Sight

Staring at a computer screen for hours on end is not the best thing you’ve ever done for your eyes. Monitor the brightness on your screen, and use a night-shift setting when it is available. Printing out pages of text and reading the paper version is helpful to get a break from screen time. However, if the screen is unavoidable, try a pair of blue-light blocking glasses that shield your eyes from the invisible rays that damage your eyes. Blue light can be the culprit of headaches and eye strain.  

Sound

While studying, listen to music that does not have lyrics. Lyrics tend to be distracting. You can play around with the tempos to see which one you jive with the best. Spotify and iTunes have a plethora of playlists handpicked for studying and productivity.

Smell

It’s candle time! Can I plug my currant-scented candle real quick? This scent catapults me into hours of productivity. It may not be for everyone, but I would highly advise finding and owning a candle scent that makes your happy. Essential oils are praised for their ability to clean out the dusty corners of our psyche, and their popularity has placed them on the shelves of places like WalMart. The oils are usually placed on the wrist, temples, and behind the ears.

Taste

Did someone say… snack queen? I will vote for indulgence, every time. I know, healthy foods are great and all. But at times like this, we must cut ourselves a break. Fancy chocolate boxes full of truffles, hot cocoa with extra marshmallows, FRENCH FRIES. Yes. Have a stash and do not be afraid to use it.

Touch

The compression of leggings does wonders for your legs, and I’m here to tell you it does wonders for the heart. Make sure every article of clothing that touches your skin is chosen with intention. I work best when I’m comfortable. Fuzzy socks or a favorite blanket can help set the tone as well.

Best of luck to each of you next week! Finals week is stressful, no matter how you slice it. Treat your senses, and your senses will treat you.

However, Trish and Olivia Carter, mother-daughter co-owners of Charlie’s Funky Junk Shop, are determined to anchor down at the corner of West Main and North Walnut Street and wait for the miracle to happen.

The family-owned building, circa 1900, showcases authentic tin ceiling tiles and original flooring. Exposed brick peeking behind walls that are filled with all things funk and junk.

If Pier 1 Imports and your grandmother’s attic had a baby, this is the fun, eclectic offspring.

Postcard and matchboxes priced at a quarter. Mirrored dressers alongside vintage vinyl records. Hand-stitched quilts draped elegantly down the walls. Tin-can gardens are packed to the gills with vibrant succulents and breathe life into the room; the cans are ornately dressed in beautiful lace and burlap and buttons.

“It took us forever to figure out how to describe what we have,” Olivia Carter said.

The decadent collection of proclaimed funky-junk started off as a simple yard sale in front of what was the family art studio in downtown Statesboro. Trish Carter began clearing out one room of her home at a time in an attempt to downsize after her children left the nest.

The downtown yard sale was comprised of kitchen gadgets, household odds and ends, and clothing; typical yard sale fare.

Carter was approached by shoppers at the yard sale who loved the concept and wanted to sell their own items to her.

This spark of an idea turned into a reality. The Carters began to buy items from locals and enlisted “Charlie’s Angels” to help pick up furniture and auction finds. What they will take from local sellers has no strict parameters. They will take it by the box load, car load, room-full, or house-full, Olivia Carter said.

“People like shopping and I think it’s fun that this isn’t T.J. Maxx home decor,” Olivia Carter said. “Every week it’s something new.”

Charlie’s Funky Junk Shop officially opened its doors in August of 2017. The store’s namesake belongs to Trish’s father. In the late 1960s, he started an antique business in upstate New York. Knowing little about the vintage world at the time, he quickly learned as he went.

Trish Carter gained an appreciation for antiques and collecting items from her childhood immersion in the trade. However, antiques can be intimidating at times.

You won’t find a chair you’re afraid to sit in at Charlie’s Funky Junk Shop, Trish Carter said. It is accessible to everyone in every price range.

Like the OG Charlie, the Carters don’t pretend to claim they knew exactly what they were doing when they opened their junk shop.

