subtle reminders.

About two months ago, I purchased a pendant in the shape of a turtle to wear as a necklace. As I’ve been recognizing and understanding how my body reacts to the uncertainties of life, I felt myself rushing to do things, with no sense of purpose or thought behind it. With all of my ideas and thoughts that transpire every day, my own ideas sometimes overwhelm me, which causes me to be in the own way of myself. For two years I was constantly in this get-after-it attitude where every other day there was an event happening or thing I needed to go to and on top of that, I worked out 5-6 days each week at high intensity, without really slowing down. At that phase in my life, I was able to handle it. A few years later, I recognize what my body needs (rest) and craves (mobility).

Five months ago I created an environment that allows space for me to focus on what I need. It started with a shift in my career and once that happened, it was if time magically appeared and there was so much of it. How will I fill this space?

I began cutting down on my intense workout regime and adding in writing daily for at least 15 minutes, yoga 2x/week, CrossFit 1-2x/week and one other day for any other activity that gets me moving (hiking, walking, plowing snow, etc.). Spinning off of my post on adherence, I’ve found that this is the perfect mix to hack my productivity and allow me to fill this “new” time with things that fuel my soul.

The challenging part is figuring out what works best and when.  The good news? There is no rush.

on adherence - #ruckusmakerschallenge day 8

Declaring to others what you say you’ll do speaks volumes. Today is the final day of the challenge, and it although it went by quickly, it wasn't easy.  Writing consistently and publishing is more uncomfortable than not.  There were moments when I tried to justify why I shouldn't share certain things, but I knew that in those moments were the exact reason why I should continue to write.  What I've realized is that eight days isn't enough to describe the feeling that happens when you sense your mind shifting focus. Like most things, I started off with a plan. I brainstormed and outlined what transpired during ruckus, and now nearly 10 days later, I find myself unraveling what I’ve learned and immediately putting it into action even after we all departed ways.  Sticking to the vision, what I know to be true and share with the world was the key to this challenge.

There’s a feeling of accomplishment that runs through me, but at the same time I know this is just the beginning of an ongoing conversation and project.

Thank you to Luis for the spark, and to all the other Ruckusmakers who joined to shared their stories.

This was fun :)

I see you - #ruckusmakerschallenge day 7

This past Tuesday I spent an hour creating a vision board alongside four other middle school-aged girls. As part of our showroom’s spring break initiatives, Tuesday’s workshop was to create your 10 year vision board. The other girls who attended actually ended up inspiring me! “Live your dream, inspire, lead, dream big” were a few words listed on each of their boards, including mine. Nailing the fact that inspiration can come from anywhere. At the workshop, each of us received name badges with a quote underneath. “I push you to be better” was listed under my name and it couldn’t be anymore accurate. At the time, I didn’t quite get what it meant, but when others saw it and read it out loud, I pieced together a bit of my bio that was shared prior to all of us physically meeting & the general consensus was that I was a trainer or coach that was somehow tied into fitness. How the world sees me. Interesting. There are so many other things that I do, but this is the message that I’m sharing with the world and I'm owning it.

This quote could’ve been under anyone else’s name as the depths of each conversation I’ve had over the course of those three days, and the ones that continue through our private Facebook group, all inspire each other to keep on pushing.

Today is day 7 of this challenge and over the course of this week I’ve been blessed to read the experiences of others.  I feel like I’ve entered an underground world of amazing humans who were DYING to share their ideas that they didn’t even know they had.  The best part of my day and where I get my daily dose of inspiration is in this private group. A platform that’s safe for us to create space for our thoughts, to those who understand us, who push us. Although not everyone is truly interacting in the sense of likes and comments, we see each other. “I see You.” Is something Seth phrased so subtly, yet powerfully.

Seth's simplicity in his message propels us to take action and truly believe in our capabilities. He pushes us to be better.

lessons learned.

When people discuss privilege, I think it’s important to understand what they actually mean. Growing up I knew my family was different and not the “typical black family” you’d think would be residing in Baltimore. We're Haitian, living in the suburbs and most of my family went to private schools. I was always reminded how good we had it, compared to where we came from.  “Always finish your plate because there are kids your age who don’t have anything to eat” was a common phrase to make sure we knew we were making out okay.  Growing up, I always hated the question - what do your parents do? Because without hesitation, once I answered, the common response was “oh you must be rich!”  No, not quite the way you see it, but whatever.  To some, yes, we’re privileged, but understand that it came (and can come) from much sacrifice. So what do my parents do? It doesn’t really matter.  What matters is that for my dad, he didn’t have much of a choice.  More on his story, later. We’re all privileged in the sense that we share the same breath, the same air and have the same amount of time.  I recently attended an event for the launch of Abernathy Magazine which centered around eleven speakers sharing their stories on race, privilege, identity & lessons learned from those experiences and how they intertwined with each other.  What struck a chord with me the most is that everyone who spoke had a different sense of what privilege meant to them.

