Annakeara Stinson

The holidays can be a tricky time of year, especially when it comes to Thanksgiving. You're likely seeing tons of family members you normally don't talk to, which, depending on the circumstances, could be a good or bad thing. If it's a bad thing,…

Why is it so difficult to feel grateful sometimes? I don't mean to sound ungrateful by saying that, but in all honesty, I tend to focus more on the negatives in life than on what's going well. And as we head into Thanksgiving, the holiday season,…

The question of whether you like coffee or tea is one of those debates that's a lot like weighing The Beatles versus The Rolling Stones, or pancakes versus waffles: The choice reveals a lot about your personality, at least IMO. Personally? I'm a…

When it comes to online shopping, I'd argue that the best and worst part about it is that it can happen anywhere, at any time, day or night. For instance, I've literally ordered discount books and bras on my phone while standing in a (way too long)…

I tend to be a little cynical about social media. I had to stop using Instagram, for example, because it bummed me out whenever I went into a scrolling rabbit hole — you know, like when you somehow end up on the Insta feed of your ex's new partner's…

You're at a holiday party, you see someone you totally recognize, someone you actually like, and they're coming your way to talk — which would be great, except for the fact that you 100 percent cannot remember their name. It's embarrassing for sure,…

You know the music that comes on in a horror movie when a murderous sewage monster is about to jump out of a bush? Well, that's what I hear in my head whenever I think about the holiday season. Yes, friends, the stress I associate with the last two…

If you menstruate, then I'm willing to bet you've been annoyed by the price of period products at some point because, come on, paying $8 for a tiny box of emergency tampons at a gas station is freaking absurd. However, I have some good news: In a…

If you need another reason to start waking up with the birds, so to speak, I've got a great one for you. Seriously, the health benefits of being a morning person go way beyond having time to make a fancy breakfast smoothie before work, or getting on…

When you think of confetti cake, what comes to mind? For me, it's balloons, presents, pure joy, and a Lion King themed birthday party where I once ate so much confetti cake that it almost (almost) became confetti cake soup. What I'm trying to say…

In the past, one of my favorite things to do was simply wander around my city with no plans. But these days, whenever I have free time, I often find myself at a frantic loss for what to do. It's as if I don't totally know how to relax or enjoy free…

On Nov. 4, the clocks will fall back for Daylight Saving Time, and you and I will enjoy a glorious extra hour of sleep. But the reality is, even if you're getting one more hour of shut-eye, there's still a change in your body's internal clock that…

Let's be real: airplanes are germ factories. You're stuck in an airtight capsule many miles up in the sky with dozens of strangers, breathing each other's air, sneezing, coughing, and you're all sharing a bathroom the size of a shoebox. It's one of…

Saving money can be intimidating — I totally get it. Welcome to the club, my friend. Keeping an eye on your budgeting and expenses is one of those markers of adulthood that you don't even want to think about, like, at all, let alone actually do. But…

Sometimes the things that are best for you in life also happen to be the things that are the most tedious to endure. That's kind of how I feel about doing HIIT workouts. While they make me feel great after the fact, the whole "during" part can…

If you spend a lot of time in front of a computer, then you've probably experienced some annoying muscle tension at one point or another. As a writer myself, by the end of the week, my tight shoulders are hunched up to my ears like a sleeping bat,…

Professional athletes are another breed of human, IMO. I truly can't comprehend the dedication and stamina it must take to compete in any kind of world class athletic environment. So when I heard about Simone Biles' kidney stone at the 2018 World…

It's almost November, folks, and you know what that means: It's about time to turn the clocks back for Daylight Saving Time so you can get another precious hour of sleep. And while an extra hour of snooze time certainly seems like something to…

Have you ever found yourself in the middle of doing something you love — be it yoga, writing, dancing, or even playing chess — and the whole world seemed to just melt away? No anxiety, no worries, not a single care in the world? Well, if you have,…

In my Brooklyn neighborhood, one of the most popular annual events is the Great PUPkin Dog Halloween Costume Contest. People come out in droves to the park to watch — you guessed it — a bunch of little pooches parade across a makeshift stage in some…