“We’re not the conventional people who have a business degree and then open a business,” Olivia Carter said. “We’re artists.”

Olivia Carter is a Georgia Southern alumna with a theatre degree. Her experience in set design is evident when eyeing the arrangements of items and collections of colors and patterns in the shop.

Outside of learning how a business works and running it successfully, the biggest obstacle they are optimistic about overcoming is the lack of foot traffic in downtown Statesboro besides the monthly First Friday events. The traffic they do have is decent, but nothing in comparison to the downtown utilization of Athens or Asheville, Trish Carter said.

People that are downtown for appointments, such as clients at Merle Norman on West Main Street, pop right over the crosswalk after they are done with their hair or makeup.

To get people in the door who wouldn’t normally be strolling down the street, marketing the business extremely important, Olivia Carter said.

The sign outside store front door stating, “Come inside for the world-class junk” hooked Gayle Akins’ interest and led her inside. Akins connection with Olivia was almost immediate. Olivia shared the background of the store and the story of Charlie during one of her first visits, Akins said.

“You know you’re not just another customer [there],” Akins said. “What keeps me coming in is the warmth, talent and creativity.”

The Carter duo, along with their full-time employee, Sarah Edwards, rearrange and reset the store’s sections on Mondays and Tuesdays. The simple change in placement can switch up the entire look and feel of the store, and it often looks completely different from week to week. Product placement is everything in the funky-junk industry.

“You can have one object in one place and it will sit there for weeks,” Edwards said. “But if you move it and place it in a different context, it flies off the shelf.”

Selling a hodgepodge collection of objects in no way means that they don’t get attached to the intricate finds. Edwards recalls walking into the store and realizing something had sold and actually missing it.

“You end up building relationships with objects,” Edwards said.

Being surrounded with treasures of yesterday can be difficult when they love everything they fill the store with. The owners have had to lay out guidelines for how to handle the predicament of wanting everything they buy for the store, for themselves instead.

“We have a rule: you’re allowed one thing per buy,” Olivia Carter said.

Olivia’s junk store weakness is pearls, which fill just about every hole in her pierced ears. Pearls and turquoise, she says. Her all-time favorite find is neither of those gems, oddly enough. It’s a yellow ceramic dog made entirely out of ashtrays.

While some people collect dolphin figurines, owls, or frogs, Edwards has a special place in her heart for camels. She’s been collecting them for years, so naturally when anything camel-like comes in the store, it’s hard to pass up. The Carters once gifted Edwards with a special funky-junk find, a plant holder in the shape of a camel, carved entirely from a single piece of wood.

“They treat me so well as an employee,” Edwards said. “They care about my well-being and what my opinions are. That makes me feel valued.”

For now, the women-owned, local family business has no plans of venturing out or relocating to high-traffic shopping areas such as Statesboro Crossing or Bermuda Run. They are intent on holding out for downtown development to continue it’s transformation and revitalization.

“West Main is our home,” Olivia Carter said. “West Main is the funky street of downtown.” 

Feature image is courtesy of the Charlie’s Funky Junk Shop Facebook page.

Note: There is a widget embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's widget. ]]> /5450-2/feed/ 0 5450 /tracking-the-fitness-trackers/ /tracking-the-fitness-trackers/#respond Wed, 21 Mar 2018 13:00:42 +0000 /?p=5408 Are daily tracking methods paired with tech indicative of a healthy lifestyle?

Probably not.

Technology, a defining characteristic of the millennial generation, continues to be a larger part of our school, work and home life. The lighter, the smaller, the thinner,  the better it seems.

The Apple Watch, Fitbit, and Samsung Smartwatch are snaking around the wrists of people at a growing rate. According to the 2016 Kantar Worldpanel survey, nearly 16 percent of the US consumer population owns a wearable device.

Wearable technology has taken our love for life-hacking gadgets a step further. If you can name it, a smartwatch can probably track it. Among the countless capabilities, users typically track steps, active calories burned, total calories burned, calories consumed and heart rate.

