Do you remember the video of a journalist supposedly having a stroke on air that went viral in 2011? It was frightening to watch Serene Branson begin to slur her words and struggle to form a coherent sentence. What was even more shocking was that she wasn't having a stroke at all. In fact, a few days after the incident, news outlets were reporting that it was just a migraine and the story faded from the headlines.

But is a migraine ever just a migraine? I thought so, until I started experiencing them for myself.

I began experiencing migraines in 2009, around the time I turned twenty. Before that, I had been under the false assumption that migraines were just really bad headaches. I didn't realize that the effects of a migraine went beyond the pain: slurred speech, trouble forming sentences, vision problems and vomiting were among the other effects I was dealing with. I would take aspirin to combat the pain, but eventually I was taking so much pain medicine that it was upsetting the lining of my stomach. I was burping up foam, y'all. Not good. The physical toll it took on me was so bad that I didn't think something as simple as a migraine could be causing it... But that is what I was experiencing.

Migraines are bad enough when you only experience them every once in a while, but I was suffering from migraines more often than not. I often found myself in too much pain to go to class, and my grades were reflecting that. I was cancelling plans with friends because I would wake up with a migraine that would last for days. Eventually friends stopped making plans with me – I would just bail later. It was a cycle of pain and depression that, along with other extenuating circumstances, caused me to take a year off from college.

During that year, my health took center stage. My family has a history of migraines, so I started talking to them about their experiences. My grandma talked about how the pain of the migraines made her temperature rise – another side effect I was experiencing – so much so that she would lie on the cold hardwood floor to cool off. I also learned that these hereditary migraines seem to start during our early adult years, as mine had, and fade the closer we get to 30.

With this information, I went to the doctor. I was diagnosed with Chronic Migraine, which meant that I was experiencing migraines more than 15 days a month. I was given a daily prescription for Topamax, a nerve pain medication that is used for treating migraines, and another prescription for a pill that I could only take when I was experiencing a particularly bad headache. My doctor warned me that Topamax wasn't always effective; it was only a first step. But I was incredibly lucky: within two months, I had gone from nearly 20 migraine days a month down to two.

I finally felt like I had my life back. I went back to college and made great grades, got a new job and started making new friends. I would still have a migraine every once in a while, but now I could take aspirin for it without upsetting my stomach. I learned what my triggers were – the smell of diesel and musky perfume, as well as loud, rattling bass – and avoided them when I could. I held my breath behind many a truck and school bus.

Last summer, I weaned myself off of my medication. There were many reasons for it, but I was afraid that the migraines would come back with a vengeance. They didn't. I am incredibly lucky that my migraines do seem to have faded as I've gotten older. I still experience them a few times a month – it is what inspired me to write this blog post – but I've learned how to soldier through when I can and when to stop and take care of the problem.

I wanted to write about my experience because it's something I don't see discussed often. So many illnesses are visible in one way or another, which causes society to forget about or ignore the illnesses they can't see. It makes it easy for those suffering from an invisible illness to ignore theirs, or feel as though it isn't important. But it is important and you need to take care of yourself. If you are experiencing symptoms of an invisible illness, talk to someone close to you or make an appointment with a doctor. You deserve to live the best life you can.
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Just when you think you're getting back on top of things... Life happens.

Or, at least, that is what happened to me a few weeks ago. After taking a short break from my blog, I was ready to get back to a set schedule of creating and publishing content. On the side, I was working on my hand lettering-- something I'm thinking about doing as a side job in the near future. Like, I felt like I was really getting my shit together and working in a forward direction.

And then we got one of those phone calls that no one ever expects or wants to get. My grandmother had passed away. I don't want to go into a lot of detail about it because this is my blog, not something any of my family agreed to be a part of, and so I don't want to invade their privacy by talking about something so sensitive. But it hit me pretty hard and every time I have tried to write a post or take some pictures for the blog, I just haven't been able to.

But the new moon was last night and, thanks to it, I feel like I'm ready to pick myself back up and dust off. I think I'll be taking things a bit lighter for a while-- I'm not going to stress myself out about when or what I post. While I care about those of you who read this-- and I really do-- this is also my space, and I hope that whatever I fill this space with will be something you are interested in. But in the past few weeks, my priorities have shifted. And I don't mean this blog versus other things, but more that my life priorities and they way I see things has changed and I want this blog to reflect that.

I know, I know... I make these sorts of posts quite often. I go this way with my blog and then I go that way with it. But, hey, I'm just being honest with all of you. Sometimes it's a pull to be a more conventional blogger that makes those posts happen, but this one is coming from a place of pure authenticity.

On a (much) lighter note, the Sephora VIB Sale starts tomorrow so don't think this blog still won't have some beauty posts. And soon because, oh my gosh, I just remembered I have Flash shipping so whatever I buy should be here Monday-ish? When life gets tough, I get shopping. It's what I do. And also why my bank account cries itself to imaginary sleep at night.

Some of you may have noticed my conspicuous absence these past two months. I promise, it was for a good reason: I was finishing up my last semester of college! That's right, I graduated with my degree in Professional Writing (along with a couple of minors and focus areas). And it only took me seven years!