Hearing each person speak invoked a story or time where I felt something similar – a time where I felt different - but couldn’t articulate at the time.  I wrote a post the other day about how I noticed I was the only black woman that was part of a seminar, yet what kept me grounded was the fact that I was surrounded by people who think like me. Looks didn’t matter then and the irony now is that at this event, looks did matter, but not for the sake of being excluded or ridiculed.

Every time I think about what transpired at the event, I get more inspired to share my story and keep the conversations going, because it’s that important.

Even though we’re all different, we share the same identity, the same common thread: individuals who stand their ground for what they believe in, no matter what.  Close to 50 people attended this event and what shows is that there’s a tribe that supports this movement:  the idea that our identity matters, that what we stand for matters. The beauty behind this event is that even though these stories were shared once, it left an opportunity for deeper conversations - those worth spreading.

So, the lessons learned for me? Define who you are, know and understand your roots – for these are what keep you grounded.  Believe in your truths. Keep the conversations going.  Because of this, the momentum keeps building that will make a difference on how the world sees you.

what's my project? - #ruckusmakerschallenge day 6

The long version of my story that will take you about 2 minutes to read can be found here. As much as I haven’t scratched the surface with what I know is possible for myself, what I will say that I’ve accomplished is an interesting body of work that connects me to where I am today. Using my past as a guide, to a certain degree, I understand that I’m in control of what lies ahead. However, what I do know is that everything that I’ve done can be used to propel myself to create the change I want to see, focusing on what I’m great at and building a team that supports and shares this idea. Prior to attending the seminar, I battled writing out a business proposal to “be prepared” which after a few hours I immediately scratched because I had no idea what the hell I wanted to propose. The first day of the workshop, after we all got a general idea of what we’d be up to over the next 48 hours, I had one idea and project that stood out, but still didn’t know if it was substantial enough to make a difference and ultimately, be worth it. The beauty behind sharing my story with others – the nitty gritty, as in what I’m currently up to (because there wasn’t much time to dive into what you previously did) - was that it revealed why I feel that there’s still a missing piece in my community and questioning/digging deep into what change can I help to make to bridge the gap.

So, I’ll share my story on what I’m doing now. I work with amazing, inspirational and fearless girls mainly between the ages of 10-14 who aspire to be Olympians, Scholars and Doctors among other brilliant things. At this age, they’re battling with fitting in with what’s cool, and my team and I create a safe space for them to share their biggest dreams with us, through facilitating dreams & goals workshops, and encourage them to know that whatever they dream, they can achieve. I love what I do. What I love even more is the opportunity that presents itself whenever I hear from girls, who think their dreams are too ambitious, and I notice there’s still something missing. In this space where my team and I facilitate these workshops, I don’t see my 10-year-old self amongst this group. I often think of what and where I’d be had I had been given this type of guideline to write down who I want to be and I realize that there are thousands of girls who could absolutely need this, especially in the Baltimore community that I work and reside in.

Throughout the course of the seminar, we engaged in small brainstorming sessions with others to share what our big project is. In an intimate setting, with, I shared how I want to reach out and connect with minorities in the Baltimore community who aren’t active, don’t have a support system and host these workshops with them, similar to what I do now in my current role. My past work involved having a hand in event planning, coordinating and working with kids which seems to be the common theme.

So, what’s my big project? Facilitate and coordinate a free movement festival (think yoga + arts + goal setting workshop for kids) for 100+ girls in Baltimore by August 31st 2016. This is pretty ambitious, but the beauty is that it ties with my current work, my passions and what I want to change in my community. Having this vision in mind helps me break it down to smaller projects (these #ruckusmakerschallenge posts to start) that will be equally ambitious and important, just on a smaller scale.

On the final day of the workshop, Seth gave each of us a ShipIt journal which helps breakdown our big project. From the basics of when you’ll start, who needs to be involved (and who doesn’t) and when you’ll actually ship this project, precisely to the date and time. The fact that I declared this out loud, to you, means that I have to work on it, and it’s scary #af. But, in the end, I know it’ll be worth it.

