this was after we had spent the day at a bottomless mimosa brunch and we’re getting ready to start pre-gaming to go out, but she had a point. I realized that many millennial and generation Z-ers, myself included, usually socialize when there is something involving alcohol. Well, as I dive further into my health + fitness journey, only socializing with my friends if we are drinking doesn’t really align with my current goals. This inspired me to write this post about activities we can do that don’t involve alcohol.

Host a Breakfast Party

Just think, brunch, without the mimosas (or the overpriced french toast). While, in my humble opinion, mimosas may or may not be the best part of brunch for some, breakfast food is also a star on it’s own. On NYE some friends and I cooked our own brunch (and added mimosas) and then sat down and talked about our goals for the New Year and other things. It was honestly so much better than trying to have conversation at a crowded brunch restaurant trying to see how many you can drink in the two hour limit. Even without the mimosas, I’m sure it would have been fun to have the breakfast without mimosas. Each friend can be assigned a dish (the friends who can’t cook can cut up fruit or something) and then you can enjoy the meal you all helped contribute to. This can also apply to lunch or dinner if breakfast is not your thing.

Get Active

Whether it’s going on a hike, snowboarding, taking a group fitness class, or even a pole dancing class, participating in exercise with your friends can be so fun, especially if it’s activity you or your friends have never participated in before (these make for the best stories). I especially enjoy hiking with other people because you usually don’t have service on mountains and allows your friend group to have great unplugged conversations about everything in life.

Channel Your Inner Artist (or crafter)

One of the things I missed about being in undergrad with my sorority sisters is the many arts and crafts nights we had whenever recruitment or some other equally important event was around the corner. A good way to hang out with your friends sans alcohol is letting your creative juices flow. Whether it be a vision board party, paint night, or whatever else, arts and crafts bring people together. If it’s one of the holidays you can also incorporate that into your night in with friends. Halloween? Carve or paint (my personal fave of the two options) pumpkins. Celebrate Christmas? Have a Gingerbread house decorating contest.

Go Volunteer

Giving back to your community is a great way to build friendships and feel good about yourself. Instead of having a hangover, you will feel happy that you helped a greater cause. Some ideas are soup kitchens, pet shelters, or even helping set up a 5K. Google community service opportunities in your city for more fun ideas.

I’m sure there are many other things you can do with your friends and without alcohol. My friends personally love to go out to eat together but I wasn’t going to list that because it’s probably the most common thing friends do besides going out to drink. Go out (or stay in) with your friends and get started on these activities. I’m sure you’ll have a blast!

Is there something you do with your friends that doesn’t involve alcohol that I didn’t list here? Let me know in the comments! I’m always open for more activities to do.