By simply strapping on a smartwatch in the morning, your resting heart rate can be calculated and averaged out for the entire day without your conscious presence in the action. This less intentional configuration of smartwatches has married our persistence in pursuing a healthy lifestyle, regardless of how successful the efforts might be.

Georgia Southern’s Wearable Push

Georgia Southern University’s online fitness walking course is one of many that students can take to meet the KINS credit hour requirement.

Students in this course are required to have a wearable fitness tracker- either a fitness band or a smartwatch. The tracking capabilities through a smartphone alone are prohibited in the course; the device must be worn on the wrist. However, strapping a tracker to your wrist does not guarantee success in the course.

“You have to be ready to make a change in order to make it,” said Julie Kuykendall, instructor in the School of Health and Kinesiology at GS. “The people who tend to do better with it are people who were active to begin with.”

“Where a person fits in on the behavior change model is more indicative of their success with personal health goals,” Kuykendall said.

The behavior change model takes several different forms, but they commonly begin with a precontemplation stage, and includes stages of contemplation, determination, action, relapse and maintenance.

Brittany Keith, senior interdisciplinary studies major, has owned a Fitbit Blaze for two years.

“I typically use my Fitbit to count calories burned,” Keith said. “I enjoy the watch because it helps me keep up with my calories during an intense workout and to see my heart rate.”

While Keith has used the Fitbit app to input food data, she admits to lacking consistency in tracking the information.

Wearable Rundown

A fitness tracker can be a valuable tool in the maintenance of a healthy lifestyle, but reason must be the starting point.

“I don’t know that it results in behavior change unless you are motivated to make that change,” Kuykendall said.

Quantifying your own biological data sounds wonderful. After all, we millenials are obsessed with ourselves. But if the intention is missing, it is really just noise. Intention, and specifically where you might fall on the behavior change model, are more indicative of maintaining a healthy lifestyle than burying yourself in mounds of data.

Denmark consistently ranks as one of the happiest countries in the world, despite their extremely high taxes and unbearable weather. The Danish seem to have a complete handle on hygge, which is a likely reason the Happiness Research Institute is headquartered in Copenhagen.

The CEO of the Happiness Research Institute, Meik Wiking, published The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living, in a response to the never ending question: Why are the Danes so damn happy? In his book, Wiking presents a multitude of everyday habits the Danish incorporate in their lives.

Wiking’s Hygge Manifesto includes 10 points that can easily be tied into your day.

1. Atmosphere

A non-negotiable in hygge is lighting. Say yes to candles and lamps, and avoid any overhead or fluorescent fixtures. If you’d like to take it a step further, opt for unscented candles. The Danish like to avoid artificial fragrance. If you want your house to smell like apple pie, then bake an apple pie.

2. Presence

University Wellness Director, Michele Martin, suggests cutting out the noise, racing thoughts, and distractions. You achieve this by being mindful and present in the moment, Martin said. Look at where your feet are. Try to be there mentally, not just physically.

3. Pleasure

A hot drink is the number one thing Danes associate with hygge. Hot tea, apple cider, hot cocoa, and of course coffee are all safe bets to obtaining the warm and fuzzies. Sweets are also a top contender, so a square of dark chocolate and a slice of cake are encouraged.

“Carrot sticks, not so much. Something sinful is an integral component of the hygge ritual,” according to Wiking.

4. Equality

In hygge, everyone has a seat at the table. Be eager to help your friend in the kitchen, and allow others to enjoy the back and forth of a conversation.

5. Gratitude

To quote the Broadway Hamilton soundtrack like the obsessed every-lyric-knowing person I am, “Look around, look around, at how lucky we are to be alive right now.” Even on your worst day, a running list of gratitude is key to the movement. Your gratitude might be beautiful weather, a grade you know you didn’t deserve, your favorite spot in the library is wide open, or simply to be alive.