Now it’s time to build, connect and make it happen.

problem solve - #ruckusmakerschallenge day 5

We’ve been so engrained that putting in years worth of work equates to a promotion, a raise, or an added bonus. We’re given more vacation or maternity leave based on the amount of time we've been employed. The systems unfortunately haven’t changed much, and those implementing these “rules” are missing the point. What impact is your work actually making? Your effort has to be more productive than anyone else and solve a problem worth people engaging in. (H/T: Geoff Welch)

The goal isn’t to crank out hours when the work that you’re doing doesn’t mean anything, which is where some people get confused and upset. Just because you worked your ass off doesn’t mean you should automatically be rewarded.

My post from yesterday was definitely not my best, but the point was that I needed to get something out. Even though what you’re working on may take you a ton of time to write or do, it may not be that good. And that’s okay. The opposite is also true: if it took you two minutes, it can be completely worth it. Be okay with good enough, move on and make something better.

I’ve had a battle with understanding what or what isn’t good enough. There was an entire season at the HEAT where the tag line was “good enough, ain’t enough.” In this context – playing a sport for a chance at a championship, you strive to be the best, because good enough won’t get you a trophy. However, there are times throughout the season/year where you don’t put in all of your effort, you lose games, you get injured, what feels like one step towards progress, you take 3 steps back. Yet, each step back is your chance to learn and improve.

While I was managing a gym, I remember posting what I thought was an inspiring quote - “strive for progress not perfection” - and I received backlash from this because some people felt that in a gym setting, you have to perfect a technique before advancing to the next. To each his own, but progress is the whole point and perfection is subjective, unless you’re the universe… which is a post for another day.

Understand that the effort that you put in to your work is enough. The added reward and bonus is that those who engage in your content choose to connect with you.

on storytelling - #ruckusmakerschallenge day 4

If these walls could talk. The seminar was held at The Purple Crayon which is a beautifully re-designed space for connection and creativity. Many ideas were started here as people like us: impresarios, ruckusmakers, entrepreneurs and ultimately artists have stepped foot and shared their story in some capacity….which I take is why the name is extended to “The Center for Learning and Innovation.”

Seth shared with us astounding stories that helped define the questions we were all seeking. For most of our topics discussed, he related and compared it in a sense to a real life situation that had happened before.  People don’t care or purchase what you have to offer purely on the sole factor that you’re the cheapest or most convenient option for them. People purchase from you based off of the story behind what you’re selling is. Story over substance, always.

Throughout the weekend Seth intertwined his belief in connecting others and sharing their story with the fact that he was teaching us something different once we were enrolled and engaged in the conversation. This was shown in every fashion from the snacks and food that were provided to us, to the special guests that were local artists - musicians to be exact - who shared their stories and talents with us. The first evening consisted of a chocolate and wine tasting, all from samples of each from local stores that were near to the venue and each day felt as if the food and snacks were carefully curated to match the day's discussion.

Creating a culture of feedback, and continuing the conversation from yesterdays post, Seth made it appoint to not necessarily answer a question with a specific answer, but to tie it to a story that’s similar that we could relate to that was within the context of the topic at hand. He’s an expert at this, amongst other things, but story telling seems to come first and naturally to him.  One aspect that he's realized he's mastered and it shows.

why am I here - #ruckusmakerschallenge day 3

The Ruckusmakers consisted of  observers, listeners and speakers from all over the world in very diverse fields.  From marketing directors, to entrepreneurs, freelancers and CEOs every single person in attendance was here to speak up. We received shirts with all the names of Ruckusmakers - people from Charles Darwin to Rosa Parks, to the volunteers that helped to make this seminar run smoothly. Everyone listed on the back of the shirt stood up for something in their life and initiated a conversation, and ultimately chose themselves to be the ones to speak up for what they’re passionate about, especially if their idea isn’t well received because it was “different.” The point of me being at the seminar wasn’t for me to learn about Seth. I could read all of his books and blogs to understand what he thinks. The point of me being here was to start a conversation and connect. To surround myself with people who are like me who encourage and push me away from my comfort zone.

While Seth was feeding us gems related to marketing, music, fear and everything in between, I had questions in my head that I didn’t know how to articulate. Why am I here if I’m not going to speak up? That’s the entire message – to push through your fear of being afraid and not being understood. The irony of this is that I was afraid to ask. The thoughts that were going through my mind, others asked and questioned.

