Five Things I Learned Last Year

I have been longing to write, but I have not been sure what I should write about.  And then it hit me!  I am too focused on what I SHOULD be writing about rather than what I WANT to write about or what my heart needs to feel and release.  

The past few weeks have revealed to me just how blessed I am.  There are several people who love and care for me.  I have a wonderful apartment.  I love living in California.  I do more of the things that I love.  I am alive.  And it is good.  

But what have I learned in the past year that I want to take with me into the new year, into this new chapter, new portion, new me?

1. Confidence of Self

I learned that I am good, whole, constantly renewed.  I learned that I am worth something, and sharing myself with others has led to good things and beautiful relationships.  I deserve to live the life of my dreams, and I am taking steps to do that!

2. Do What You Love

From my confidence, I know that taking caring of me is crucial, especially doing more of the things that I love that make my heart swell and excited for life and giving and love.

3. Relax

Relaxation and play is so important to our overall health as humans.  NEVER underestimate it or guilt yourself for partaking in it.

4. Make Good Choices

What I do today reveals who I will be tomorrow.  And today I choose to eat well, exercise, go outside, read, think, plan, meditate.

5. Community Is Crucial

Having people to support you along your journey is very important, especially as a young person.  Moving to the other end of the country where I only knew one person really revealed to me how much we as humans need one another to encourage, inspire, and uplift us.  I hope to be that for those around me every single day.

May your year be ever focused on the good, the beautiful, the best things to make you the best version of yourself.

relax

I'm all about the new beginnings.  The new opportunities to leap, search, grow.  It's pretty intoxicating when you accomplish a change or notice a difference in yourself and your quality of life.  I want that for myself in this new year, 2014.

I want one main thing for myself this year, though, to learn to relax.  And enjoy relaxing.  I don't want to get caught up in guilt for sitting down and feeding my soul with a good book or that sinking feeling while I'm painting that I should be doing something else.  Those things cannot wait.  My heart and mind and soul and life cannot wait.

Each year of my life I have striven to be better, stronger, smarter, etc.  I work so hard in many areas of my life, except for relaxation.  The phrase, "Work hard, play hard" has never applied to me.  I get so worked up in being perfect as I do it all, too, that I do not even enjoy much in my life.  I am so worried and stressed and anxious about doing it all, doing it perfectly, and doing it best that I have lost that sense of awe for the world, for the beautiful people in my life, and for the little things.  I want to let it all go and relax and enjoy what I have around me.

Even as I sat down to write this blog post, I thought about writing it with letters uncapitalized and without punctuation, because I am so often concerned with those things.  But I couldn't.  All I could do was not capitalize the title of this post.  Even that is a small victory for me.  But I did it, and I'm letting it go and laughing that this is really all so hard for me.  I hope one day that I look back on this year with gratitude for what I have and a cultivated sense of relaxation.

Happy 2014 to us all!

I'm off the relax.

My Obligatory Gratitude Reflection and Mission Statement

Let's be honest - there are days when feeling grateful are much easier than others.  When it's sunny outside, it's easy to smile and go for a walk.  When it's rainy, depending on the other circumstances of life and happenings of the day, it's easy to curse and forget all of the good things around us.

I want to be grateful AND express it every day of the year!

Just in time for Thanksgiving, I discovered a series of videos on YouTube by Soulpancake called The Science of Happiness.  (If you've never seen these videos or heard of Soulpancake, I highly recommend watching and exploring their page.)  I happened upon a video where several people are asked to write down a person that they are very grateful for and describe that person and why they are thankful, then they are encouraged to call that person and read to them what they wrote.  Let the tears ensue.  At the end of the video, the commentator noted that those who express gratitude experience it more deeply and report feeling happier.  It's that simple, but it takes a teeny tiny bit of effort to reap incredible benefits.  Everyone is looking for happiness, right?

It's easy to blame our tendencies to want more, have more, do more, and be more on a fast-paced culture and environment, but, really, the blame falls on us for accepting that as a healthy and good lifestyle and not dreaming of a happier, more stress-free, balanced way of thriving as human beings.

As 2014 draws nearer and I reflect upon this last year, I am overwhelmed with gratitude and happiness of all of the goods things, people, and experiences that I have had.  

Recently, I began reading a book called I am Malala, and as I read about this young girl's journey to stand up for women's education in Pakistan and how she was shot for it, I have realized all over again how thankful I am for my educational opportunities and my choice to have a career in the field of education.  I was basically handed an education here in America, where Malala describes her fight for education for herself and her friends, making them ultimately more grateful for their books, their teachers, and their schooling.  I want to be that in awe of my education and my life.  I want to advocate for others the way that she does.  I want to be a force to be reckoned with.  And I think I'm in the making to become one.

Having studied schools and their mission statements, I decided that I wanted to have a mission statement for my life and the journey that I am on to be a leader in higher education and to influence the lives of those around me.

I will be FIVE things:

Educator - I will teach those around me at every opportunity that I can, meeting them at their developmental stage and showing them that it is okay to make mistakes.

Speaker - I will speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves or who are afraid to, guiding others to gain the skills to speak for themselves and know that they are worth being heard. 

Thinker - I will continuously think, learn, and observe the world around me so that I can best help and educate others to meet the needs of the ever-changing world and job market.  I will show others that they can think for themselves, create, and participate in education and the world around them

Reader - I will read to open my mind, my heart, and my soul to everyone that I meet.  I will read to know myself and others so that I can help others more effectively and efficiently.

Advocate - I will advocate for every single individual in my life and their equitable rights to education, and thus, happiness.  I will advocate for social justice issues in my community, as well.

There has never been a time in my life where I have known more who I am or what I want to do.  Maybe I don't know the exact job that I want, but I know that I want to shape and form those around me, while caring for myself.  And that I am eternally grateful for.

Thank you for following me and accompanying me on this journey, as I continue to reveal myself and be vulnerable and be free to be me in a newer and more bold way than I have ever felt before.

Thank you.