6. Harmony

For this, Wiking suggests to check your bragging rights at the door. The people you choose to experience hygge with are in no competition with you or with each other. Honestly, conversation is optional. The people you are comfortable with in total silence are a good fit for this. One of the most beautiful aspects of hygge is experienced in taking in natural sounds, like coffee brewing mixed with a thunderstorm.

7. Comfort

Get out those pants: Your favorite pants. You know exactly which pants I’m talking about. There’s actually a word for them in Wiking’s hygge dictionary: Hyggebukser (hooga-bucksr). These are the pants you’d never wear in public, but live in at home. Ten points are added for fuzzy, knitted socks.

8. Truce

While you’re checking bragging rights at the door, also check the debate club, politics, finances, and anything else that has the potential to get you wound up. Think low blood pressure, easy conversation.

9. Togetherness

This is a good time to reminisce on shared memories. “I thrive on investing in people, and that returning,” Martin said. Experiencing hygge with the people you’ve invested in is a great way to see the fruits of that relationship blossom.

10. Shelter

Your sanctuary, the place that’s safe and sound from the aforementioned thunderstorm. Here, you can fill your home with little things that make a big difference.

“Basically, you want to think: How would a Viking squirrel furnish a living room?” Wiking explains.

Bring nature inside, and incorporate wood in your decor. Lastly, a shelter would not be complete without blankets and cushions, you can never have too many.

Article first appeared in Reflector Print Magazine Fall 2017 edition. 

This project is foolproof. It’s impossible to fail or mess up and little to no artistic ability is required. It’s the perfect weekend remedy to take your mind off the stresses of school, work and a multitude of other daily obligations that pull you away from necessary “me-time.”

Kick the project off by making a trip to Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, or my personal favorite: the clearance home goods section at T.J. Maxx. Find a print canvas with good bones. Don’t worry about what’s printed on it. The busier, the better.

Once you’ve found the canvas, you’ll need:

• Painters Tape — $3.24 at Walmart
• Vinyl Lettering — $6.99 at Walmart
• Acrylic Paint– $2.50 at Walmart
• Paintbrush — $0.73 at Walmart

After you’ve decided on the lyrics or a quote you want to use, lay out the letters on your canvas in a straight line. Operative word here: straight.

Use the painters tape to block off areas that you don’t want painted. I covered the edges of my canvas for added depth. Also be sure to cover any areas you’d like to paint later with a different color.

Dampen your paintbrush in water and paint a layer of color on the exposed area of your canvas. Let it dry and repeat this process 2-3 times, depending on how dark the print of your canvas is. In my case, I could have used a few extra coats of the yellow paint, but the blue is rock solid.

After all the painted areas are completely dry and your stylistic design choices with the painters tape have been made, slowly peel away any leftover tape and the vinyl letters. It’s basically the best feeling ever, but take your time and try not to peel up the paint on your canvas with it.

You’re done! Hang your masterpiece in a high traffic area of your home to give you midday inspiration.

Some trends turn out to be cringeworthy in hindsight; others quickly phase out before you realize what you’re wearing isn’t cool anymore (you can raise your hand now if you bought a sherpa hoodie too late). However, I’m declaring that this one is here to stay. I’m constantly wondering how I survived (and wondering what in the world I wore) before leggings.

On a serious note, there is a time and place to actually get dressed. Know the limits. Be cool. Don’t cross the line and wear leggings to a job interview (unless its a skype interview).

Wearing leggings is a simple, concrete way to be sweet to yourself. It’s a kind gesture; an “I love you” of sorts. It’s a mad world out there, so why should you have to spend the day trapped behind a cold, hard prison gate: the button, the zipper, the jean.

A USA Today article cited the long history of jean sales, specifically the denim giant Levi Strauss, which has been around for well over a century. The article states that Levi has taken hits from a corduroy and khaki rush, but quickly regained its ground. The athleisure trend has impacted the company in a different way because it “reflects a fundamental lifestyle change.”

