In 2019, I launched my first travel blog. I had recently landed in the pungent, sweltering city of Bangkok, and felt inspired. At the time I was 22-years-old and wandered mindlessly through life, one one-way flight ticket at a time. A personal blog seemed like a great idea. And maybe, even a way to make money whilst traveling.

That blog sputtered, failed, and quickly died.

Its demise was due to a plethora of reasons. Lack of reliable WiFi. No comprehension of SEO. Poor formatting.

Above all, it was because I didn’t know where to publish in order to become a successful writer. …

In the old days, we’d spend a crisp Saturday in late September frolicking about and dedicating the day to our personalized versions of self-care. Some of us might go out day-drinking in the latest remodeled Biergarten, shamelessly overloading on carbs taking on the form of fluffy pretzels and egregiously large beer boots. Others might have rented out the latest boutique hotel in Montauk with their college friends, eager to binge drink rosé before posing for a “totally candid” Instagram photoshoot by the pool.

Yet, in times of Covid-19, the possibilities of travel and reckless day-drinking are limited, leaving us with less IRL options. Luckily, the people behind Kourtney Kardashian’s lifestyle company, Poosh, were able to swoop in just when we needed them the most. …

Ever since I suffered from a severe allergic reaction due to an expensive rose-water toner, I’ve avoided “ten-step skincare routines” or spending handfuls of cash on wildly expensive, pastel-colored products that contain obscure ingredients like malachite or neroli.

In other words, I tend to avoid luxury skincare.

Luxury skin-care brands such as La Mer, Charlotte Tilbury, Caudalie, and Estée Lauder have enjoyed a profitable run in the skincare market, selling products at high price points while promising renewed skin due to patented formulas such as the “miracle broth.”

They’ve done well for themselves as they’re part of a lucrative industry. As of 2020, the global skincare market is predicted to be valued at around $145.2 billion dollars and has kept steadily increasing over the years, showing resilience despite the global pandemic. …

Tai Lopez focuses his camera as he stands in his dimly-lit garage. In the background lies a polished, bright-red Ferrari that sits next to a jet-black Lamborghini, and a bookshelf which supposedly holds over 2,000 books.

“You want to know the secret to getting a Ferrari or Lamborghini like this?” he begins in the Youtube video titled “Should You Drop Out Of College (Official): It’s Not A Simple Answer…”.

“Drop out of college,” he announces. Based on the title of his Youtube video, I’m not surprised by this response.

“Actually, I’m just kidding! It’s gonna get me in a lot of trouble to say that,” he chuckles. He launches into a discourse explaining the flawed American education system, but first wants to reassure us that he “keeps these cars in the garage not to show off,” but because he just really likes fast cars. …

“Be Kind.”

This was the motto that helped propel Ellen Degeneres’ daytime TV series into mainstream American pop culture over the last two decades, making Ellen an extremely valuable one-woman powerhouse for Warner Bros. Television. For years, the show would play during after-school hours featuring lighthearted jokes, celebrity interviews with a sprinkle of pranks, and of course, the public spectacle of donating very large checks which would go towards individuals in need.

Considered an oasis from the negative, Ellen’s show was an invitation for viewers to feel good about themselves and the world around them, to tune in and see thousands of dollars being donated to charity and smile while thinking to themselves, “maybe the world isn’t so bad after all when there are people out there being just so kind.” …

In the middle of March, seemingly overnight the world would wake up to quarantine, and the way we once existed became suddenly obsolete.

Gone were the rituals of being packed together on the train commuting to work, taking shots of whiskey with strangers in a dingy bar, or standing shoulder-to-shoulder profusely sweating in an overpriced pilates class. Bound to our homes, the digital landscape scrambled to rapidly evolve as our obligatory online engagement soared.

For those of us who were hanging on to a shred of normalcy and able to keep humming along during the mental duress the pandemic was causing, an opportunity for self-optimization arose: to dedicate this free time to getting toned. …

I was 22-years-old. I had just graduated from college and was beginning my “adult” life in Washington, D.C. I began bartending at one of D.C’s top nightlife spots, a calculated move I had been planning for years since I started hostessing at 19. It took almost my entire undergrad experience to climb the ranks from hostess to waitress to convince the owner of the restaurant to finally let me behind the bar. But by the Summer of 2018, I was in.

I had a very loose idea of what I wanted to do. I was determined to travel for an extended period of time, by myself and with just a backpack. …

In 2012, a young Marketing Assistant by the name of Greta van Riel had just made an extremely poor financial decision by purchasing a designer handbag which left her with $24 in her bank account. Glossing over the financial illiteracy which possessed Greta to make such a nonsensical purchase, Greta knew she had to find a way to stay afloat while anticipating her next check. Overnight, the e-commerce gods decided to bless her with a vision as to what the next weapon the self-care industry was waiting for: tea as a dietary supplement.

In a world where bodyweight was a metric of success, Greta knew she was onto something. In the following days, she took action by using Google to uncover her future winning recipe, which most likely resulted in a search along the lines of, “detox skinny laxative yummy tea recipe.” Boom! The recipe for a yerba mate tea was there to save the day by completely emptying out one’s bowels at concerningly rapid speeds. …