12 Lessons I Learned While I Was 21

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I turn 22 today (HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!) so it's time to reflect of life lessons and experiences from my twenty-first year of life. It's been a very full year of crazy highs and painful lows.

I graduated from Harvard, I discovered the addictive (but sometimes helpful!) social media network that is Instagram (follow me @danaikadzere), I made new friends but fell out of touch with some old ones, I experienced my first real relationship and my first real heartbreak, and so much more.



Here are 12 lessons that I learned while I was 21!

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Healthy Hacks in Hawaii

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Are you lucky enough to have a trip to Hawaii on the horizon? YAY!

Hawaii is stunning.

But as much as we all love a beautiful vacation, vacations have a common bad reputation for wrecking healthy habits. Yes, you're not adhering to your normal routine. Yes, you're probably not hitting the gym and getting your usual lunch salad. You're on vacation, things should be different than in your day-to-day life!

True as that is, that doesn't mean that you have to sacrifice health for fun!

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3 Reasons Why Girl Power is Good for Everyone!

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As an actress and a creative writer - and thus someone who probably spends a little too much time in a fantasy world - I love movies, television shows, novels, etc. Creativity and make believe are such fun explorations of alternate possibilities!

But there's something that's all too common in entertainment that really bothers me.

The depiction of girl-girl interactions.



A lot of movies, especially in the USA (as compared to German television) portray women as contenders. They're always fighting over something, whether it's a man, a job, or the last pair of Jimmy Choo's at a late summer sample sale.

And you know what the real problem with that is? Just as much as fiction imitates reality, reality is molded by popular fiction. This pop culture girl versus girl world is toxic, because it encourages women to think about women in that destructively competitive, instead of constructive, way.

So what ends up happening? We tear each other down, instead of building each other up.

ENOUGH ALREADY.

Women should support each other! There is no pair of heels, no job, and certainly no man worth putting that negative energy out into the world. When we work together, we can achieve great things!

Here are three reasons why girl power is good for everyone.

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Wrawp Review - Raw, Vegan, and Packing Veggies!

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In theory, I like wraps. They're a convenient lunch and hold crunchy veggies, creamy spreads, and smoky tempeh perfectly. 

In reality, however, the bland flour tortilla used to create the actual wraps turns me off of the entire thing. 

Perhaps I was spoiled growing up with the best bread in the world (German bread, in case you were wondering) but wraps didn't have the textural appeal of good bread and didn't have any exciting flavors. I was quite unimpressed.

But I've recently discovered a raw vegan wrap that works for gluten-free and paleo diets (I don't do any of the above personally, but I know that many of you do).

Wrawps are made out of dried fruits, coconut, spices, and some varieties even include veggies!

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Dating: 12 Year Old Expectations vs. 21 Year Old Reality

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It's undeniable that progress is a constant thing in human society and that our world is always undergoing cultural evolution.

It's not always linear (remember that half-a-second reemergence of chokers?) and sometimes a progressive step is derivative of a much earlier version (ie: T-swift's signature crop top/high-waisted pant/skirt pairing, a classier take on the early 2000s crop top/hip-hugger pairing).

So yes, the world is changing. But somethings, like human interactions, stay fundamentally constant. In that case, part of why the world seems so different today is a shift in perspective as you age!

Now that I'm at the ripe old age of 21, with a past relationship experience of my very own (spoiler: it ended), I have a very different understanding of dating than I did when I was 12!

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22 Days Nutrition: Eat like Beyoncé

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Try not to swoon from excitement, if you haven't heard this yet and you're a Queen Bey fan.

In the best news to hit the BeyHive since Beyonce casually dropped that amazing album the way the rest of us drop a bagel, it is now possible to eat just like Beyoncé did during her famous vegan challenge with Jay-Z last year!

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Gift Guide Do's and Don'ts: The Best and Worst Gifts for Bloggers!

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My birthday is coming up!

I'm the most subtle person in the world, I know. I've only been wearing my birthday tiara for, oh, three or four weeks now. And my birthday is in just under two more weeks. Sooo...

In celebration of celebrating my twenty-second year of existence for a full 24 hours (even though it will be on a dreaded Monday this year BOOOOO) here's a gift guide of some of the best (and worst) gifts for bloggers. 

Hopefully it helps you out with the next blogger birthday/christmahanukwanzaka celebration that you have!

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Recipe: No-Fail New York Bagels

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I've lived in NYC for almost a year now (and over a year collectively, if you add all the random months of temporary residence over previous years together) so I've decided that the proper way to honor the fact that I'm somewhat a New Yorker now is with a New York bagels recipe!

These have the bagel crust, the bagel chewiness, and the bagel flavor - they're all around the real deal! Whether you bake them in New York with NY water or in North Carolina (or wherever else you are) they'll turn out great. The NY water thing for bagels and pizza crust is a complete myth, in my opinion.

Without further ado, here's the recipe!

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Prospect Hill Orchard: A Healthy Granola Option

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I absolutely love granola! It's hands-down my favorite kind of cereal and goes great with everything. 

But a lot of granolas are nutritionally worse than the infamous 'sugar cereals' of 50s breakfasts. Between achieving the trademark rich crunch with hydrogenated oils and achieving the sweetness with high fructose corn syrup and more refined sugar than cookies, the shortcuts used to make some granolas turn them into veritable nutrition disasters. 

Definitely not how you want to start your day on a regular basis.

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Best Healthy Vegan Fast Food in NYC

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NYC has lots of wonderful food. It's also a mecca for vegans and vegetarians, just like LA on the West Coast. Here are some of my favorites!

Let's start with my absolute favorite. I'm obsessed with Juice Generation, especially their off-the-wall delicious Maki Rolls, and I am so thrilled that they're opening a cafe in my neighborhood later this spring!

I'm so stoked to have so many maki rolls in my life. Their acai bowls are also great, considering that it's not Hawaii!

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Recipe: Easy Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

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Here's a no-fail Oatmeal Cookie recipe for when you need something simple, easy to make, with relatively ordinary (and not too many) ingredients. That also makes them a perfect Teacher's Appreciation Day gift!



This recipe is incredibly customizable, so feel free to throw in craisins, raisins, walnuts, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, peanut butter, almonds - or all of the above, if you're in a kitchen-sink kind of mood!

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Things I'd Rather Do Than My Taxes

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Being a grown-up is awesome when it comes to deciding exactly what you do every day, but sucks when it comes to boring responsibilities.

How I feel about doing taxes.

Like taxes. Doing taxes is like going to the dentist to get a tooth pulled - it hurts, it takes years off of your life in boredom, and it cuts into your shoe budget.

Here are some things I would much rather do than my taxes!

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Review: Chinoa Bites

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I love breakfast - it's my favorite meal of the day! So much so that I even eat breakfast for lunch and/or dinner often. 

But sometimes, no matter how much you love breakfast, it's tough to get up early enough for a leisurely sit-down breakfast. 

Chinoa Bites have all the goodness of a healthy granola in convenient on-the-go bites that are easy to eat at your desk at work, in class, on the train, or wherever you are. 

With this breakfast, you get that extra bit of sleep and you get to start your day on a healthy, satisfying, and delicious note. 

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My Style: New Yorker Chic

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One of my favorite things about NYC, after the convenience of having everything right there and so many great opportunities, is that people are a lot more daring with fashion - and it's totally okay to be!

I'm as guilty as anyone of getting into a style grind and wearing the same jeans and shirts day in an day out, until my fashion choices are more effective than Ambien at causing serious snoozes.

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