Tag: Lifestyle

Is 25 A Milestone?

Personally, I believe that whatever birthday you feel is special can be considered a milestone. However, the 25th birthday is considered a milestone for most as it marks you at a quarter of a century old. Plus, the ever-growing fear of reaching your 30s starts to persist a little more. Additionally, some may even experience a small nagging voice that sounds like their own, but as an 8-year-old child who once said “At 25, I’m going to be married with a house and kids”. When in reality I am now 25, single, and living with my best friend, still traveling my path toward finding my own version of success. So, yeah… I would consider 25 to be a milestone age.

My 25th Milestone

My Silver Birthday has been the only birthday I’ve really celebrated. Generally, I don’t celebrate my birthday with more than dinner. But this year I had a whole celebration week and it was pretty great! There were a lot of factors in this year being one to celebrate more than the rest.

Moving On

For one, I was preparing to move out of Jacksonville! Which has been a dream of mine since I was a girl! Me and Gabs both left Jax and made it out to Daytona Beach! 10 minutes from the beach, an amazing new apartment with a lake view, and just good vibes all around!

Forever 25

I also felt this birthday was very important because Manny is forever 25. I know he wouldn’t want me to sulk and be sad and he would only ever want me to live a life worth living. Because that’s how I would feel if things were swapped. So I celebrated the hell out of my birthday for me and Manny and I will continue to do so every year.

My Time

Lastly, I just have this strong, deep-rooted feeling that this move, this age, and this time in my life is going to bring on new and exciting experiences and adventures! It’s already been a week living in Daytona Beach and I’ve already secured my dream job as a Writer! Working hard on Forever Aesthetic Parties and working hard on my own personal writing ventures, this year is THE Year.

Things I’ve Realized

As I turn 25 I still feel as if I were only 18 but I have a higher sense of accomplishment. I know I’ve achieved so much already and I know I am on the right path in life. I stop regularly to remind myself of everything I’ve carried out to make sure I enjoy the moment in the here and now, rather than always skipping the small period of celebration before moving on to my next goal. I’ve realized that even though I haven’t achieved everything just yet, it’s all on its way to me right now. I just have to keep moving forward on my path chosen and it will be a stupendous fucking life, that is 100% fact.

Advice For A 25 Year Old

Advice that I’ve been implementing for myself as a 25-year-old single woman, is to live in the moment. Live presently, enjoy the moment, inhale the joy, the adventure, the experience, and exhale all the fear, the stress, and worry. Everything will work out just as it is supposed to, as long as you stay motivated and always keep going. If you never stop trying, you will never truly fail, no matter how many times you fall down.

A Summary Of Shared Moments

Is there ever a time when you’ve wondered about the importance of shared moments? Whether it be with a friend, a family member, or anyone else in your inner circle, these moments can be rather defining for some. We never know what will have a real effect on our lives, or what small moment can lead to the biggest change of our life until it happens. As Eleanor Roosevelt once said: “Happiness is not a goal…it’s a by-product of a life well lived.” 

The Value Of Shared Moments

The value of shared experiences is threefold. It is through defined moments that you build stronger, more meaningful relationships. Your life will feel more fulfilling as your sense of purpose is broadened and you will experience longer-lasting happiness. Now let’s break this down a little more.

Defining Moments

A defining moment is a moment when you realize who you are and what you believe in. It is a transformative effect on our perceptions and behaviors that defines us. A majority of those moments happen either with or because of friends or family. For instance, a key defining moment for me was the day I lost my brother, a pivotal turning point in my life that forever altered who I am. 

However, a defining moment does not necessarily have to mean life or death. Most of my defining moments have occurred with my close circle, and being influenced by them or because of them. My choice to open my own business with a best friend was a defining moment. It has altered my behavior as I transitioned into becoming a new business owner. Traveling to work events on a whim with my same friend was another defining moment and has helped to change my perception of reality.