When they asked questions related to the topics at hand and their fears, I noticed the incredible outpouring of feedback from others and the push back from Seth, to help clarify everything. The beauty of speaking up is that there would be no other absolute opportune time to receive this instant feedback and connection. Two factors that play a major role in growth and progress.

Once I noticed this, I forgave myself for being afraid, and spoke up.

learning how to see - ruckusmakers challenge day 2

The theme of the seminar was to think about what project are you going to make that will create a dent in the universe, cause a ruckus, and ultimately change the scope of the people you care about…then ship it. Seth made it clear that we must first understand how we want to see the world - our world -  and what we’re willing to work on, how much effort we’re willing to put in, to create change. At first, it almost felt as if he was teaching me how to describe yellow to a blind man. The challenge with the project that I want to work on wasn’t whom I want to change, but how. How do you get someone who’s never had something you know they need, to trust you and your decision to helping them understand, and eventually helping them overall? Seth’s solution: attach it to what you know by starting to build a foundation of trust & how you want to see. Introducing 80 people for the first time in an intimate setting requires a lot of trust. He’s perfected the art of building a tribe and in turn, being a leader, all stemming from that basic concept.

When I was a kid I was always active. I found my tribe through sports. People who did things like me were fun & inspiring to be around. I never worried about fitting in, or the fact that I was [more than likely] the only black person on my team, more specifically Haitian…or any other race for that matter. I always fit in because of physical activity, as this was something that I was familiar with, something I trusted.

This time around, what do I see? In a room full of people like me, they don’t look like me. I’m the minority and am wondering where is everyone else that looks like me. In an unfamiliar area, I couldn’t tell if I would be accepted the way I felt when I stepped on a basketball court or soccer field. As much as I fit in, there’s still a piece of me that is completely different than everyone else in the room: the only black female. This wasn't the point, but I embraced the difference. Not many people can say that.

Learn how you want to see, and in turn who you are working to change by getting specific. The point is not to focus so much about demographics; that I’m a 30-year-old black female, but about the psychographics – who people are. I’m a 30 year old black female that picked herself to be immersed in a weekend geared to feed my soul, aspiring to create a dent in the universe.

Clarity transpired almost instantly.

Once you learn how to see, you can recognize and care about who you want to help.

how I got here - ruckusmakers challenge day 1.

Everything comes full circle when you pay attention to the signs. Three years ago, I was introduced to Seth by way of a stranger who I met at the absolute perfect time. I was on the verge of quitting my full-time job at the HEAT, and shared with her my story and fears of what would happen if I left. Long story short, fear is the exact topic that her business stemmed from and as I dug deep into her site and stalked her Facebook [smile], I stumbled across Seth’s work.

Fast forward to 2015. Laying in bed scrolling through my twitter feed on my phone, I read a post that said apply to Seth’s Ruckusmakers seminar. Not even thinking twice about it, I clicked the link, answered the questions in the application and hit send. Seth doesn’t facilitate these types of workshops often, and I knew hundreds of people would apply so after I submitted my application, I didn’t even think that I’d be accepted. Why would I be picked?

The next day I received an email saying that I was accepted and had less than 24 hours to purchase a spot for this. Wait – what!? The same weekend that the workshop was going to be held, I was planning a girl’s trip to Jamaica. At one point I didn’t want to let my friends down, on the other, I knew I couldn’t turn this offer down. Jamaica will always be there. This seminar? Once in a lifetime. Thankfully my friends knew this was a no-brainer and supported my decision 100%.

The feeling of excitement mixed with nervousness still fills me to this day. The ticket wasn’t inexpensive but I knew this experience would be invaluable. Every decision that I’ve made where I’ve had the feelings of this isn’t going to work, the butterflies that seem to fly in every direction in my stomach, the holy-crap-what-am-I-doing has helped me transform and grow. Every. Single. Time.

The first evening when I walked into the venue, I knew I made the right decision. The room was filled with people who think like me, who shared similar fears and who were curious and decided to take a leap.  People like me, do things like this.

Over the course of the next week, I’ll be submitting pieces on how this seminar transformed the way I see the world, how sharing my story will create the change I want to make and how everything is connected.

One thing that I will share now and what I learned from Seth is that you should always, always, pick yourself. Good shit happens when you do.

ruckusmakers challenge.

Starting on March 12th, I’ll be publishing one post a day for the next 8 days on what I learned, witnessed, felt, thought and overall experienced at the Ruckusmakers Seminar I attended this past weekend, led by Seth Godin. This is a challenge that a fellow Ruckusmaker brought on to each of the attendees, and I gladly & nervously accepted.

