Final thoughts on 2013

As the year is coming to close, I feel that it is only right to reflect on all of the awesomeness that was 2013. But I'd also like to remind y'all that self-reflection shouldn't JUST happen on New Year's Eve, it's something you should do often! A lot has happened this year and I thought I'd give you some highlights.

• I turned 22 and celebrated accordingly by blasting Taylor Swift's 22 for a majority of the day
• Graduated from Eastern Washington University 
• Moved away from my hometown for my first big kid job - but don't worry I have a village here that's helping me navigate this big large world
• Became an alumna of Gamma Phi Beta and got involved with my local alumnae chapter
• Learned how to drive a manual after tons of crying and stalling out... everywhere
• Ate my first banana - yes that's a thing and I still think they are weird
• Said goodbye to the good old Blackberry and went to the iPhone (I still miss my blackberry dearly though)
• Entered into relationships with amazing people that I am sure will always be in my life; people who will always be my support system and hold the mirror up for me when I need it
• I learned to let go of control - well I am actively learning and practicing
• I started to figure out that it was okay to have feelings and that those "feelings" are actually really important
• And so much more than I could ever list

When I look back, I want to cry, because 2013 brought about so much change in me and my heart and I am so happy to be where I am now. So much has changed about me and I am happy about it. 2013, you were oh so good to me, even when I thought you weren't being good to me, you were. 

As a final note to 2013, I just want to say thank you. Thank you to everyone who was and has been a part of my journey. Thank you so much for entering my life and challenging me and helping me become a better person. Even if you don't think you matter in my journey, I promise you, you do. I am so grateful for those who have come in and out of my life in this year. I am so grateful for the people who always showed up for me and chose to stay, even when I was difficult. There is so much love and joy in my heart for each and every one of you.

Here's to a 2014 with more growth, love, and self-reflection. Here's to you and me becoming the best versions of ourselves, constantly.

With a spirit of gratitude, life freaking rocks

Yo my blog-reading peeps, I just need to let you know that my cheeks literally hurt from smiling so much today because I had such an insanely awesome day!

Why was it insanely awesome you may ask? It's not because I got a whole bunch of cool things or did a whole bunch of stuff. Really, if you look at it from the outside, it would look like a pretty mediocre day. Got my drink, went to work, returned some clothes. Not something that usually rocks someone's world, right? But today, today it was amazing.

Here's why.

Today was my first day back in a week. I got to see my work pals who make me oh so happy. I beat my friend in ping pong for like the second time in my life. I caught up and learned about everyones joyous holidays. And I worked. Like cool, right? Still doesn't sound amazing really though. But just think, non-stop smiling and joy and happiness because the people I work with are absolutely amazing and I love the relationships that I have built in my time at vivint. It may not seem like a super awesome day to you, and that's understandable - you've never met these people and you haven't had the opportunity to experience just how great they are.

Enough bragging about how awesome my coworkers are though, there's another part to this awesomely amazing day. I made the decision that it was going to be awesome and that I was going to be awesome as well. I chose. I left last week feeling meh. Meh about my job, meh about my work, just meh. I wasn't myself and I allowed myself to be negative about anything that went awry. Last night, I decided to put my best foot forward, give others grace, and love life. And guess what, I did?

I loved every second of today because I was myself and when I am the best version of myself, people respond in a way that inspires me to be even better. I loved every second of the day because I chose to live with a spirit of gratitude and be thankful for the people and the things and the experiences that I had today. I loved every second of the day because I decided not to get hung up on little things, but rather find solutions to the things that were bothering me. To speak constructively to help others and myself.

Today, I woke up and was grateful to be me. Because I am the only person who can be me and I am the only person who can do what I was put here to do. I was happy to be me, I was authentically me, all day. And I am grateful. Grateful that I was able to me and grateful to be surrounded by people who accept me.

Today rocks because I chose to live with a spirit of gratitude and be unapologetically and authentically me. You should really try it sometime, because I want your day to rock too!

Storytellers

We are all storytellers. Actually, let me revise that: we should all be storytellers.

I'm not talking about tales of fiction with fairies and princesses and happily ever after. I'm not just talking about the stories that make us feel good to tell, the stories that make us proud of ourselves. It's easy to tell those stories, it's easy to tell stories that show us in the best light, stories that makes us feel good inside. But you know what? Those aren't always the stories that NEED to be told.