Lastly, through having deep conversations with my family, I have come to find even more defining moments appearing in my life. Defining moments is what makes for stronger, more meaningful relationships with your loved ones. Getting to know someone on a deeper level as you experience those shared moments. Hearing their stories and understanding why they are the way they are. This will all help you to develop bonds with these individuals and help to create more defining memorable moments in your life. 

A Broadened Sense Of Purpose

Having shared experiences broadens one’s perspective on life. By sharing experiences with people from different backgrounds and cultures, we can learn from them and gain a better understanding of the world. This can help us to develop empathy and compassion for others, and to become more tolerant and open-minded. In other words, shared experiences contribute to broadening your sense of purpose which helps you to view life through a new lens. One that is better suited to who you are, helping you to find your like-minded tribe.

Longer Lasting Happiness

As a final point, shared experiences offer you longer-lasting happiness. As you grow and develop new perspectives and mindsets, you cherish the ones closest to you more. You can appreciate life and really understand that living a life that is true and authentic to yourself is all you really need to be happy. Once you figure yourself out and know what you seek in this life, it makes it easier to always feel grateful. Grateful for all that you have and have accomplished. Grateful for all that you have experienced and the people whom you shared those moments with.

Shared Moments Of Love Are What Bind Us Together

Shared moments are the thread that binds life together. These shared moments are precious and unique, and if you’re living life on your own terms, they come often. There is exceptional value in shared moments, between partners, friends, and loved ones. They bring about new defining moments in your life, they broaden your sense of purpose through experience and they help you to truly love your life! Why is this important? Because it helps you to understand yourself better and to appreciate the beauty of life. It allows you to create meaningful connections with the people around you and to find your true purpose in life. It helps you to become more resilient and to develop a deeper understanding of yourself and of the world. 

In conclusion, a life filled with moments of love is a life well lived. So go out there and create those lasting shared experiences with the ones you love most and discover more of yourself in the process.

Solitary

I never knew how hard it would be to find a word that describes living and being on your own without it having such a negative context to it. The best one I could find is solitary. My question though is, why does being & living on your own have such a cynical spin to it. I think that finding peace in your own company is something to be cherished and appreciated.

People are scared of feeling “lonely” but I feel grateful to spend this time with myself, to learn myself and to better understand myself. Don’t you always hear the saying, “You can’t find happiness with someone else if you aren’t even happy on your own” because I know I’ve heard this several times. So please, let’s discuss.

The So Called “Cons” of Being An Introvert

When people see a person living on their own, single, only a few friends – but even those friends have families and lives of their own, or maybe you just see someone enjoying their day on their own, all of sudden you get the urge to go “Awww”. Why is that? Why do we as a society deem being on our own as being in a state of alarm? For example let’s look at the synonymous words I found for solitary:

  • unpleasant
  • overlooked
  • struggle
  • withdrawn
  • lonely

The list can go on and on, but as you can see for yourself, apparently being an introvert deems you not one with the ways of society.

My Personal Found Benefits of Being Reclusive

Here is what I’ve found to be true for myself, although others may find other truths that they deem right for themselves.

Being solitary doesn’t mean not socializing, it doesn’t mean no friends or no communication. To me it means having your close friends your close family, your intimate group of people. But when everyone is out busy living their own lives I can still find peace in being with just myself.

I enjoy going out and doing some of the soul fulfilling things I’ve maybe been putting on the back burner. I go out on mini picnic dates on my own, I go out and treat myself to Starbucks, I go and enjoy my day and my time with just me and my thoughts.

During this time I like to reflect on the situations I’ve been finding myself in lately. I analyze and come to the conclusion that I’m just a normal woman living her life. A life of peace is all that I desire and what’s more peaceful than time spent with yourself? I love reading a good book, I love writing to my readers and I love listening to calming music to sit back and breathe and take in all the beauty of the world around me.

I don’t find myself feeling lonely but I find myself feeling more fulfilled in my life. I feel that I have purpose when I am able to spend time with myself and know that I truly love the woman I am becoming and I can find peace within myself.

