The Real Me

I was speaking with my roommate today and came to the conclusion that in my short (but sweet) 26 years of life I have gone through so many changes.

This revelation came in the form of a statement "it seems like you really relate to everyone."

I thought about this, and have thought over my life and how it seems that I have always been able to relate to others. What are the characteristics I have that make me a relate-able person?

 The answer came in two parts. The first part is that I am a genuine person.  When I am listening to someone, I listen.  When I hear a sad story, I get upset.  When something wonderful happens in your life, I am truly happy for you.  I try my hardest to have empathy in every situation, and work my best at being non-judgemental. 

The second part, which may be a little hard to understand, is that I have been through so many phases and been so many different people in my life.  At one point I was a nerd who only cared about school, one point a party girl, one point boy crazy, one point Emo, one point popular, one point anti-social. Any stereotype you can thing of I at one time transformed to fit that role. I have been a chameleon all my life. Becoming people who I wanted to be/thought I could be/was intrigued by. When I think about it though, this seems fitting. I'm in my twenties, the time where you are supposed to figure it out, get knocked down and start all over, keep trying until you figure it out.  At least that's what we have to keep telling ourselves or we'll never make it out alive.  If all else fails it was the plot for 'Friends'... And they all made it out alright.

Tell Me: What's left for you to figure out?  How do you find ways to continue to grow in this crazy world?

Routine

For me as a young adult, I find falling into routine to be one of the hardest things to do.  Whether that routine is blogging everyday, an exercise routine, or bringing lunch to work everyday I never seem to accomplish this everyday. 

Routine is defined as a sequence of actions regularly followed; a fixed program. And to be honest that sounds completely boring.  I am not sure if I have to give credit to the fact that I am a Millennial, or whether it is just something inside of me that rebels against routine.  The thought of doing the same thing day after day is daunting, ironically it's the best way to get things done properly.  Blogging everyday is the best way for me to document my life, an exercise routine is the best way to get your body in shape, and bringing lunch to work everyday is the best way to budget my money.  I find that I want all of these outcomes, but despise the process. 

So I have decided to enjoy the process more and worry about the outcome less.  I have decided that to achieve any goal, I need to like the things that I am doing everyday, week, or month.    

My first step is engaging in an activity that I enjoy, and so I picked up yoga. 

So far I have been extremely successful, however I am only 15 days in.  Lets see how long this lasts! 

Tell Me:  What is the best way you know how to stick to a routine? 

The trouble with blogs

I have actively been trying to get more active on my blog.  I had a great burst last month on my spring break from school and was able to really make some significant changes to my blog. Thanks to that excess time I was really able to make it look prettier, and more inviting for potential readers. 

The trouble is...

I keep forgetting to post! I have so many things happening to me daily, and I have so much to write about, but I have such little time that blogging becomes the last thing on my list.  So I am going to make a conscious effort to ALWAYS REMEMBER TO BLOG. 

The little things

Sometimes it really is just the little things in life that can make your day.  Today was the international day of happiness and I really took my time to be mindful, and appreciate all that I have.

Today I did the littlest of tasks, one so insignificant most people would not even notice, but it changed my whole day.  I bought a new cosmetic bag.  

As you all know by now my love for cleaning is incomparable, and one thing that has always been on my list is to clean this mess.

It always gave me anxiety in searching for my makeup, and was always on my list, but never high up enough to actually do. And today I finally changed that and now my desk looks like this

It really was the most insignificant of purchases but set into a spiral effect of things I am grateful for and things that I am happy about.

I am grateful that buying a cosmetic bag is my biggest worry today.

I am grateful that I have enough money to purchase something as insignificant as a cosmetic bag without worry.

I am grateful for the life I have been given, and the life I have chosen to live.

... And because of all of this.

I am happy. 

Tell me: Has something so mundane ever given you such gratitude?

Vintage

As I am still struggling to get through the end of my grad school, and only have a part-time job it's pretty obvious that I live at home with my parents.  There are many pro's and con's to living at home and today I stumbled upon a pretty great one. 

Spring Cleaning!

As a clinician I work with people to find their coping skills that can help them when they are feeling overwhelmed or stressed.  For me, cleaning has always been what I use to de-stress.   So when I am bored, or overwhelmed or stressed- I clean.  

Today during my cleaning spree I stumbled upon something amazing.  An old polaroid camera! As soon as I found it all cleaning stopped and my attention was on making this camera work! 

(I obviously started snapping pictures right away!)

Although I found the camera it wasn't working, so I will be spending some of my free time trying to fix it! Looks like I just found my second hobby.

Tell Me: What are some hidden gems you have uncovered during your spring cleaning?