Sometimes You Have To Go It Alone

My mom says I deserve a vacation. I say EVERYONE deserves a vacation. Even people who don't work hard and people who don't work at all, everyone deserves to get away from their everyday life and see the outside of their city, state, country. I saw on a news special that in Paris it's the LAW that employees aren't allowed to work over 40 hours a week and they MUST use their 2 MONTHS vacation time. Even if they don't want to...they have to take off work. Can you imagine? Must be nice. They interviewed a Parisian store owner and asked him why Parisians let people take so much time off, his reply was something like this; "Americans work way too much, they don't take time to enjoy life, they are work work work, and IF you worked hard enough and long enough and if you get too stressed out THEN you deserve a vacation, then you deserve to have fun. We don't need a reason to have fun or take a break, we don't have to 'earn' it because we always deserve to be happy." *Now that I wrote that I don't think I saw it on the news or maybe it wasn't Paris. I don't know but either way I came across some version of that conversation/interview, it happened I just can't remember the details.*

After I saw that I sat back and thought about my dad, the man who works and works and works and doesn't enjoy life. He never uses his vacation days and he doesn't like to go anywhere. If someone says they want to go on vacation he questions why they deserve to take a break. How hard do you have to work before you're allowed to enjoy life without guilt? I'm not buying a home anymore so I have a little money chunk sitting in the bank. I haven't really worked hard this past year, I didn't do great in school this semester so if we are going by the American way of thinking that means I don't deserve a vacation. I don't deserve a break from the very routine life I live, I should stick to the routine for another year and see if I do better, then I can break if there is vast improvement in my life.

Today, tomorrow and everyday from here on out...I'm a Parisian (in my heart). I'm going on vacation and I'm not going to feel bad about it AT ALL. Oh My God! I'm finally going on a vacation!! It's been 6 years since my 1st real vacation. I'm going to ask a few friends if they want to join me on a nice European tour (that was my first vacation, Italy/Greece/Turkey tour), they are long tours and usually all inclusive. Here's the thing, I know my friends and only 1 maybe 2 will even consider going. Not because my friends wont want to go but because like me, money can be funny. My money is not funny right now so I want to use it to LIVE and enjoy myself. I'm a single woman so I can't ask a boyfriend, though it would be nice to vacation with a man. If my 1 maybe 2 friends say no, I've already accepted the fact that I'm probably going it alone. And that's scary as faaaaack.

I don't really think anything bad will happen to me if I travel alone, I don't even really think I would get bored. I'll more than likely be with a group of people that are in my tour majority of the time. I'm of course going to read up on traveling alone and make sure I know all the safety tips. The scary part is DOING SOMETHING COMPLETELY OUTSIDE OF MY COMFORT ZONE. I've never even eaten at a restaurant alone, so going to a different country by myself is a massive deal. Years ago I went to see Sex and the City 2 by myself a month after it came to theaters because I got tired of waiting for my friends to go see it with me. If I keep waiting for my friends to be ready to go on vacation (which I have been for 3 years now) then I will probably never leave the state. I would love it if my friends came with me, but if they don't I can't take a seat and miss out on life.

This is where my fearless FEAR LESS kicks in. I'm going on vacation this year no matter what, no matter what. Just the thought of it makes my heart sing, I can feel a little light inside me when I think about stepping into a different country. I haven't decided when or where I want to go yet, but right now I'm thinking Spain in August. I will host my own version of Eat, Pray Love. I don't have any reason not to go, there is nothing holding me back. I choose my own path. I can choose to be scared and wait for my friends or I can go it alone and see what life gives me in return.

-Namaste

Blurbs

I rarely check my mail and when I do I never open it. School has never been my thing, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!! I'm just in college right now because I know this is something I need to do, my goal this semester was to get straight A's...not happening. Well, I finally opened my mail that I've been collecting on my nightstand for 3 weeks and there was 2 letters from my school asking me to accept my membership into the honors society! Whaaatttt, I've attended 2 colleges before and never been asked to be in anybody's society because I never had the grades. My first year at this current college I did really well, so they wanted me to join. Deadline was February 4th. Of course it was. Now I'm not doing my best so they aren't going to ask me again anytime soon. I couldn't believe it, I was so happy and proud of myself, I achieved something I never thought I could...even though I missed the deadline.

Other than that, I have so many plans for this blog and I know the aesthetics keep changing but the content is still the same. I'm not sure of what I want my blog to actually look like yet, so I keep playing around with it. There are many elements, topics and features I want to add to the blog. Such BIG plans I have tucked away in my idea journal that I need to incorporate onto this lovely little blog of mine. I also wanted to share more personal post and pictures, I need to save up for a real digital camera so I can do that. I hate using my phone. This blog and I are a work in progress, please be patient with me.