Flipping Cynical to Magical

Being alone needs to stand for something more than what it currently does. Being alone means knowing yourself, knowing what you want. It gives you time to analyze and appreciate things more. It gives you a chance to build more meaningful relationships with people. It gives you the opportunity to learn what does and does not make you happy and to do more of the stuff that makes you feel content.

Here are a few things you can try to flip this negative spin on being alone around.

  • Go out on mini day adventures
  • Have solo picnic dates
  • Try a new coffeeshop every once in a while
  • Go to the beach and read your favorite book
  • Listen to a podcast why overlooking a lake
  • Ride your bike more & take in the beauty of your surroundings

This list is minimal, but you get the gist. There are so many things that people can find peace in by being solitary. Explore the city you live in and see all that the Universe is made up of. Most importantly, discover who you are and what you stand for, find your true inner happiness and enjoy the life we have all been gifted.

Until next time my dear sweet readers!

Becoming.

Hello sweetness! Here’s the update on what’s becoming of my mental lately.

The becoming update

Lately, I’ve been feeling more like myself again but it’s very bittersweet. Part of me wants to stay in the comfort and warmth of what is already so familiar to me. The other part of me is ready and excited for this new chapter! Recently the world has been pulling and pushing me forward on this new path but I’m still looking back and waving goodbye to what was. It’s a melancholy feeling but I feel like it is the right thing, I am on the right path and I will keep moving forward.

The job

My job as a server is serving (pun intended) its purpose, but in the background I am working and coming very much up to the top on other things. I am pushing full force towards my dream of being a successful business owner. Gabby and I’s bounce house business is on the verge of skyrocketing and I know this is just the first of many. There will be so much more to follow and I am becoming more at ease with this movement. A shift in life – more towards the life I’ve always dreamt of for myself.

The becoming dream

I have been working on my interior design portfolio and have great plans to go far with this entrepreneurial endeavor, something that I can call my own and something where I can express everything that I am so amazing at! I just recently became a contracted writer, something that I’ve also always dreamt of also, ever since I was 6 and watched Matilda for the first time.

Everything has been aligning perfectly and I am moving forward with excitement and a little bit of fear, but really mostly the excitement part. I am elated to be on this path and I know that I’m becoming the me that is meant to be here. The more I continue to focus on myself, the more I am becoming me. To serve my purpose here and live up to my full potential. Who wouldn’t be excited for that!?

The gist

So my advice to you my dear sweet readers is to take the leap, go in with fear and excitement for what is about to come to fruition and always be moving forward. Appreciate the good times and cherish the moments you have with your loved ones but always be moving forward. Do not get stuck lingering in the past of what was, it is time to move forward to what is about to materialize into your reality and start becoming.

The Aftermath.

Hello again! I’ve been MIA for a little bit, so here’s the update. I’ve been feeling at a loss for words lately. So much has been happening and not happening, so many things have been coming at me so fast and others seem like they’re taking forever.

I need to find a way to re-center myself and figure out what I’m doing. I’m about to be 25, the age Manny was and I’m not ready for that because I have all of nothing together. But I don’t want to continue down this spiral and luckily I’ve realized that. So today marks a day. ‘The Day’ – that I decided to get my shit together. Only now, the real question is – How?

I don’t know… But I know it’s not gonna be easy. It’s going to take a lot of work to get out of old habits and start wanting more for myself. Letting go ain’t easy. As I’m sure most of you already know because that is after all, just life. I’m not sure how to go into more detail without just ‘going in on the details’, but that’s really not what I want to do with this. It’s not about The Who or The Why it just matters how I’m going to fix this.

The aftermath of the situation is now I must choose between being a person outside of my usual character in bad way or be a person outside of my usual character in a good way. I’ve been living a lie for a few months now, living beyond my means and it’s catching up. I’ve been focusing on the wrong people and the wrong things that are starting to make me stray, and forcing me forget about my goals.

I feel that I’ve been trying too many things all at once and I’m not able to put in my full 100% into any of them. When I really just need to take a step back and re-center on what’s the MOST important thing to me right now and how is that going to help me the most in the long run. So I know that solution will have to be something that requires a lot of sacrifice because I know I’ve been pretty selfish with my time this last year.