As I’ve been digesting everything that transpired in the course of those 3 days, reading over the pages of notes I wrote, and hearing what the others experienced, I’m still in awe that I was a part of this event.

I’m incredibly humbled and grateful to be connected with a group of brilliant humans that inspire me to dig deep and take action.

This challenge will be exciting and emotional for me, and my hopes are to share and teach you what I’ve learned to propel you to create the change you wish to seek in this world.

doing good.

There are people that come in to your life, those you share every part of your life with and those who don’t. In each moment, each project, each phase of your life, you left a footprint whether you realized it or not. Some may have been smaller than others, but the point is that you made your mark. I recently caught up with a friend about things you typically talk about: what are you up to now, what have you done since we last spoke, where do you live, etc. and shared with him my anxiety about catching up with people I haven’t seen or spoke to in years.

Anxiety may not be the right word to use in this case since it stems from a feeling of fear, as I wasn’t afraid to catch up, just unsure of what questions I was going to be asked and how much I should mention/respond or how in depth into the question should I answer with.

There are a million things I’ve done since I’ve last seen those I was visiting, so when I was mentally preparing for my response to “what are you doing now” and “how are you” I tensed up and thought, where do I even begin with this?

My friend’s feedback was so simple and effective: when someone asks you how you’re doing and immediately asks “good?” without me even having a chance to respond, just leave it at that. “Yes, I’m doing good.” In those few seconds, I recognize and sense the person’s feigned enthusiasm and move on.

Those who care will ask deeper questions that go below the surface level. Luckily for me, I have more people that care than not.

Disclaimer for the grammar police: doing good instead of doing well was intentional.

but, what if it works?

These are the first five words that are written in my journal.  It's always exciting to start fresh, and it can be scary, but only if you let it. Ways to shift your mindset from scary to "I got this":

Prep.  Whatever you plan on doing for the day, week, month or next 90 days, prep for it.  I started writing down my ideas, formulating plans to make those ideas actually come to life, and took action each day towards them.  Ordering the passion planner helped with this process.

Like most of you, I intentionally started a resolution on January 1st to commit to writing every single day for at least 15 minutes.  This is something that I've committed to, with the exception of one day where I can't remember why I didn't write.  I didn't beat myself up because of this, but I did acknowledge that I missed a day, and kept writing anyways.

Keep it simple. Create a mantra or something you can repeat that's positive and will move you towards your goal.  "But, what if it works?" Is a simple way to keep this momentum going - to keep whatever you set your mind to to actually come to life.

One of my favorite podcasts that nails the effectiveness of simplicity is this.  Don't over complicate, over analyze or over think what you're doing.  Progress is made in small steps.

Move. Move your thoughts to paper.  Move your body. Stop complaining that you're too tired, or too cold or too [any other excuse] that prevents you from being the best version of you.  You just have to make a choice and go out and do it.

The absolute worst thing that can happen is that what you decide doesn't work and you have to try again. You'll still survive and at least have a story to tell.

endure.

Whenever I work out in the morning, I set my intention that whatever I end up doing, whether it be a CrossFit workout, a 2 mile interval run, a spin or yoga class; that this will be the most challenging part of my day. Once I finish the workout, I know (or keep reminding myself) that the rest of my day will be easier than my workout, and that I can face and do anything because I’ve endured the hardest part of my day.

This morning I took a 75-minute spin class.  I knew it was 75 minutes only after the instructor mentioned we had another 40 minutes to go as I looked at the clock and almost passed out. I didn’t, but in that moment I had two choices: to quit or to stay with it.

“This is hard for everyone. Get over it and keep going. If you want this to be easy, raise your hand.”

No one raised their hand. Not even a flinch. #cojones

Challenge accepted.

The irony of this is that I found comfort in the challenge. That everyone is going at a level that is the most difficult for them.

Push through whatever it is you’re facing. We all go through hard times, and you're not alone.

It'll be worth it - and - you'll have a story to tell because you survived.

on time.

