Explore, Dream, Discover

A famous writer once said, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover. “

Mark Twain has always been one of my favorite writers since I was young. He has influenced so many writers to think outside the box and pursue your own way of thinking. That is one of the many reasons why I really love this quote. But this quote symbolizes more than that.

I’ve heard so many older people say, “Gee, I wish I could have done that when I was younger.” And I’m always thinking, “Why didn’t you?” It always astonishes me to think that people give up opportunities to make other people happy.

We are giving one life, so why not make the best out of it?  I have always thought that since I was young. The idea of traveling and seeing this big world always excited me. And I am lucky enough to have had that opportunity. For starters, I’m an ex-Flight Attendant. I picked up and moved to Phoenix, Arizona for training and because of that I got to see a lot of the United States.

Then last summer I had the opportunity to study abroad in London, England. I spent a month there learning about the English life, going to museums, traveling all over the English countryside, and going to church at the one and only Buckingham Palace. (I mean…I got to stand where Prince William and Kate got married!)  And because England wasn’t enough, I went to France and explored the city of LOVE.

Of course, I’m not stopping there. Next summer, I’m planning on going on a mission trip to Haiti to help kids in orphanages. This is going to be my graduation present to myself.  I want to be selfless and help people that are in need. We sometimes forget that some people have it worse off than we do, so I think it’s important to help the people out there that are less fortunate.

What I’m trying to say here is… DON’T limit yourself. This world is a big place, so take the time and go out and explore it. Life is to short to be “wishing” and “hoping”… be proactive of your life and live everyday to its fullest. 

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

I wanted to do something a little different today. I want everyone to know a little more about me, so at the end of each month I will be doing a little blurb about my favorite things. I did this on my other blog but I could never keep with it...SO I will make a mental note each month, "to share some of my favorite things." But I would also like to share things that makes me happy and confident! So here it goes:  The first thing on the list is the Alexandre McQueen wallet. I know exactly what everyone is thinking... "Wow! Alexandre McQueen- his stuff is expensive!" well you are right! he is expensive, but I'm also very thrifty. I found this wallet at a cheap store for only $15. I love it because I have an unhealthy obsession with skulls and the color is amazing! it's bright, flashy, and everyone asks about it whenever I bring it out. You don't have to spend a TON of money on name brand things... be thrifty and you could get lucky.  Tory Burch flats. I actually got these flats last fall, but every month they are my favorite. They are super comfortable and they go with everything. Plus, I love everything from Tory Burch.  Statement Necklaces. I think just this month alone I bought three to four new statement necklaces. They are great when you're wearing a plain outfit because they bring it together. Like the word states, they are a statement piece and they are meant to be SEEN. That's why I love them so much. EOS lip balm.  I found out about this lip balm from a friend of mine. She told me I had to try it and ever since I have never gone to anything else. I have all the flavors stashed in my purse and i'm always looking for more! if you haven't tried this lip balm yet, you need to run to the store now. Planner. I'm a busy woman with two jobs, school, and trying to take care of this blog. I love to write down everything that's going on so I can be prepared and ready for my next event!  But of course, I'm a little OCD about organizing and planning.  I love having little things that makes your life complete. I'm always looking for new trends, makeup ideas, and other small things that makes me feel better. But until next month! 

Adopt A More Positive Mindset (Week THREE of SIX- Self-Confidence-challenge)

On this third week, I will discuss one of the hardest things to do, adopting a more positive mindset. I have discussed staying positive and letting those negative thoughts that destroy us leave our brains through out my posts, but again I am reinforcing it.

Especially this week, I’ve had problems trying to stay positive. From giving up a friend who I thought cared about me, health issues, and other stressers that comes with life, it is hard to stay positive. Sometimes it is easier to stay negative when things happen to us, instead of thinking of the positive effects that it may have.

Usually what I try and tell my friends is, “Everything works out the way it’s suppose to.” Which, most of the time, is true. Everything that happens to us always happens for a reason, but sometimes it takes us longer to actually know the reason why.

When you adopt a more positive mindset everything falls into line. When we pass off negative thoughts, those negative thoughts will reflect in what we are doing. For example, thinking that, “I’m not pretty enough” repeatedly, will turn into people seeing that emotion conveyed in your body language, actions, and therefore won’t want to be around you. How can you make friends when you don’t care about your own well being? People want to be around positive influences and not what we call “Negative Nancys.”