You know you don’t care anymore when your actions are being led by emotion. So, I really need to eliminate the biggest factor that is playing with my emotions right now. Problem is, that’s gonna be what I can only sum up as – ughhhhh. But at least I know it’s what needs to be done, it’s just the admitting it and the living it after. I don’t want my life to be so serious – I just want only good things to happen and to live a happy life with no problems or hiccups ever… FANTASIES apparently, wish I would’ve learned sooner.

All in all, I need to get my shit straight – is the end of this. I can go on and on about how much I’ve messed up but just know I’m working on it and I do have a plan in the works. Sooooo stay humble out there cuz it will catch up eventually.

LIVE FAST, DIE LAST

I was cruising around while working my second job as a party stylist and I noticed this sticker on the car in front of me, “Live Fast, Die Last” and that stuck with me a little. I am finally out of my corporate job and I honestly never plan on returning to a corporation again. At least not in the aspect of working in a cubicle or being glued to a computer doing work that has no meaning to me. I want to truly live, I don’t want days and weeks and months to pass me by and nothing of significance occurring. I want to make memories each and every day and spend my days with only true and honest people who love me and I love them!

I am young, 24 and single, no kids and no ties to any one location and most importantly I am independent and support myself. This is my time to FRIGGIN LIVE!! Time to live and have no regrets and the time to always be excited for whatever is to come next. I am on the hunt for turning my passion into my income and living the life I’ve always dreamed of for myself. Traveling and living outside, seeing the world and surrounded by good-hearted people – GOOD VIBES ONLY and LIVING IN THE MOMENT! Don’t get caught up in things that don’t matter. It doesn’t matter how much money is in your bank account, it doesn’t matter how many things you have or what car you drive or what phone you have. Because at the end of it all, the only things that people will remember about you is how you lived and how you impacted their life, the memories shared between y’all. The only way to do that is if you are living!

I refuse to live a life with no meaning, a life where I have made no impressions on anyone. I refuse to live days and weeks and months with no significance in my life, or working everyday with no real adventures in between. I am not here to work, I work to live, I work to have the means to provide myself with adventure and spend those adventures with the ones I love most. Everything else just doesn’t matter. I don’t want to get to be old and be filled with regret, I want to know that when my time comes I will have no regrets because I am choosing to live every single day. I hope y’all are too! <3

NEW CHAPTER, NEXT SEASON

Guys… I feel I am entering a new chapter in life. I put in my 2 week notice at my corporate job today and secured my new job as a waitress with a best friend. I am pursuing alternative entrepreneurial ventures and event assisting. I am getting prepared to go back to school. I am anxious for all the changes that are coming up soon in my life but am also so very excited because I know this is a new chapter for me!

Nothing worth doing was easy and if you’re not scared then you’re not growing. I just have to get through these last 8 days with my corp job and the new season begins! This new season features less mental stress, more physical health, more financial growth, living more and interacting with people. Enlightening my mind by studying something I know I can be great at. Traveling, being with friends and being selfish while I still can and of course, being grateful every step of the way.

I’m tired of trying to live up to the standards of society, to the woman I always dreamed of being back when I was 8, because times have changed and a lot has happened in my life – I want different things now from when I was at 8! Therefore the version of me I need to become is going to be different as well. I have lived up to my 8 year old dreams and it turns out, that lifestyle is not me anymore. It’s time to broaden my horizons and truly live my life exactly how I feel. Here’s to a new chapter and the next season in my life!

Quarter Life Crisis

I’m sure you have all heard of a mid-life crisis, but what about a quarter-life crisis? It may be an uncommon term but it is real and I’m pretty sure many of us are either currently experiencing it or have in the past. But yes, I would define myself as currently in the eye of the hurricane of just that – a quarter-life crisis.