Life is GREAT! I have begun to experience a level of happiness that I've never been able to reach before in my life. This is the deep rooted happiness that surrounds your life even when nothing is happening. That's what I'm going through right now. I am falling in love with life.

Tax time! Please oh please do NOT be ignorant with your tax return. If you have goals to save your money or start a business, use your return to invest in your future...not your wardrobe. This year I'm finally getting a decent return and it's going straight into my savings. I would love some new clothes and gadgets but I can't tell you how many times large sums of money have come into my possession and I blew it all. I can't even tell you what I spent it all on, but it's gone. If you take care of your money and are smart with it, you will get more of it. Respect your refund check!

I'm really saving my refund because I'm moving in a few months. I feel like I'm always moving or I'm never settled anywhere. That might just be part of growing up and being on your own, finding a place that feels like home. When I moved last July, I moved in with a roommate...horrible idea. I don't dislike my roommate, I just dislike having a roommate. I love, love, love living on my own. I love only having people in the house if I want them there and if I invited them over. I love being alone in my thoughts and in my projects. My roommate is away for the weekend and I remember how much I enjoy solitude. I get a lot more accomplished on my own and my focus is intensified. When I get married I'm sure I will love having my husband as a roommate but for now, just me and my dog will suffice.

GET BACK ON TRACK!!!! It's a month and a half into 2013 and we all have goals of how this year is going to be our year. We started on those goals and got off track with some of them, it's okay just hop back on the track. Start from where you are, take the time to figure out what you need to do, adjust the straps and get going! I fell off on the saving money, so today I paid bills and reset my budget on mint.com. Remember to stay on top of your finances you need to be checking your accounts at least once a week. I like to check mine every other day. I also fell off with my school work, I'm just not in the mood this semester. I have no choice but to get on track with that so I adjusted my schedule so I can spend 3 hours a day on my homework.

Whatever it is you need to do to be where you want to be, just get to it! Distractions are going to pop up and throw you off track, you just have to fix the problem before it grows. Enjoy life and face your fears, save money and watch your possibilities grow. Be the best you, you can be!

One Tough Cookie

                                              

There comes a time when you have to realize your flaws, when you recognize them as yours you have decide...do I want to accept this as is? Or do I want to change? Let's not even call them flaws, lets call them hmmm, things that hold us back from getting what we want. Shortcomings! That's the word I was looking for. The other day while talking to one of my good guy friends I had an epiphany. I was reading him passages out of my book "The Path to Love", and it was saying how women and men need the opposite of who they are in order to feel like a whole person. (Some good stuff, I highly recommend you read it.) My friend says to me:" yeah, and you're just hard but you really aren't that way, a guy wants his woman to be gentle and sweet. Which you are but you don't show that side of you."

I was slightly offended and got up in went to the bathroom, while I was in there I was thinking about other things the book said and about what my girlfriend said about me not having a soft side. They were right, I am closed off and hard. No man in my recent years has been able to crack my shell, no matter how much I liked them I couldn't let down my guard. Ah ha! I ran out the bathroom exicited then quickly refrained. I thought about not sharing my epiphany with my friend and slowed my stride, that wall was going back up fast! I sat down and said "well duh, I'm hard because it's a defense mechanism, I'm not in the mood to get hurt." He was quiet, I never talk to him about my feelings...our friendship is very much on the surface. "Well you need to open up more" he replied. "Well so do you, you never talk about your feelings." Did I mention my friend is someone I used to date? This was the first conversation we had about our feelings, and it came a year after we stopped dating.

I expressed to him that I'm in not looking for love, I'm a happy single woman; which many find hard to believe but I am. I'm not that girl who is out there feeling the pressure of her age to find a mate to marry and settle down with. I'm not rushing anything. If I meet someone I like I'm not going to turn him away, would I like to meet someone to share my life with? Yes, but it's not a make or break for me.

My issue is when I run across a guy I really really like, I shut down, but I can be very open with the guys I don't like. I will tell them about issues in my childhood, fears and desires. It's easy to open up to them because there's no pressure involved, I know they will be my friend and they won't break my heart. In the book Deepak explains how one must accept every form of love given to them because it's a blessing from God and what you accept you will have more of, That is true also for the negatives as well, if you accept abuse you open your life to more of it. I gasped while reading because I thought back to all the times I was dating someone I truly had feelings for and I remembered the times I shut down the love they were giving me. Even accepting hugs and kisses at times. Even accepting forms of love from friends sometimes is tough for me, I tense up like I saw a ghost.

