Recently I've come to find that my life right now is the busiest that it has ever been. I am 16 credits away from graduating a semester that consists of the most important courses of my college career. 

Never before have I felt so determined to accomplish my goals and work hard to reach success. 

Any quest for success requires one very important thing: hard work. One doesn't become successful by letting opportunities pass by or leaving the work for someone else. Surely this realization is obvious to all of us standing just at the cusp of adulthood. But for many, the struggle to find a balance between working hard to achieve our goals and taking care of ourselves in the process is real.

My profound piece of advice? Find ways to unwind and give yourself a break from everything that's stressing you out. Get as much done as you can for one day and then put it all away and forget about it for an hour or two. Take a breather from the crushing responsibilities of life. We all have to deal with it, but there are ways to find release. Sometimes that release is spontaneous and sometimes we have to make a real effort at setting aside time. Whatever it may be, big or small, do something that makes you happy at least once a day without any stressful distractions.

What usually does the trick for me? Shopping is one thing. Spending time with people I care about. Creating cool images and styling my blog photos. I'm even going to go so far as to say that I actually enjoy exercise as a way to keep myself sane. Yoga, pilates and meditation all contribute to my sanity and happiness even in the face of my never-ending to-do list. 

These jeans that I recently bought at Zara make me super happy.