To get a more positive mindset, all you have to do is tell yourself, “I look good today!”  This well help reinforce that mindset and you will cut off that little demon in your brain that makes you question yourself. To do this you can write notes and leave them in random places (like I’ve stated before,) say it out loud when you’re looking in the mirror, or do something that makes you feel good.

So this week’s challenge is find out what you like most about yourself, and don’t be afraid to project that strength and qualities to others!

Relieving Stress

In this fast past world that we live in it is easy to get stressed out by the most mundane situations that we get ourselves in. Either it will be about money, school (getting good grades/ going to college), work,  or just family stress,  it is easy to spend most of our days worrying about something.

I know for me, being a college student, trying to make money to survive off of, and getting get good grades are the top stressers in my life. I probably don’t go a day with worrying about something, which in the long term is really bad for your health. But if you follow these easy steps, I am positive that you will relieve your stress.

1. Listen to Music.  If you're feeling overwhelmed by a stressful situation, try taking a break and listening to relaxing classical music. Playing calm music has a positive effect on the brain and body, can lower blood pressure, and reduce cortisol, a hormone linked to stress.
2. Call a Friend. If you're feeling overwhelmed, take a break to call a friend and talk about your problems. Good relationships with friends and loved ones are important to any healthy lifestyle, and there's no time that this is more evident than when you're under a lot of stress. A reassuring voice, even for a minute, can put everything in perspective.
3. Talk Yourself Through It. Sometimes calling a friend is not an option. If this is the case, talking calmly to yourself can be the next best thing. Don’t worry about seeming crazy—just tell yourself why you're stressed out, what you have to do to complete the task at hand, and most importantly, that everything will be OK Sometimes calling a friend is not an option. If this is the case, talking calmly to yourself can be the next best thing. Don’t worry about seeming crazy—just tell yourself why you're stressed out, what you have to do to complete the task at hand, and most importantly, that everything will be OK.
4. Eat Right. Stress levels and a proper diet are closely related. Unfortunately, it’s when we have the most work that we forget to eat well and resort to using sugary, fatty snack foods as a pick-me-up.
5. Be Mindful. From yoga and tai chi to meditation and Pilates, these systems of mindfulness incorporate physical and mental exercises that prevent stress from becoming a problem in the first place. Try joining a class

Stress is easy to deal with!  When you change your lifestyle and realize that it’s manageable, you will get a better sense of living a happier life. Step up and decide that you don’t want stress to control your life anymore! 

Practicing Forgiveness

Forgiveness is something that we all have problems with. There is a grey area of forgiveness- if someone does us wrong, we obviously don’t want to forgive that person.  In our minds we think, “well that person did us wrong, so I can’t forgive them. Karma will do it for me.”
In my twenty-six years, I have had a problem with this issue. I have been treated poorly by a number of people, so it’s hard for me to practice forgiveness. But in the past few months I have really been working on this problem. 


I think this is something we all should practice and preach to others. Connecting this to an earlier post, we should let whatever happened to us go. When we keep things built up inside us there will be an inner struggle with our conscience, and this leads to resisting new people coming into our lives.
One thing that I have learned to do is going up to that person that hurt us and say, “I forgive you.”  This takes a lot of strength on your part and it shows them that they can’t hurt you anymore.  This takes a lot of will power on your part, but in the end you come out becoming a stronger person.

When you let go of the things that control your life, you will in return have a more healthy and happier life. In the end, forgive yourself and forgive others- nothing is ever your fault!
Like Mahatma Ghandi said, “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”

Take Pride in Your Good Qualities (Week TWO of SIX- Self-Confidence-challenge)

Identifying your talents is only part of it!  Taking pride on the things that make YOU - you is important in developing a good self-esteem.

For Example: I have a great smile, I love how my hair is really curly, my laugh in infectious, people like me.
When I feel like I am thinking negatively about myself, I take a minute and list the things that I LOVE about myself. Whenever you feel bad about one of your weaknesses, comfort yourself by thinking about all of the positive qualities about yourself. You'll see that they far outweigh the things you are insecure about.
So this week, I challenge everyone to write done something you LOVE about yourself! 

