And exactly 17 months later from my last post here we are. I’m feeling refreshed, newly inspired, and ready to take on the world.
Not much excitement has taken place since my last post. Nothing like the world completely shutting down, huge movements taking place to fight for justice, and experiencing one of the rockiest political climates in my lifetime. Haha. Sike. So a lot went down, to say the least. A lot of pain and suffering in the world. A lot of reflection and trying to process. A lot of Zoom calls. A lot of making the most out of the little things. And I’m super blessed to say I didn’t experience anything close to the worst of it. I think the whole world grew stronger from the experiences and only time will tell the changes that this whirlwind of a time will bring to our future.
There’s a lot to say about the past 2 years. There’s too much for me to catch up writing about so I will close these thoughts for today with some motivation to be kind because our world could always use a little more kindness.
I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being; let me do it now.
Etienne de Grellet
so what’s next?
breaking down a mental barrier
So what is this mental barrier that I had you ask? Well, the barrier where Charlotte was the only place I pictured myself living and starting my next chapter after college. I knew living elsewhere was possible, I just never imagined it happening. Guess who did it for me though? Guess who helped flip a switch in my brain? Chip Gaines!!! If you need a refresher on the name or you have never heard of it- 1. we can no longer be friends and 2. Chip and Joanna Gaines from Fixer Upper on HGTV. Yep, that’s right! I read their book, The Magnolia Story, and was definitely not expecting to learn life lessons from it but here we are. Chip lived by the idea that you should never be in a place in life where you feel comfortable. His determination to never be comfortable stuck with me. Whenever Chip would buy a new house, the family would move in and Joanna would spend a lot of time and energy to redecorate and make the place somewhere she was proud to live. Every time Joanna finished a house, it wasn’t long until Chip came home with news of a newly purchased house and the process would repeat. His desire to not get comfortable in life did not mean he couldn’t kick his feet up after a long day, but it meant that he constantly wanted to push himself to try new things and take chances without the fear of failure. Straying from the idea of being comfortable seems like an exciting undertaking. You are always pushing yourself farther, learning new things, and growing as a person. The way I look at it is that living outside of your comfort zone breeds a sense of constant thrill.
While this idea energizes me, it’s also a concept that is very foreign to me. Growing up, in general, I lived a very comfortable life. I went to the same school for 9 years of my life from kindergarten to eighth grade, then I went to the sister high school that it fed into and a lot of my friends followed suit. My schooling was smooth sailing. I lived in the same house since I was born for 15 years. Soccer also was built into my schedule and something I could always count on to be there. My parents have always been happily married and I’ve shared a tight bond with them and my sister. Overall, a pretty comfortable life. A life that I love and for a majority of the time have lived being reluctant to change. I guess what I’m saying now is there is no more reluctance. I am WELCOMING CHANGE with OPEN ARMS now and I feel very confident in saying that.
Now back to the idea about “living outside of Charlotte after I graduate”: I think my changed mindset also had some correlation to traveling again after coming out of the quarantine gloom. I visited my cousin in D.C. and friends in Chicago and I saw them in their new routines and familiarity. I have always loved living near a city and it was one of my musts for college. Big cities come with so much culture, constant movement, and so much to discover. I began saying to myself, I can see myself here. I can see myself creating new routines and habits and exploring every new corner of my fantasy city in my free time. I can really do this if I really want it. It will probably require hard work, dedication, and some sacrifice to get there but I can really make my life what I want it to be. The world is my oyster. Now I’m not oblivious in thinking there won’t be curveballs throw and ups and downs along the way but a girl can dream am I right? Something just clicked when I read Chip’s perspective in the book. I’m excited for the future.
blossoming creativity
At the moment I feel like creativity is seeping out of me. There’s so much I want to create and I have finally found touch with that passion again. It got a little blurry during the past year with all the craziness. I have been finding inspiration through everything around me. I’m so happy I dove back into reading for pleasure this summer. Reading is an outlet that does wonders for me in terms of relaxation, creativity, and inspiration. I have also been so inspired by many other creators that I have found on social media and have enjoyed following along on their journies as well.
I’m in a great place right now and even better things are coming for me. I can feel it. I’m super excited to get back into the swing of blogging and I hope to be more consistent and push myself to experiment with different types of content creation.
Thanks for stopping by and reading my brain dump. See you soon.