It was like my love life was flashing before my eyes. There were many times where I was soft and gentle but at pivotal moments I can tend to clam up if I get uncomfortable. I don't want to be that way anymore so I am more aware of myself and my actions/reactions. I've been told by many people that I am strong, strong, strong, that's all I hear. Of course there are certain moments in life where you have to be strong and keep your guard up; but his year is about letting it down...just a little, haha, and accepting all the love God is placing in my life.

It's okay for this cookie to crumble, I can't always be so tough.

2013 New Year Resolutions

Okay okay, I wasn't going to make resolutions this year because like most people I don't stick to them; but they are just so fun to write! This time around I decided to switch it up and focus on goals that are going to enhance the quality of my life overall and not a quick fix to a temporary problem, i.e. fit into that teenie weenie bikini this summer.

1. Be Fearless...FEAR-LESS...FEAR LESS: The main thing that holds me back from accomplishing my goals is fear, I fear everything. I fear judgement of others, failing, getting hurt, success, being more successful than my friends, losing friends because I became so awesome they feel uncomfortable around me because they can't catch up to my awesomeness! The last one may seem like a joke but I'm serious, I feel guilty if I outshine my friends. If I wasn't so fearful of these things I'm sure that I would be where I wanted to be in life by now. If I'm fear-less in 2013 mountains can be moved and a lot more progress will be made. 
2. Stop Gossiping: I gossip. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm a gossip. I know everyone's business and everyone tells me their business. The thing is, unless you are my close friend or I care about you & respect you...I will probably tell your business to someone else. In the past my gossiping has gotten me in a lot of trouble, so in 2012 I made a conscience decision to stop. Didn't work. I did decrease the gossiping by about 50% though, but I need to bring it to a full stop. I'm not only hurting other people but I'm hurting myself. The hardest part for me will be office gossip, there will always be little bees buzzing around me. I know I'm ready to end it though because when I hear other people gossip or talk bad about someone for no reason, I'm quite disgusted and realizing that's who I am and who I don't want to be anymore.
3. Open Up More & Let The People I Love In: The other day I was playing with my dog being very affectionate and my friend turned to me & said "Aww you do have a soft side". I didn't know that people assumed I don't had a soft side; I mean, I cry at commercials so c'mon. I admit I'm a very closed off private person, I don't express my feelings about much. I show anger & joy, but I bottle up sadness and sometimes love. Serious issues I discuss with God and myself. On my recent visit home I focused on our family dynamic and I realized I'm this way because I come from a home where emotions are not expressed. We keep it light. I don't want to be that way in my adult life, with my good friends and family I want to dig deeper and let them in. I would like to show my softer side and not come off as the strong woman all the time.
4. Be Productive & Consistent: I can keep a steady routine for about 3 days MAX. I'm not just talking about exercising and eating healthy, I can do that for about 4-5 months straight before I break that habit. I'm talking about school, work, health, beauty, fitness, reading, saving money, etc. This is my main resolution, be consistent ..I can't just say I want to do it, I have to work at it. Normally I don't, I just brush it off and say "ehh I'll try again tomorrow". My tomorrows would be a lot better and my future will be a lot brighter if I actually worked at my life. I sort of float on by hoping that my laziness will make me a millionaire. Not going to happen. If I say I'm going to get up at 5am everyday, I need to work at it and TRY to wake up at 5am everyday until it begins to happen naturally. That's the only way I can make it stick. 
5. Pray More & Be More Spiritual: I pray at night when I remember. I go down my prayer list of family and friends, the same routine in the same order every time. I say it so much I do it without thinking, I'm not mentally invested in my prayers anymore. I can sing them to a beat that's how memorized it has become. Occasionally I will throw in a quick prayer if I know someone's going through a hard time but that's as deep as it goes, not much more to it for me. I know that if you pray, mean it, believe it...you will receive it. So why am I not doing that? Is God listening to my prayers if I'm not even listening to them? I want to connect with God and I want to feel Him working in my life. I want to feel a real powerful connection, the connection that I'm afraid of. The one that is going to change my life. 

If I work on those 5 things day in and day out...6 months from now the quality of my life should have improved drastically. I wish everyone a Happy Prosperous New Year!!! 

DO YOU HAVE ANY NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS OR DO YOU THINK THEY'RE A WASTE OF TIME?