It’s important to speak on the legging selection in the athleisure department: not all leggings are created equal. I’ve been living in leggings for quite some time and can vouch for Gap’s GapFit collection in the mid-range budget, typically averaging around $50 a pair. They hide the things I don’t want seen and compliment the curves. The material is the perfect- not too thin, with a waist band that works like a magic-eraser for the love handles. Lululemon is a high-end athleisure brand with a great reputation, but be ready to shell out close to $100.

At the end of the day, wear what you love. Wear what feels good. Comfort promotes confidence. Let’s ride this wave, who knows how long it’s here for.

For some, just the mention of the word “meditation” carries a calming effect. Who doesn’t need more calm or more mental and emotional presence in the intricacies of a human experience?

Here’s the quick and dirty: meditation is not easy. If it were, everyone would do it.

In the beginning it’s uncommon to experience the presumed “ah-ha moment”. A wise woman once told me that the fruits of meditation don’t come during the act of meditating. They unfold during normal day-to-day interactions after cultivating a disciplined and consistent practice.

Meditation practices typically include three things that can be tough:

Sitting still: It’s an art that most of us struggle with. We fidget, pick and pluck at anything within an arm’s reach.

Surrender to the present moment: Our minds shift and search helplessly for any moment except the one we’re in. Maybe we think about the past or dread the future. Perhaps you swap out dread for anticipation or excitement. Either way, you’re missing an opportunity to experience the ~now~.

Bringing awareness to the breath: It slips in and out with little to no attention as it powers our bodies and connects us with the rich, vibrant, living and breathing world.

The chances of success at experiencing the bountiful byproducts of meditation can be largely increased from simply understanding the obstacles that presently exist in our own minds.

If meditation has piqued your curiosity and you’re interested in making a go of it, you’re probably not surprised to find out there exists a long list of resources to aid in your journey. There’s almost too many… let me help narrow that down a bit.

If you appreciate the good old fashioned book-in-hand method, Lordro Rinzler’s Sit Like A Buddha is a plain English, straightforward while hilarious little gem that I personally owe the most peace-filled few months of my life to. I highly recommend it as a first read for anyone interested in developing a meditation practice of their own.

If the accessibility and functionality of an app is your thing, then check out either Calm or Headspace. Both won Editor’s Choice awards from the App Store and Calm won Apple’s 2017 App of the Year. Fancy!

And if all of that is just too much for you, I present to you the old tried and true. A timer.

Best of luck to you on your meditation journey! May 2018 be our most peaceful year yet.

To a certain degree, it is guaranteed misery. However, the extent of that misery is completely up to you.

All’s not lost and you do have control over a few simple things that are guaranteed to lower the stress levels. Implement these best practices into your finals preparation to ensure a smooth transition into winter break.

    1. Sleep

Don’t cheat yourself on sleep. This is the most simple, straightforward tip in the book. The National Sleep Foundation has one job… which is to study sleep. They recommend college-aged adults get 7-9 hours of sleep. Our overall usefulness at any task stems from this simple necessity. Use your waking hours wisely and eliminate the all-nighter from your vocabulary.

     2. INDEX CARDS

Never underestimate the power of an old-school, handwritten flash card. There’s already a multitude of existing research on the benefits of writing notes over typing notes when it comes to committing pertinent concepts to your memory. Writing and studying your own flash cards will boost your test scores and your confidence. Making flash cards is a tangible result of your studying efforts.  

    3. HYDRATION

While lost in the black hole of studying, it’s easy to forget the little things. Hydrating is easily overlooked, but it’s just as important as sleep regarding cognitive function. And no, we’re not talking about Diet Coke. Think of water as medicine. You may not want it, but it’s beneficial to your brain and body. Some of us are gifted with natural water-drinking habits, and if you’re one of them you are already a step ahead. Just don’t forget to reach for the cup.

