Featured #bloomgirl, Avery; Blogger and Mental Health Advocate!

This month's featured #bloomgirl is Avery Beer! Avery is a longtime #bloomgirl and friend. We are so impressed and inspired by Avery and we know you will be too! Read more about her incredible story below! 

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your story!

I’m a senior at the University of Delaware majoring in Interpersonal Communications and minoring in Entrepreneurial Studies. I grew up in the suburbs around Philly and am planning on moving downtown when I graduate! I am energetic, empathetic, creative, and passionate. I am always curious: I love to ask questions and I love to know about people and their stories. Whatever I do, I believe in putting my whole heart and energy into it. I’m a beach bum, a yogi, a people-person, tea-time lover, and I believe in the power of a good playlist! 

I really like to stay busy and involved, so right now I do freelance blogging for bloom, I work at the writing center as a public speaking tutor, and I also keep my own blog www.averybeer.com and my blog Instagram @a_la_avery. 

I am also in some organizations on campus like my sorority, Alpha Xi Delta and Friends 4 Friends. I joined Friends 4 Friends during my Junior year. It seemingly fell into my lap as I had been looking for a mental health organization to get involved in on campus after being so involved in high school. Now, I am their blog and social media director! Friends 4 Friends was started at UD in 2016 when a fellow UD student, Connor Mullen, took his life. His friends came together because they realized the power of friendship when dealing with mental health crises. They all graduated last year, but we are continuing the legacy of the club and doing incredible things such as hosting social events, fundraisers and working with the school counseling center. It is our goal for the future that we can help others by diminishing stigmas, starting real conversations, and being friends to each other. We are always looking for more involvement & following so feel free to check us out our facebook page: Friends 4 Friends UD, and our Instagram @friends4friendsud. Check out our blog, here.

Who or what is your biggest inspiration?

This is so tough because I’ve been asked this before when people ask about my blog and what I write about, and my answer is always life. But what makes life what it is? People!

I really am inspired by everyone around me, but I do think that people are the biggest inspiration to all of us. People and their stories. As I said I really love to hear about peoples’ stories… I think it makes the world go round! I think we all have something unique to offer to each other to each other, so I am inspired each day by people I have known since birth and new people I meet as well.

What is the biggest challenge you've faced in life? How have you overcome it?

My biggest challenges that I have had to deal with in my life are losing my mom to suicide when I was 7 and also coping with my anxiety. I believe that grieving is a process: there is not really a finite end. When you lose someone it almost feels like your inner light is turned off. But the thing that I would tell anyone dealing with loss is that you learn to see the light again. It is never the same brightness, but it still exists. I was so young when I lost her that I’m not sure how I would be if I had lost her when I was older… but I do believe in energies and souls and I feel hers with me all the time.

One thing that has been really monumental for me and my personal growth has been my blog and writing. I found that writing was my safe-haven. It became a way for me to express myself, to understand what I was going through both in my internal mind and my life. I found writing exactly when I needed it, when anxiety started to become really prevalent and bothersome in my everyday life. I have found that writing has really helped me keep my mom alive as well because I write about her often. Going through both of those things sparked my passion for mental health, so I am always doing things with that as well.

If you could talk to yourself as a freshman going into college, what advice would you give yourself?  

Every experience is a learning experience. Both the people that you meet and the journeys that you go through will help shape who you are (and don’t worry – you will end up just fine!)

What are some life lessons that helped shape you?

I have always been raised to be independent. In fact, my dad always said to me “We learn by doing” which I used to despise when I was younger, but I really think it helped me to become self-sufficient, diligent, and hardworking. If I want to know something, I will always find a way to figure it out myself. If I want to do something, I will get it done.

What are your favorite bloom products, and why? 

I love love love my Daily Planner and To-Do Lists. Staying organized is so important to me because I am always busy doing things. I use my daily planner to keep track of all of my school work and school events, but my to-do lists are also great. I like to write things down and physically check things off as I do them because it helps me to feel accomplished. bloom products have always been my favorite organizational tools because the layouts, fonts, patterns, & colors are so visually appealing that it actually makes me WANT to stay organized. Also, I love bloom's message and the amazing company culture!