Let It Go

We have all heard that Disney song that has inspired millions of remakes and teaches young people around the world to just be your self.  Well I’m not going to be talking about that Disney song, but I will be talking about the three words, “LET IT GO.” 

Since I was young I have always had a problems with letting things go. I let the words and actions of people effect my life and most of all my emotions. If someone said to me, “You are to short.” I would automatically believe that there was something wrong with me. Festering on the fact that I am only 4’11 and not 5’6, I would beat myself up over it and make myself believe that I’m not normal. Most people don’t understand how words can really mold and affects someone’s life. One single word could change a person’s path and their course of action.

I have been teaching myself about the idea of “letting things go.”  You have all heard the phrase, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never heart me” –and that’s the idea here. When someone says something negative to you, “just let it go,” if things don’t go your way, “just let it go.”  I know this is hard to think about, and it’s a hard thing to preach (I mean I’m still learning myself.)  But letting it fester inside you only makes things harder and unhealthy for you.

Here are some simple tips:


1.     Right after the negative response tell your self, “This isn’t true” and walk away. By doing this you are taking that negative response and throwing it out the window and reinforcing positive energy.


2.     Tell the other person, “thank you” and walk away. Not only are you telling the other person that they can’t hurt you, you are also telling your brain (that releases the negative thoughts) that nothing is wrong. Therefore, you won’t be letting that negative energy destroy you.

3.     Like I said in my last post, write positive things about yourself.  This tells your brain to think happy thoughts, and when this happens, you get rid of all that negative energy.

This is an on going process. You can’t just wake up on day and be like, “I will no longer think negative thoughts", because come on, that will never happen. Much like exercising it takes practice and patience but sooner than later you will be a more healthier you. 

Releasing the "Negativity Demon"

We all of those days where we wake up and things aren’t going our way; for example, our alarm didn’t go off, we can’t find the outfit we wanted to wear, or getting behind a slow moving vehicle that makes us late for work or school. Most people will call this Monday problems or “having one of those days.” 

When we release negative thoughts you get what I call “a spiral effect”- meaning that once one bad happens, the rest of the day is ruined. But I am telling you it doesn’t have to be like that. 

When you wake up in the morning start your day by saying- “This day is going to be wonderful.”  Give yourself a good five minutes to relax and not think about what the day is going to be like.

One thing that I have been doing is writing positive comments about myself on notebook paper and looking at it every morning when I wake up. This helps with my anxiety and sets the day in a positive manner. ANOTHER thing you can do is print out the positive comments and post it on your mirror. You look at your mirror every morning while you are getting ready, so it’s a consent reminder about staying positive and releasing the negative thoughts that might arise. 


Having a bad day is only in your mind. If you tell yourself everyday that TODAY IS GOING TO BE A GOOD DAY it will happen!  Release that negativity demon and spread good vibes! 

Identify Your Talents (Week ONE of SIX- Self-Confidence-challenge)

Growing up we tell our parents, “I want to dance,”  “I want to do gymnastics,” or  “I want to sing.”   We all discover our own unique things that we become passionate and dream about. As we get older, sometimes the “grown up ways” over shadow our dreams, and we forget that at one time they actually mattered. I have figured out that during this time we loose ourselves and forget what it is like to dream.  Some studies show that this leads to depression and anxiety.

The first step to “re” identify your talents is to take a class of some kind.  Take time out of your bust schedule and go take a random dance class (even if you can’t dance), audition for a play (to increase your confidence with public speaking and being in a crowed), go to a yoga class, or take a drawing class at a local college.
All of these things will help you connect with new people, discover new talents, and who knows, it could lead to something fantastic!!
When you're following your passion, not only will it have a therapeutic effect, but you'll feel unique and accomplished, all of which can help build your self-confidence.

What Have I Been Up To?

I know it’s been awhile since I have blogged. The past six-months or so have been crazy and extremely overwhelming.  Not only am I going into my last two semesters (which the people that know me know that this is a long time coming) but I have also been dealing with personal issues. 

Dealing with these personal issues the past few months is the reason why I decided to get back into blogging. Not only is writing therapeutic, but I hope that I can inspire others out there that may be dealing with the same things. A famous leader once said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

I am dedicating this blog to help others, inspire others to become a better person and find their true self. Everyone has struggles, and admitting that you are struggling is the first step to becoming a better person.