    4. TREAT YO’SELF

This is naturally my favorite tip to execute. Instead of letting time slip away from you and thus, your productivity, set a timer for both work and play time. Try not to spend more than 50 minutes without giving yourself a timed 10-minute break to step outside or engage in a enjoyable, mindless activity. Equal in importance is an indulgent form of food. This is a little present for your dedication. I’m talking Zaxby’s. Dare I say, Cookout? It need not look pretty, but it should make you happy. It’s the little luxuries at this point.

   5. AVOID DAY-OF CRAMMING

Preparation is the key to success. If you truly want to do well on your finals, allot time –at the bare minimum the day before– to begin the bulk of your studying. Brushing up on the key concepts and flipping through flashcards the day of is encouraged, but the prep work should take place at least 24 hours prior to the test. Remember what I said about confidence? No one feels confident walking into a test that was solely studied for that morning.

People who identify as SBNR deny that an association with organized religion is the only way to attain spiritual growth.

“If you’re providing something that actually helps people’s lives, they’re going to come,” said Sven Erlandson, counselor and author. “So, if they’re not coming and they’re actually running away, that’s a pretty good indicator that you either have a crappy product or your salesmanship stinks. I would offer that it’s both.”

Erlandson, credited as the father of the SBNR movement, was raised in the Lutheran church and went on to join the ministry. Shortly after the release of his book, “Spiritual but Not Religious: A Call to Religious Revolution in America,” Erlandson said he was kicked out of the ministry.

“There was this palpable spiritual longing, even back then,” Erlandson said. “People were looking for something to believe in and the church was not meeting that need.”

The cultural significance of the church has shifted throughout generations, but understanding the meaning of the Pew Research findings is up for debate.

“Some scholars have argued that this category has no coherency,” said Finbarr Curtis, assistant professor of religious studies at Georgia Southern University. “That it’s kind of a made up thing that pollsters have invented because they don’t know how to count people who don’t fit within denominational boxes.”

However, the decline in church attendance has affected a local church significantly.

“I’ve probably lost 50 percent of my congregation in the past five years,” said Jonathan Edmisten, pastor of Bible Baptist Church in Statesboro. “Millennials are the people that we as spiritual leaders are targeting because we understand the church cannot continue on. It will die by nature of baby boomers dying.”

“In 1950s America, it was important to go to church on Main Street,” Curtis said. “Possibly, that social expectation doesn’t quite exist in the same way.”

Identifying as SBNR could also communicate to other people what kind of person you are via signaling theory, said Jason Slone, professor of religious studies at Georgia Southern University.

“One theory is by choosing to be SBNR, you’re managing your reputation,” Slone said. “So, the theory is that atheism signals intelligence and religiosity signals morality. SBNR could be a hybrid signal.”

The implications that come with a quarter of the population identifying as SBNR could have an impact on a wide range of topics, such as voting and politics, scientific literacy, marriage and fertility rates, Slone said.

“Fertility rates are correlated with religiosity levels,” Slone said. “The least religious women have the fewest babies and the most religious women have the most babies.”

The word ‘religious’ can carry a negative connotation in our society, Curtis said.

“For some people, what they mean when they say ‘spiritual but not religious’ is that they’re uncomfortable with religious institutions,” Curtis said. “They’re fine with some sort of what they describe as a ‘personal connection’ with something, whether that’s a figure like God or a spiritual connection to nature, but they don’t like the constrictions and rules of a church.”

“I think organized religion has a strength around it that has to do with collectivism and working for a group,” said Lisa Costello, associate professor and program director of women and gender studies at Georgia Southern University. “It also reveals something about what is becoming unattractive about organized religion in terms of strictures and rules.”

The SBNR movement has been targeted by critics who claim that its adherents refuse to commit to anything wholly and would rather pick and choose what works for them.

“When Nike came along and said, ‘We’re going to give you 1,000 choices,’ they engaged in consumer-based production of shoes,” said Erlandson. “The church is saying, ‘We have one shoe, we have one size, and it will fit you’ and if it doesn’t fit you, you’re the problem.”