A few weeks ago the weather here in Baltimore caused delays and school closings around the area, and I had a plan to take a yoga class at a studio that’s 15 miles away from my home. Since news outlets don’t post anything related to fitness studio closures, I called to find out if classes were still on and if they had showers at their facility. This is important because I had a meeting to attend right after class and didn’t want to drive back home to change. No response, so I left a message – tweeted them with the same questions – and went about my business. As I finished up my morning meetings, the studio tweeted me back saying yes they’re open and yes they have showers. “Sweet! On my way.” As I was driving there, I got a phone call from the studio manager who was returning my message (not knowing that I had already received confirmation via twitter) and answered my questions. I told her about the twitter interaction, she was pleasantly pleased and just as surprised as I was and I told her I’d see her in 20.

Today, I got a phone call from an employee at another yoga studio (let’s call her Sara because I didn’t get her actual name) where I’ve only attended once. Sara called to let me know that tonight’s class was cancelled and that they’re calling people who’ve attended this class in the last few weeks to let them know so they don’t waste their time driving to the studio.

Grateful and surprised that these two studios actually called and followed up. Neither wasted my time, and there’s value in that.

defining purpose.

For the first time since 2012 I feel that I have a sense of purpose and something to work towards. In the course of these 3 years I’ve failed, succeeded, gave up, tried again, and started from scratch all with the purpose of finding out who the hell I am. This takes practice, spending time alone, writing and saying no to a lot of people. I’ve defined what I want to create in this world and I have to do everything that I can to help those dreams become a reality. I’m no longer distracted from the outside world because I’ve created habits* that keep me focused.

*Disclaimer: this is an ongoing process.

The short version and answer: it takes hard work, focus and dedication.

However, what it starts with is making sure to have a clear vision set.

This allows me to practice what I preach, to have somewhat of a blueprint for others to follow or use as their guide – although I know every single person will have a different framework for making their dreams become a reality.

My job right now is to help facilitate that path. To get people moving in the literal form through physical movement, but also get their minds moving, and to continuously stay moving on the path towards their goals and even redefining them along the way.

What made me decide that this is my path? It just felt right. It aligns with how I want to feel and what I want to do every single day:

• meditate

• write

• sweat

• connect

• feel free

• inspire

• transform

• progress

• be bold

• be daring

• be adventurous

Some simple strategies that may help you figure this out:

1. Know when to say no to things that may disappoint others.

2. Understanding the value and importance of your decision.

3. Understanding the why behind it.

4. Write down your goals. What you’re thinking and feeling. Don’t think about them. Write.them.down.

I believe a lot of this takes practice. Some people are lucky to find their path to success/happiness/enlightenment at an early stage. Others, have to throw out ideas, see what sticks try and fail hundreds of times, to see what works – and what you align yourself with.

At the end of the day, do work that matters & do what feels right.

“Risk the narrative and make a difference.” – Seth Godin

vision and goals.

I have dreams to move mountains. To spark the light in a young girl’s soul that allows her to take leaps beyond measures, beyond the smartest boy in her class, to become the next President, CEO, head coach, mentor…in her community, in the world. The fuel that drives me: the gaps I see in my community. The “missing” girls that I know who would LOVE to be part of this adventure, this journey. The girls who I have yet to reach out to…those whom I’ve yet to find.

So, how do I bridge this gap?

By choosing myself.  Taking action to put myself in a position to create change, to create what I want to see in this world that will create a domino affect to help others.

It's time for me to [continue to] take leaps and move mountains.

young girls, dream on.

To the girl who says her vision is too optimistic. To the girl who crumbles up her dreams.

To the girl who doesn’t know what to write.

To the girl who’s peaking at her neighbor’s paper.

To the girl who wants to fit in.

To the girl who wants to stand out.

To the girl that feels lost.

To the girl who’s parents said no

…to writing down your dreams.

To the girl who couldn’t find a ride.

To the girl who was forced to be here.

To the girl who’s scared of what’s to come.

It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to feel lost. It’s okay to not have a clue what to do. Just remember, try to listen to your heart & not your ego. Follow how you want to feel – whatever that may be: happy, free, energetic, surrounded by joy.

But always, always remember, it’s never too late to follow your wildest dreams, whatever they may be.

xo

thankful for...

the unexpected

the unknown

the change of plans

 the uncomfortable conversations

 the silence

 the cold

 the confusion

 the blank slate

...it’s from these places where you [and I] shed the layer that’s needed to expand.

twenty fourteen.

what went well?

1. I quit a job.

2. I started a new one.

3. I fell in love.

4. I have more $ in savings than I did a year ago.

5. I spent time with those I adore around the country.

In between these 5 things consisted of: anxiety, tears, heartbreak, growth, confusion, depression, expansion & exploration.

Silver lining? I survived.

2015, be gentle.

xo