6:03 A.M.

Wake up to a light haze of island pink settling into your bedroom at South Seas Island Resort, just before the sun comes up after last night’s big rainstorm that you greatly enjoyed falling asleep to.

6:14 A.M.

Take a sunrise stroll on the beach behind your cottage. It’s breezy, but not cold enough for anything more than your favorite wrap. Although, you wish you would have packed your hat with the chin strap because it’s windy enough that your hat keeps wanting to blow away.

6:39 A.M.

You uncover a few mollusks on the beach once you start pawing through the sand—casually, of course, because you didn’t bring your shelling bag. You have pockets though, so you allow yourself to walk just a little bit farther down the beach. Who knows what might be tucked amongst the sand?

7:47 A.M.

Okay, it’s been over an hour—you should probably head back—but you’ve found so many bi-valves (still in tact!), fighting conchs, scallops, and slipper shells that you just want to keep going and going and going because you didn’t realize how addicting shelling was until this moment…

9:14 A.M.

Finally get out of your perfect fluffy bed a second time, because anyone that gets up for the sunrise deserves an early morning nap.

9:37 A.M.

Enjoy the breakfast buffet at Harbourside Bar & Grill, where the coffee is strong and the potato hash is not messing around. 

10:30 A.M.

Right on time at McCarthy’s Marina for your Captiva Cruises through the islands! You secretly wonder if Andrew McCarthy is the owner of the off-the-grid marina and look around for him, just in case he’s disguised in a bucket hat and flip-flops, but no luck. 

10:38 A.M.

YOU SEE YOUR FIRST DOLPHIN OF YOUR WHOLE LIFE! IT IS AMAZING! THEY’RE ALL JUMPING IN THE WAKE OF THE BOAT YOU’RE IN AND GIVING YOU HAPPY SMILES AND JOYFUL LEAPS! They splash you a couple times but you don’t care, you’re too busy snapping the shutter on both of your cameras.

10:47 A.M.

You accept the cold beer offered to you by the captain. It’s almost 11. It’s practically afternoon. Isn’t Jimmy Buffet a part of Sanibel Island culture? He would approve.

11:00 A.M.

You arrive at your first destination—Cayo Costa! You tell the captain about your shelling finds of the morning, but he tells you to prepare yourself because Cayo Costa is one of the best places in the world for shelling. There’s a science to why it’s so densely packed—the hooked-shape of the island acts like a scoop, pulling the shells from every wave right in to the beach.

12:16 P.M.

You’ve made friends with a marine biologist on the beach who’s teaching you all the things you didn’t know about shells. Everyone on Sanibel seems to be into shelling. 

12:38 P.M.

You arrive at Cabbage Key, and ah, yes—your Jimmy Buffett suspicions are confirmed. You eat lunch at the place he wrote "Cheeseburger in Paradise" about, and the owner, Rob, is bopping around making sure everyone’s happy. He doesn’t quite make it to your table, but you don’t mind admiring him and his golden tan from afar. 

1:46 P.M.

You’re back at South Seas Island Resort just in time for your parasailing trip—you’re not nervous, you’ve been looking forward to it, but you forgot how fast speedboats go. Did anyone bring Dramamine…

1:59 P.M.

The crew at Sunny Island Adventures is full of jokesters trying to make you laugh as they strap you into the parachute harness that’ll take you 500 feet above the ocean. You appreciate it, because this is a tense moment—parasailing is really happening—but you appreciate them trying, so you laugh and laugh and laugh at their jokes. 

2:03 P.M.

The take-off was anticlimactic. Things are calm. It’s quiet in the sky. You’ve got this. The wind in your hair, the dolphins leaping below…you’re kind of living the dream. You hope desperately to see a sea turtle cruising through the waves.

Photo: My Life As A Travel Movie

2:09 P.M.

Okay, you looked down for too long. You shouldn’t have tried to get a good photo by swinging around in your harness. Things are starting to get a little dizzy and you’re pretty much ready for the ride to be over. 

2:13 P.M.

The crew is pulling you in and actually, you’re sad the ride is coming to an end, but also you’re pretty glad to be back at sea level. Until you’re not, because the boat ride is getting pretty choppy and you’ve never been seasick before and you don’t want to start today. 

2:32 P.M.

The whole ride back was a daze. You pancake onto the grass as soon as you’re off the dock. You’re too weak to even pick up your phone to Google quick cures for motion sickness. Parasailing: amazing. Motion sickness: unnnffff…

2:51 P.M.

Your best friend finally figures out putting pressure on the inside of your wrist helps alleviate the symptoms. You stand up for the first time in half an hour after you thought you’d be prostrate for the rest of eternity.

3:00 P.M.

Things are looking up now and you realize you’re hungry again—a good sign. The pizza and ice cream place (best combination ever?) at the resort is open, so you meet up with your buddies there…after a quick run through the waterslide.

4:00 P.M.

You’re pretty stoked about dinner at Gramma Dot's, so you brainstorm ways to bide your time to make sure you’re hungry again. Kayaking sounds fun, but you’re pretty much done with boats for today, so you might save the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge for tomorrow…

5:00 P.M.

You’re awake again. When did you fall asleep? You get the feeling accidental naps in southwest Floridian paradise tend to be pretty common…

6:30 P.M.