I am still stuck in the corporate cycle and not to hate on those who lead and love that type of work, but it is just not for me! I’ve been feeling that I have no purpose in what I am doing and I am just a puppet with my strings being pulled by chaotic and immoral management. Now, I am over the line of burnout and am on a deranged hunt for any other job that can replace my main income source so I can get the hell out of there. Under payed and over worked with little employee moral, hella stress and migraines and being easily dismissed by management. I am at my wits end.

So, aside from frantically applying to all and any other type of job, I have also applied to go BACK TO SCHOOL. I never thought I would ever hear (or in this case, see) those words come out of my mouth! I’ve just now realized that if I want a fresh start in a career that I can express any one of my many passions in, then I will need to go back to school. I will need to get a degree in it before I can even get my foot in the door for the profession itself. The best part of it all is that I do NOT have to waste any time on taking General Education requirement classes as my first degree has me covered in that area. I can dive right into the core focus of interior design and get into the work field within 2 years!

Not gonna lie, my first time around in college was rough. I was very, VERY, emotionally unstable and along with that, having a wishy-washy boyfriend for the entirety of my college career – causing lots of failed finals and 0’s on a plethora of assignments due to our on and off situation. Lots of tears and then also studying something that I wasn’t really passionate about – solely in it for the money. Now this time around, I am on my own, single, independent and have a much better grasp on my emotions, and I am ready to dive in to something that I have a growing passion for and can really truly see myself thriving in. AND I AM BEYOND EXCITED!

In the meantime I just need out of my current nightmare management situation and into something that is more “go with the flow” to get me by on livelihood responsibilities. All while studying to do something that will light a fire in me to become the person and professional I knew I always could become.

Wish me luck!! I’m gonna need it. Love y’all and you will be hearing back from me soon.

HAPPY NOSTALGIC HEART

This week… Has been outstanding. My heart hasn’t been this happy in quite some time. I visited my mom and practice my roller-skating skills and we hung out and talked and laughed and I feel that has been a long time since the last time. I got to see my beautiful, gorgeous, precious niece, every time I look at her I see Manny with all the beauty of her mom in her too. I visited my dad and stepmom’s and spent time with my brothers and we made some pretty amazing memories together, just like we always do.

If you haven’t realized by now, I am an extremely nostalgic person. I always like to think of how these are “the days”, the days we all reminisce when we are older. I feel like that’s the true gift that Manny has given me. Ever since he passed I am so, so, so grateful for my small circle of friends and family. All these days in between the big memories, I cherish. All the late night convos and the sunrises and walks and nights hanging out, all the in between, is something that I cherish dearly.

I think you get the point… it’s been an amazing fucking week and I am so thankful. Happy Nostalgic Heart!

LIFE IS MEANT FOR LIVING

Sooo I just quit my second job. I asked for a schedule change so I wouldn’t have to work every single weekend, since I already have another full time job, which meant that I was working everyday for 7 days a week! They said no so I left. I’m not cut out for that, for missing out on beautiful days and moments with my family all for some extra money that I will be just fine without. So I quit and I’ve never been happier!

Ever since my brother passed I have no time for enduring anything that doesn’t bring me joy. Life is meant for living and that is exactly what I intend on doing! #NoRegrets. I can’t tell if that’s a toxic trait or just plain liberating.. But I’m sticking with liberating, freeing, living life. Also it will give me the opportunity to focus and re-center on the things and the people that matter most to me. Get back into the gym, sunsets and sunrises, star gazing, writing and reading and enjoying the weather. All the things that make life so memorable. So ecstatic!

I’ve also decided to leave the Hometown Girl phase behind once my current lease is up. Headed to Clearwater this time next year and with everyone’s support and sweet words of encouragement, I am ready to finally be able to live my life exactly how I want. Anyone who knows me knows that I’ve been dying to get out of Jax since before I was 18! But life just kept happening and I felt for so long that I couldn’t leave, but this timing feels so perfect. Some call me more “worldly” now, I’ve lived and I’ve lost and this move is going to be a new beginning for me!

There’s my little update for this week! Slacking on getting my key west pics up, but with all this newfound free time I’m sure I’ll get it done this week!