Hello Friends! GOOOOOOODDDDDD MORRNNNNIIIIGGGG! To be honest with you, I am not a morning person at all. It’s hard for me to be up for my 9:30am work meeting. But I can stay up SO late at night which I think is a talent. Okay, maybe not really, but I have been going to bed really late these days. Nevertheless, I want to share my morning routine with you because it has changed a bit due to the fact that I am now living at a house and not on campus.

First off, I get up and get dressed for the day as one would. Next thing I do, which is an essential part of my everyday routine, is make coffee. I have an amazing roommate (shoutout to Noelle) who knows how to make drip coffee. I added in this cute picture of us because she deserves credit for her amazing coffee skills. A lot of the time, she will make coffee for me and her during my meeting. I know, she is truly a saint. But, I do make it for myself sometimes. She has taught me her ways, and I think I can add it to my list of talents now.

Maggie holds a container of Pumpkin Cream Cheese from Trader Joe's in one photo; in the other, it's a picture of a bottle brush-like tree with hot pink flowers
Trader Joe's pumpkin cream cheese is delicious!

For breakfast, we keep it really simple. It kind of depends on whether I am wanting something sweet or savory. My usual go to is two breakfast tacos with eggs, cheese, and avocado. It’s the perfect amount of food to hold me over until a snack around lunch time. But, if I want something sweet, I usually go for a bagel with Trader Joe’s pumpkin cream cheese. I know, some of you think that pumpkin cream cheese is weird. But don’t knock it till you try it, okay. It’s delicious and perfect as we transition to the Fall season. I added a picture of it in this blog for those of you who are interested! It’s worth it!!!

Maggie and her roommate standing in the street at La Mirada.
Maggie and her housemate!

Usually during breakfast, I try to watch a chapel. Doing this has really helped me get my chapels done pretty fast this semester. I only have four left! Doing a chapel in the morning has also been good to start off my day with the right mindset. I really have been loving the chapels lately and I just wanted to share about one that really spoke to me. About two weeks ago, the speaker talked about what worship is and what it means to worship. For me personally, when I am going through difficult times it’s really hard to be “feeling it” during worship. And the speaker talked on this saying it’s ok to not always have your hands high up in the air, fully invested in the song. It’s not realistic that you are 100% all the time. Worship simply is showing up despite the circumstances and giving wherever you are at to God. This really has changed my view on what worship is and what God expects from us. Before I thought that I always had to be on fire for God no matter what I was going through. But, that is actually impossible. If you are going through a tough time in your life, most likely you are having a tough time spiritually as well. It’s hard to trust God and be 100% invested in your spiritual life when you are experiencing hardships. And that is okay. What you are called to do is show up. No matter where you stand with God, or what place you are in life, you just need to show up! I loved hearing this message during chapel and it has helped me during this online semester with my walk with God. After chapel, I have been trying to make it a habit of spending my time in the Word. Even if it’s just 10 or 15 minutes it helps set my day in the right motion. 

Class-wise, every week except Wednesday I don't start class until 1:30pm. That means I usually do all my homework in the mornings after I wake up which has been a nice change from last year. So usually from 11-1pm I work on assignments for the week before I have class. It makes me feel super productive knowing that I have finished so much before classes. This obviously can’t apply to everyone since we all have different schedules. But, since we are online now and don’t have to run around on campus from class to class, it’s really easy to fit in homework between classes. This has been AWESOME because I don’t really do homework at night anymore. I just get the night to wind down and decompress the day. Because of this I also get so much more work done during the week than I usually do living on campus. Since I have little to no distractions, I get a lot more done. So, lately, my weekends have been restful and fun since I am not doing work on those days. This has been a blessing because it motivates me to work really hard during the week so that way I can look forward to getting together with my friends on the weekends. I LOVE doing things with my friends on the weekends and it’s always in the back of my mind all week and that motivates me to stay productive during the week.

The photo on the left shows Maggie's bluelight glasses, her planner, journal and Bible. The photo on the right is one of Maggie's friends, participating in a Zoom session. She is wearing a mask.
Chapels and classes

I hope that what I shared was still meaningful and gave you some insight on what my semester is looking like. So then, that about sums up my morning routine during this online semester. Can you guys relate? Do you feel like you get more work done now that we aren’t on campus? Do you prefer to do homework during the day or at night? Compared to last year, I actually am way more productive in the mornings now that we are online and that is the silver lining for me!

That’s all I have for today guys! I am excited to keep sharing more with you guys about this semester as it goes on :)

Till next time,

Mags