How To: Survive the End of the Year!

So the end of the school year is coming quickly which means exams and final tests of the year are right around the corner. This means you are probably losing momentum to make it to the end of the year. I am here to share some of my tips to help get you to the end of the year. So here is How To Survive the End of the Year!

1. Dress for Success! - I am probably the biggest fan of bum days but I also have been known to dress up when I am exhausted and feel terrible. It is proven if you dress up your performance is going to improve as well. Now I am not saying that you can't bum for the rest of the year because I am gonna be completely that I bum almost every day but dressing up every now and when you have tests is such a great thing and huge performance booster.

2. Sleep! - I know it is fun to stay up late and talk to friends and be on social media and all that but not having enough sleep is a totally bad idea. Your body needs time to recover from the day you have had and your mind needs a break. Teenagers need 7-9 hours to sleep and you may feel good after 6 hours but it isn't good for you or your body.

3. Study! - Yes you need to study for any final tests. Just ten minutes a day can make a difference and you will be thankful when you get that report card. So turn off the phone and open the books.

4. Incentives! - My sophomore year of high school was a rough year and by the end of the year I was burnt out and I honestly just stopped trying. My wonderful parents saw what was happening and provided an incentive to keep me working. My attitude and grades picked up with my mind on getting to Charlotte, NC for a NASCAR weekend. I honestly don't think last year would have ended as well as it did without that incentive. Now it doesn't have to be a huge incentive like a vacation but maybe you get something sweet for every A you get or something like that.

5. Take Breaks! - This is huge. I know a lot of people who will burn themselves out by studying and not taking time for yourself. I know if I try to study to long I start slacking and I really don't actually study so take study breaks. Go for a walk, have a snack, check social media, or just do something that is not related to school at all.

6. Eat Healthy! - Eating healthy is going to help your brain be so much more efficient. I am a big fan of sugar and sweets but it makes my body feel sluggish and not to great. Healthy foods get my body moving and my brain gets way more focused.

7. Stay Positive! - You can do this. Staying positive will increase your mood and your performance. I have been known to leave positive notes for myself in places so that when I am studying of taking the test I see the note and it is huge encouragement.

8. Countdown the Days! - Counting down how many days you have left just helps you see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have countdowns for so many things including the last day of school. It is helpful to see that and be reminded your almost there, If you need a goo countdown app I recommend Dreamdays! It is totally awesome and I love it.

9. Plan Your Summer! - What is more fun that planning your summer vacation. Take time to get excited for summer by planning and making arrangements for the best time of the year.

10. Pass the Test! - After all the studying and hard work you have put into this just take the test and then head out to summer. It will feel great to be done and you will have accomplished another fantastic school year.

This is my How To! for surviving to the end and I have no doubt you can do it! If you have another fun way you get through the end of the year feel free to share it with me and feel free to share this post with someone else so that they can be successful too! I hope you enjoyed this post and I hope you have a great week!

- Megan

How To: Long Car Rides!

Hey guys so with summertime coming up people are going to start traveling to the beach or to fun places. Now for anyone going on a long car ride it is hard to keep yourself occupied for a long time. Yeah you have your phone and headphones but even after a few hours that gets so boring and you have probably used a lot of data. When my family goes on road trips we have creative ways to keep everyone occupied and keep these trips stress free. So with another #MegsHowTo lets get started.

So when I start packing for a trip I start the night before. This insures I won't forget anything and I have time to think about what I need. But the first step is picking a bag that can hold all of your stuff. If you have more than one person in your family or you just like to keep things organized like me try to limit yourself to one bag. A big tote bag or even a plastic bin is a great option.

So once you have your container picked out it is time to fill it and here are some ideas on what to fill it with!

• Movies
• MadLib books
• Coloring books
• Window crayons with Baby wipes
• Magnetic board games

These are only a few ideas of what I like to have when I take car trips but I am sure you have your favorite things to and you have your phone and headphones too. 

If you happen to be the one driving I have tips for you that will help keep you engaged during the trip!

•  Making a playlist for long trips is a must for me. I am notorious for changing the song a lot to find that one song I like so making a playlist that is fun and upbeat keeps you engaged but you can have some fun while driving.
• Have your snacks and drinks close to your seat. This way you don't have to look around for things.
•  If you have a someone with you make up a game! Whether it is the license plate game where you find license plates from other states or counting how many red cars you can find just make up a game to keep engaged. 

Any road trip is super fun but you have to have the right snackage to be completely happy but some snacks are actually bad for road trips! This is a list of snacks that you should pick up from the gas station to have on your adventure.

• Any kind of nut
• Granola Bars
• Fresh Veggies
• Cheese
• Trail Mix
• Fruits

Now it is not bad to have a candy bar or two on a trip but eating these foods give you energy to keep driving and they aren't to messy plus healthy snacks can be yummy too!

These are just a few tips to make road trips more fun and not as painful as some can be. If you are driving make sure to stop every now and then to stretch your legs and see some scenery! If you are taking a road trip send me a picture of you on Twitter of how you road trip with snacks and stuff using the #MegsHowTo so I can see! I would love to see how you rock road trips!