Seven years is actually a pretty long time. It's a lot longer than four years, especially when you have student debt piling up and family members asking you if this is the semester you are finally going to graduate. It used to leave me feeling low, like I was somehow a failure for not completing college in the 'normal' four-year timespan. But what I've come to realize-- and stay with me here, because this sounds very Hallmark-- is that life takes us all down different paths. This path was just a little longer than most. And here's why:

My first four years of college, I changed my major from Education to Criminal Justice to Communications. I enjoyed aspects of each, but what I was really worrying about was the future. Which of these majors would give me the most opportunities? The truth is, none of them would give me the opportunities I wanted. You will find opportunities in any major if you put your heart into it, work hard, and make connections.

But there were other reasons why my heart wasn't in it, and they had to do with my brain. I was starting to have migraines nearly every day and, on top of that, was having some heinous mood swings. When I felt bad, I lacked the energy and motivation to go to class. When I felt good, I felt too good to waste my time in classes I didn't enjoy; I needed to be out living life and doing something more meaningful. What I didn't know what that these were signs of Bipolar Disorder.

After those first four years, my mom got sick. It was more important to me at that time to take care of her, and I was fortunate enough to have the resources with which to do that. The possibility of losing her put things into perspective and gave me a greater sense of purpose. When she recovered, I went to the doctor myself and was given medication for my migraines and my mood disorder. I went back to school and switched my major-- one last time-- to English.

Writing was what I had always wanted to do, ever since I read a notebook full of Dorothy Parker poems in the fourth grade. I found myself surrounded by like-minded people who were creative, fresh, and inspiring. We all supported one another in our writing efforts and it felt amazing. Thinking about it now, I can still feel the surge of electricity and excitement my colleagues brought into my life. For my last three years of college, I remained on the Dean's List, became editor of the school newspaper and literary journal, was elected President of the English Club, joined the Sigma Tau Delta honor society and, most importantly, made some of the most amazing and supportive friends I could have imagined.

It took me seven years to finish college. It was a long journey, but it was worth every second. It has shaped who I am and where my life is headed-- and I'm thinking it's headed to some pretty far out places. Yeah, far out. So if you ever feel like you're falling behind, or you're not where you should be in life, remember that each of our journeys are individual. And one day you will look back on yours and realize why it took the path it did.

• Be kinder to others. Be kinder to myself.
• Read good books. Watch good movies. Look at good art.
• Take care of myself. Cleanse more. Moisturize morning and night.
• Eat more fruits and vegetables. Drink more water. Use that NutriBullet more.
• Meditate. Breath. Be positive.
• Support local businesses, local artists, local musicians.

This past year has been wonderful and awful and everything in between. Opportunities came and went, I lost my precious LuLu (something I haven't yet had the courage to post about), and I've found myself and lost myself all over again. So I am looking forward to 2015 and hoping it will be an amazing year where plenty of awesome things will happen for all of us.

The view from my office.

I know, I know. How boring are these "update" posts? This one is kind of important for a couple of different reasons, though. I've started both classes and a new job at my university! I've been at university for many years, on and off, but I finally feel as though I'm in the home stretch of getting my degree in Professional Writing, as well as minors in Journalism and Technical Writing. My new job also happens to be in the journalism field-- I'm the editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper. It's a very exciting opportunity that is helping me realize the things I want to do once I (finally!) graduate.

Now for the bad news. I am taking 18 credit hours on top of my job. That means that, for a while, my blog will have to take a backseat. Don't worry, I don't mean that this blog will be hidden away in the trunk. No, it will be in the center back seat, where I can check up on it any time I feel I can. While I had originally planned to update three times a week, posts will probably go down to one a week. Fridays are my least busy days, so expect some sort of a post each Friday.

I know that at this point I don't have many followers and I am still trying to find out exactly what place blogging has in my life. But it is something I really love doing and I am going to stick with it and I want to thank you all so much for sticking with me!

Next week we will go back to our regularly scheduled programming. I do have some makeup posts on the way, as well as a monthly favorites post next week and a belated birthday haul with some fun goodies.

Hey, guys. It's been a while... A really, really long while.

School got the best of me this spring. I was going four days a week with a heaping load of nice extracurricular activities on my plate. A girl's gotta make connections, right? So here we are six months later, halfway into 2013, and I am just now writing my first blog post of the year. It probably won't be interesting, and it definitely won't be long (which you will probably thank me for), but here it goes.

I am now completely determined to keep this blog running year round. I love the process so much-- buying new products, taking an enormous amount of pictures, and putting reviews and swatches out there so you know exactly what you are getting. Sometimes I can feel a little defeated. There are so many amazing blogs out there with thousands of followers. How can I compete? We are all doing what we love, though. That is what keeps us doing it.

I do have some posts planned for the future. I'm going to try to update once a week at least. Of course, there will still be makeup posts, but I'm also going to be including more fashion, home decor, food, and personal posts.

But there is some bad news. I don't know when this blog will be back to full capacity. I woke up this morning to find that my laptop had gone to the electronic heaven in the sky. She gave me four years of hard work. So now I am on the hunt for a new computer. In the meantime, I am using my mom's tiny ickle 11-inch netbook. These things are so hard to type on, btw.

This post ended up being a little longer than I intended. Thanks for sticking with me-- through this post and through my hiatus.

Until next time-- which will be sooner than six months!