You’re in your best island dinner garb (a maxi dress and flat sandals) after a drive out to iconic Sanibel restaurant, Gramma Dot's. You’re definitely down for the surf ‘n’ turf platter after a day on Sanibel Island that’s was shockingly low on seafood…you resolve to change that tomorrow.

7:34 P.M.

You say yes to a another piña colada because you’re in Florida and who’s counting? Jimmy Buffet?

9:36 P.M.

Your driver takes you and your bestie back to Captiva, but you tell him to swing a left when you hear live music and suddenly you’re at the Key Lime Bistro, watching some island retirees cut the rug and you’re not too far off from joining them. 

10:11 P.M.

The rain has returned and everyone dives for cover during a momentary monsoon. The first shelter you see is the straw hut covering the live band’s stage, so suddenly, you’re dancing along with the musicians while everyone else is tucked inside the bar. How exclusive! You’re basically Sanibel & Captiva Island royalty at this point.

Photo: Traveling Newlyweds

11:25 P.M.

You and your group decide to take the party back to campus, but when you arrive back at South Seas you remember it’s Sunday and the bar is probably closed for the night. Something inside you says you’re secretly grateful because you hit a party wall on the drive back, and an image of your fluffy white bed has flashed through your mind…

11: 45 P.M.

You cheers your best friend with a glass of water to another day in paradise, and the fact that you get to wake up and do it again tomorrow…although this time, probably not quite at the crack of dawn.

6:05 A.M.

…you’re awake again. Who can resist a southwest Florida sunrise?

Thank you to The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel for sponsoring this post. 

I’ve been looking for a way to introduce a new topic on truelane—which is commonly taboo, unfortunately—and that happens to be periods and feminine care, and the stigma surrounding it. When U by Kotex asked me to talk about their Power to the Period donation drive, I decided it would be the perfect time to share some information on a social issue that’s highly important to me, and should be discussed a lot more than it is.

Periods are something that most women have to deal with regularly, and for most, it’s nothing more than an annoyance. The reason? You get cramps. You feel blobby. It gets messy. It’s an inconvenience, and it often takes up something like a week out of every month. For most women, that’s all it is.

Think about all of the products you have to simplify that time of your month. You have 24-hour access to feminine products, whether you’re a tampon, pad, or cup girl. You have Midol. You have hot water bottles. You have Netflix and chocolate. These are all things we take for granted that make our lives easier and minimize our reason for complaint. However, access to the most basic essentials like pads and tampons is limited or nonexistent in not only third-world countries, but here in America as well. Many of the 3.5 million Americans who experience homelessness at some point during the year have zero access to feminine hygiene products.

For those who do have access, purchasing feminine products is a financial issue, and more significantly, a gender injustice issue. Tampons and pads are taxed as luxury items in all states except for Alaska, Oregon, Montana, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Eight states out of our familiar fifty that tax women for products critical to their health. The average woman in California spends $7 a month on feminine hygiene products (The Washington Post). When you're pinching pennies, those taxes add up. Earlier this year, President Obama suggested the luxury tax situation is the way it is because he suspected "men were making the laws when those taxes were passed." (TIME) Women are ready for this to change.

I know the majority of my blog readers are female, so I challenge you to consider what your time of the month would be like without the convenience of your sanitary and readily available products. What would you use? How would you handle it? How would you feel? If I told you that 1 out of 10 girls in third-world countries drop out of school because they can’t care for themselves or don’t understand their bodies, would that blow your mind as much as it does mine?

Power to the Period is the first-ever national period product drive, and I’m proud to be both supporting it and participating in it. An easy way to take part? The next time you stop at Target to pick up your feminine care, grab an extra box and drop it at your local homeless shelter. Don’t know where to find one? LOOK IT UP. It might be one of the hardest things to talk about, but it shouldn’t be.

Other ways to get involved:

• Start a Power to the Period donation drive in your area! Now through Friday, September 30.

• Visit UbyKotex.com, DoSomething.org/Period or text PERIOD to 38383 to learn more.

• Just join the online conversation with #PeriodProjects! Let people know it's cool to talk about periods.

U by Kotex will also make product donations on behalf of DoSomething.org contest winners (more information here), and participants can sign up for a chance to win a $5,000 scholarship.

Thank you to U by Kotex for sponsoring this post, and to Holly Sanchez and DoSomething.org for starting this initiative.

Sota Clothing x Champagne + Macaroons Happy Cabin'er tee c/o  |  Showpo shorts  |  Jacket c/o Abercrombie  |  Chloe bag loaned c/o Bag Borrow or Steal  |  Ray-Ban sunglasses  |  TrueXGold Miel bracelet, Lee bracelet, and Twin necklace—FREE SHIPPING with code TRUELANE  |  Kylie Cosmetics lip kit in Candy K  |  Encychlopedia Sandals c/o Aerosoles

There's nothing I love more than a unique detail that takes a piece of clothing to the next level, and I got to incorporate a few different ones in this look. The lace-up closure on the shorts and the knotted chain on the bag kick things off up top. Finally, the statement zipper on these comfy gladiators from Aerosoles add the finishing touch! I usually try to match my bag to my shoes, but I wanted to keep things a little lighter with this look. I love that the shade of these sandals is in between a beige and camel color—they're kind of the perfect shade for my skin tone!

I'm having the best time spending the beginning of this last summer month back in Minneapolis. Bike rides to the lake, slow mornings in coffee shops and picnic dinners outside are what August dreams are made of.

Thanks to Aerosoles for sponsoring this post.