I hope you enjoyed this post and don't forget if you have something you want a How To! on send them to me on Twitter using the hashtag I have been using and please share this post with your friends and I will talk with you guys later!

-Megan

How To: Braided Bun!

So I have received a lot of questions lately about a hairstyle I wear a lot lately which is what I call a braided bun. The questions I have gotten are 'How do you do it?' or 'When do you wear it?' So I am going to teach you to do it and when the best times are to wear it.

So how to actually do the bun!

1. So for me to do my hair I prefer it to be straight. I find it easier to french braid when my hair is nice and straight. I also keep my hair parted on the left. People will tell you to part your hair on the middle but I feel the bun looks better when your hair is parted where you like it.
2. Once you have your hair where you can braid it, you start at the root and start french braiding down the side of your face and I tend to braid to the back of my head
3. Once you have a nice looking braid just twist the remaining hair back into a bun and use bobby pins to secure the braid and bun to your head to your liking.

I used a Bethany Mota video to help me learn to french braid (shocking I know) but it was super helpful and she shows herself  doing the braid do so I added the link if you need to see that (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1zBSMVuw_8)
      - She does do the braiding into the bun a little differently than mine but either way is super cute!

 It is a little complicated when you first are learning and it is a little harder if you can't french braid but I really do love this hairstyle.

I tend to wear my hair like this on multiple occasions!

I have been known to wear it a lot at races or sporting events. It is just good for keeping hair out of your face. I also have worn it to more formal events like prom or any dance. I do tend to wear it on days I don't want to deal with my hair or if it is a day I need a shower. It just keeps it looking nice and it looks like you put in a lot of effort on your that day when really it took a few minutes.


This hairstyle does have variations with it that I tend to use too!

You can always pull the hair into a ponytail like I did on the fun trip to Bristol when it started raining on us!

For this instead of twisting your hair into a bun I just left it in a fun ponytail that made it a little sporty and it saved my hair from the humidity!

You can also do a full braid with it. With this, once you have braided down your face just split your hair into three sections (the braided hair being one) and braid them together. Again it is a very sporty hair style but very cute and fun!

I hope this helps you and that you love this hairstyle as much as I do and if you do use this style send me a picture with the #MegsHowTo so I can see!

I hope you enjoyed this post and for everyone asking YES! I am doing a blog post about my Martinsville trip I just have to get it all written and school has been crazy but fear not! It is coming within the next few days! I will talk to you guys soon!

- Megan

How To: Picture Taking!

Hey guys so before we get to the blog post I have to saw how blessed I feel to say that Rocking the World has reached over 1000 views! This is so awesome and it is because you guys keep reading and supporting me and this blog!

 Now for the post. I decided I am going to start a How To! series! I am really excited because this is a chance for me to share how I do things and even try some new ways of doing things! This series is also interactive! If there is something you want me to write a How To! on feel free to tweet me using #megshowto and I will do my best to write one! Today I am gonna start this off with How To: Picture Taking!

So before you take your picture here are a few thing you need to make sure of!

• So when you are taking a picture you really want to make sure there is a lot of natural light! Natural light brings such a brighter light than light bulbs. 
• Wear something that makes you feel happy and feel beautiful!
• If you want to have make up on make sure it is natural and only enhances your beauty! Foundation and concealer are always a must for me so that I can even out my skin tone and then I do a natural eye shadow and my eyeliner just on my top lid.

Then you have to find a pose you like! I am one that likes to put my hand on my hip. It is a comfortable pose for me. You just have to play around with poses and see which one you like!

Now if you are taking pictures with other people you have different posing options. You can stand in a line with your hands around each other. Whatever you do it is completely your own thing that you have to play around with. 

Now I know a lot of people that use selfie sticks to take their pictures and if you like this option just make sure the picture looks natural. That is the main goal of taking pictures and sharing them is to look into your life and look natural. 

If you want to see more tips Improve Photography has a great article about this which I have included (http://improvephotography.com/19446/how-to-pose-for-a-selfie/) and they have some really good points! 

Now here are some pictures I have taken that are some of my favorites because of how natural they feel to me 

I really like this one because of a few things!

• My outfit is a simple outfit that I wear a lot in the summer and it just makes me happy
• I have my normal hand on hip and Dalton has his normal dangling arm
• The natural light is just awesome even though it was raining it was nice lighting

This one is a great group shot!

• The lighting was a little rough because it was night but the we faced the light so you could see us a little better and it helped ilimnate shadows
• Seanna and I like putting out hand on our hips so we were on the ends and Daniel and Katelyn like putting the arms around

 Another group shot with different circumstances!

• This picture was taken during the day which is way better lighting but it is good because of the brightness
• We were sitting but we did adjust but leaning out so all three of us could be seen.

These are just some examples of fun pictures with my tips! 

I hope this helps you with future picture taking and if you use any of these tips please share them with me using #megshowto and I will talk to you guys soon!

-Megan