I am all for these challenges you guys are sending in! They’re thought provoking, clever, and fun. Plus, I simply just love to hear from you! Shaylie emailed me a challenge to go meatless on Mondays for one month for a list of very good reasons. The fact is, if enough of us go meatless even for only one day a week, we are greatly reducing our carbon footprint and saving vital resources for the planet. What a simple way to make a difference!
I love it when you guys send me challenges like the one below. Anne’s important message is one we should all keep in mind, at all times. Keep the challenges coming at askjuleshough@gmail.com!
xo
Jules
Hello, Julianne!
I have a challenge for you… If you choose to accept it.
The past few years, I have been trying to pay more attention to the waste/trash I generate. Some people call it “Zero Waste,” but, let’s be serious, you are never going to create zero waste (I’m never giving up toilet paper or tampons, just saying).
However, there are a lot of easy things that you can do every day to start cutting back. This blog is very helpful.
We all know kids can be mean. All of us have experienced bullying on some level, whether we’ve witnessed someone being bullied, been bullied ourselves, or even been the bully. Bullying isn’t only a problem for the one being targeted. It’s a problem for the school, the office, and the entire community.
My friends at Kind Campaign speak out about being the anti bully. An anti bully is someone who stops and prevents this behavior by raising awareness, providing guidance, and being supportive to everyone involved. I want to share with you an inspiring story about an anti bully and a brave boy.
Sixth grader Julian had a pretty big surgery last spring to correct his scoliosis. That fall, Julian started a new school, in a new state, with a fragile back, and two new accessories: a big ol’ brace, and a roller bag. Being the new kid in middle school can be awkward in itself, I can’t imagine having to wear a back brace and haul around a roller bag on top of that. Julian began getting teased almost immediately. A group of older kids were laughing at him, and while an adult might shrug this behavior off and move along, when you’re a kid, being different can be really hard. Suffice to say Julian was not having the greatest school experience.
I meant it when I said I’m all for you guys sending challenges my way. Please do keep them coming because I’m always game (unless it has to do with elephant dung because been there, done that.) I love this email sent-in by Jess. She’s absolutely right — many of us take the time to learn new languages, and learning how to sign is just as important.
Hey Jules,
I love that you take every challenge into consideration because it shows how strong you are and how willing you are to anything. Anyways, I grew up with deaf parents but I am hearing. I had to learn sign language growing up in order to communicate with my parents. I notice that my parents, including other hearing impaired people have faced discrimination. There are a lot of people in our world who do not take the time to learn sign language. So my challenge for you is to learn sign language to show people that we have to work together and not discriminate people.
Thank you for being you!
We all have something that we say we should do differently. I know I should be avoiding screens 45 minutes before bed. Studies have proven the blue light from televisions and phones suppresses the production of melatonin, keeping us awake longer.
But we both know it’s not that easy! Sometimes it feels nice to fall asleep to a movie. And how hard is it not to check email or reply to texts just before heading to sleepy town? I know from experience that while habits are hard to break, it starts with one small step.
For this challenge, let’s each choose a habit we not only know we should change, but something we could change to better ourselves and do it for 30 days! In the end, we’ll either have adopted a new way of living or we’ll decide it wasn’t for us. Either way, we’ll feel great knowing we made a change with good intentions and that we have control over our vices. It’s a win/win!
I recently received a challenge from Jessie at Loyola University Maryland: to inform others about the Global Citizen Organization and Festival. Challenge accepted! I love that this festival unites citizens of the world to promote peace. What a beautiful way to get people on the same page to celebrate and draw attention to the issues at hand. Thank you Jessie for bringing this to our attention! Read her fantastic letter below for more information.
Will you be attending the Global Citizen Festival?
One of the things I love most on my website are the challenges. Whether it’s to high-five a stranger or name three things you like about your reflection, the intent is to help us grow, gain perspective, smile, feel good, and make others feel good, too. Until I received this email from Hals, I hadn’t thought about turning the tables and inviting you all to challenge me. Thanks for the idea Hals!
If you have a great challenge for me, send it to askjuleshough@gmail.com.
Hi Jules,
My name is Halie but everyone just calls me Hals, I’m 18 and I have a challenge for you! I love everything you stand for, kindness, health, confidence and overall positivity. However, I would love if you would promote cruelty-free products. It’s super easy to find brands that do not use animal testing. One of my favourite brands is Pur Minerals, they have the cutest lip colours! I know you strive for a healthy body which most cruelty-free brands are made from all natural ingredients! I think all your fans would agree with me when I say Harley and Lexi are the luckiest dogs in the world! You have so much love for them and I know you are a true animal lover.
I always participate in your challenges and strive to share kindness everyday so now I’m asking you to participate in my challenge! Spread awareness of how easy it is to be cruelty free! These poor animals do not have a voice. This is a new passion of mine and you have inspired me to stand up for what I believe in. Please help me make a difference.
Thanks for everything Jules!
Sincerely,
Hals
Hello there, Hals!
I love how passionate you are about this topic. It’s one thing to believe in something and quite another to do something about it — which you clearly are doing! I am totally with you when it comes to all things cruelty free and with that said: challenge accepted!!
As Hals mentioned, it’s very easy to be cruelty free. To save time at the store, we can all do a quick online search to confirm which products don’t participate in animal testing. I found a great resource here.
Please find below a list of everyday products I love, from brands who love animals just as much as I do:
Having healthy self-esteem is something most of us have to work on constantly. Nobody feels 100% fantastic about themselves all the time, I’m pretty sure. There’s plenty of propaganda out there to make us feel like we can improve in some way, and it’s always in our face. Magazines, movies, television and especially social media can make us feel as if we should have a better body, more money in the bank, a smoother complexion, a cooler wardrobe, a more exciting social life… you get the idea.
Learning to accept myself and find happiness within wasn’t the easiest thing to achieve when I was a teenager. I can only imagine how much harder it must be today with the constant pressures that stem from social media. I can’t say what it’s like to be a teen today, but 13-year-old Kylie Rose sure can.
Kylie is a beautifully honest young lady on a mission to inspire others. In her YouTube video, Kylie eloquently discusses the challenges of finding self acceptance and self love in a world of selfies. Despite our age difference, Kylie’s wisdom and honesty moved me — and I hope it will move you, too.
“I’m going to leave the harshest review as soon as I get to my car!” an overly-caffeinated girl shouted across one of my favorite coffee spots on her way out. Yikes.
I regularly visit this café because everything is delicious, the cheery sitting area is always clean and available, and the baristas are the absolute best. The thought of someone trash talking my happy place based on one service slip-up bummed me out. It got me thinking about reviews. It seems like most people are compelled to review something only when they’ve been disappointed. I’ve been a regular at this place for a while now and until this moment, sharing my positive experience here didn’t occur to me.
They say the most important relationship you have is the one you have with yourself. I truly believe this! When I’m alone, I am able to sort through all kinds of things like stresses, feelings and ambitions, because being alone gives me the time and peace to hear my own voice. It also allows me to enjoy that voice (I can’t be the only one who cracks up at her own jokes!).
