New Year, Happy Me

2022 Recap: Fucking crushed it.

This last year, I have worked really hard to be my best self. Therapy, medication, using my voice, setting boundaries — ya girl been doing the most.

And it was a year I absoltuely crushed.

Sure, I spent 6 months unemployed, but I did so in style. I traveled, I spent time with the people who give me joy, and I decided to only do things that make me happy.

I started setting actual boundaries for the first time. Saying no, end of sentence. And I cut loose the folks that didn’t accept these boundaries.

I spoke up. Opened up about trauma and got vulnerable while fighting for better. I shared more with friends about my life and why I am the way I am. I kicked out friends who didn’t make me feel good.

And I waited for the right role for what I need right now.

2022 was dope. Sure, there were some hard times - a lot of them. My health hasn’t been great. Dating was a bit …interesting? Money was not as flush as I’d planned.

But when I think of this year, I smile.

So 2023? More of the same. I’m going to prioritize me, put more work in to be my healthiest mentally and hopefully figure out all this gestures wildly health stuff.

I’m going to travel more, smile more, be vulnerable more and put me first (and dog, obvi).

New Year doesn’t mean new me, it means focusing on me, period. It means just continuing the work and continuing the strive for better.

I don’t set NYE goals, I don’t do resolutions - I work everyday to get better. Regardless of the date.

For me, that’s winning.

What does the new year look like for you?

Shine Bright. Be Bold.

I have lived by the motto “Shine Bright. Be Bold.” for a really long time. In fact, ir’s the tagline on the front page of this blog. But what does that mean to me?

Shine bright means owning who you are unapolagetically. It means allowing your soul to guide you in everything you do. To shine bright means to exist in the world in a way that is authentically letting the YOU be your guiding light. For me, that means owning that I am loud, happy, fun, and sparkle obsessed. I am a lot and not everyone will love me, but I’m going to shine bright anyways.

Be bold means to take risks. To push yourself. To ask more of yourself and those around you. It means to dare to get the most out of the short time we have on this Earth. To me, being bold means to be scared and do it anyways.

Whenever I make decisions in life, I check in with how each choice meets the expectations of my motto. Leave home for a brand new state? That’s bold. Refuse to accept being told I’m too much? That’s shining really bright.

A motto helps me feel like I’ve got a true North. It helps me to get through life with my values in tact. It’s also completely something my type A, former athlete, control freak self thrives on.

At a time when a lot of folks are looking to create resolutions and life changes — may I suggest a life motto? Something that represents your values and your desires in life.

A motto is an incredible way to hold yourself accountable for the foreseeble future. And the great thing about it - it can evolve as you evolve!

The best part about a motto? It reminds me of being on a team. The very best team — my own! Shine Bright, Be Bold is my anthem. It keeps me focused on #1, ME!

Get you a motto and next level your life!

Silver Linings Playbook

I’ve got a hot take that I want to first recognize is even possible because I have privilege.

Ready?

2020 is not that bad.

Let me explain.

Because I am privileged and have a job, a safe home and access to all my basic needs; I have focused on how grateful I am. And it’s changed my perspective on 2020.

Yes, I have had to cancel trips. Work has been extremely stressful. My anxiety has been a daily struggle. Depression has come back for the first time since I was a teenager. I don’t get to see a lot of family and friends. Concerts, sports - all canceled.

But I also have everything I need to survive and even thrive.

I am building relationships with people who I might not have if 2020 was a normal year. I am seeing more National Parks. I have time to workout more. I’m reading an average of two books a week. I am learning about boundaries and how to prioritize myself. I get to spend time with family. I’m more involved in political and social awareness and I’m putting in the work to make a difference. I’m realizing that work doesn’t define me.

All in all, I’m finding that I have more time to do a lot of the “I’ll get to it” things that I never actually had the time to do before.

Again, I cannot emphasize this enough, I am lucky. I am privileged. There are people who have none of this.

That’s a big reason why I am choosing to be grateful. Its why I want to focus on the good of 2020. Because it could be so much worse. And I know how easily I could lose it all.

I suggest that if you are as lucky as I am, you spend time talking about how lucky you are. You focus on the good around you and how you can potentially effect good around you. Certainly I’m not trying to downplay hardships we all have. My life is far from perfect in 2020 but it is good enough.

I get that we all love the memes and the 2020 jokes. They’re pretty damn funny. I just find that focusing on the silver linings and the things I’m grateful for is where my energy is best served.

2020 is not my favorite year, but it is a year I won’t give up on. I won’t chalk it up to a loss and I won’t call it the worst. I will call it the year that I learned to be more kind. More patient. More grateful. More aware of the life I have both been given and built.

I have always been attracted to shiny things, silver linings will always be one of those things.