Everyone needs to hear those painful stories; stories of heartbreak, failure, regret, and isolation. Not because we are some sick and twisted individuals, not because we are pessimistic, but because we need to know that despite how these things make us feel, we are not alone.

It's those stories that are hard to tell, the ones that get stuck in your throat, that need to be heard. It's those stories that let others know they aren't the only ones and there are people like them who have experienced something similar. We al have stories that only we can tell, and while our stories may all be different, the struggle is something that we all know too well. And just because we don't talk about it, doesn't mean that it's not there, eating away at us.

You know what happens when you tell your painful story, when you share your experience? People listen. Whether they identify with you, help you work through it, gain knowledge, or are inspired to share their story as well, your story has impacted them at some level. But that's not the end, there's even more magic in store for you; each time you fight your tears and battle past that lump in your throat, that painful experience loosens its grip on you and you grow too.

We've all got stories to tell, it's just a matter of finding the courage to speak them into existence.

What are you waiting for?

The other day, I had such a meaningful, deep, caring, and honest conversation with one of my good friends who I don't see nearly as much as I'd like to. There were so many takeaways, but there was one that I had to share with y'all. I'm sure I'll share more little nuggets of wisdom later, but there was one message that was pressing that I needed to share:

Attack life.

Seriously, I'm talking full on assault. Too often we wait for life to happen. We wait for opportunities to show up neatly wrapped up at our door; we wait for some sort of superhero or "sign" to present itself and launch us into our lives, who we'll end up with, and who we are supposed to be. And the real question here is this: Why wait?

What are you waiting for? Attack life and show it that you mean business and you are here to fulfill your purpose, whether that is being a baker, the president, a candlestick maker, or actor. Our time here is limited and even more, the time we have left is unknown, so why are we waiting for life to make itself awesome, when we have the opportunity to make life awesome for not only ourselves, but others as well?

Sometimes there is no magic happening around us, sometimes it seems like there are no opportunities, and that's okay. The cool thing is that we can make our own magic and create our own opportunities for growth. If we dig deep enough, we'll see that we can be the creators of our own magic and our own happiness instead of waiting for someone to hand it to us.

The great thing about being human is that we're allowed to mess up and change our minds and grow from that. We're allowed to leave if we need to, we're allowed to go out and be adventurers and explore this world to figure out what we want and what we're truly passionate about.

So what are you waiting for? Go out and attack life. Life is too short, and your time is now.

Don't be a Grinch

You know what I think? We should all just be decent human beings to one another. No, not just decent, but ridiculously inspiring and amazingly kind human beings. Wouldn't that be awesome?

But let's be real, some people are going to be absolutely rotten to you. You might leave a conversation feeling like you've talked to Cruella DeVil on her way to make furs out of Dalmatians or the Grinch on his way to steal Christmas.

Here's the catch - you don't have to reciprocrate their rotten-ness. I mean, it would be easy to just be rotten right back, treat them the way they treated you. But you my friend, you have a choice, a conscious choice, on how YOU will act.

You can't control Cruella or the Grinch, you have no control over how they treat you, but you do have control over how you treat them. Choose to be at the VERY LEAST decent to them. Choose not to be rotten, because when was the last time that two rotten people made anyone happier? Choose to show them love, because honestly, I'm sure Cruella expects people to be rotten to her, and heck, so does the Grinch, they're used to it. But what they're not used to, is people being kind even when they aren't.

So be a kind, amazing, inspiring human being, regardless of others actions. Don't let rotten people dictate how you are going to live your life, because it's YOUR choice on how you treat people and how you live. And I'll agree, it's REALLY hard to always be happy and kind and amazing, and all those other good adjectives, but at the VERY least, chose to be nothing less than a decent person.

Make the conscious choice to be a good person, because the world could always use more good people.

YSK: Phired Up

My YSK (you should know) series is a pretty simple concept - they are things, organizations, causes, people, movies, opportunities, and much more that I think that you should know about!

Today, I will share with you my love for Phired Up Productions, a company that is amazing for helping achieve organizational growth and social excellence. If you have been following me for a while, I talked about them long, long, ago (so in reality maybe a year) in my post Sorority Recruitment. And even though I am no longer a collegiate member of my sorority, I still truly believe in the work that they do.

While I haven't had the pleasure of meeting every single person with Phired Up, I can tell you this: every person that I have met has been genuine, authentic, and awe inspiring. They travel. They travel a lot. But even amidst all of that traveling and all of those people, they continue to live in the moment, be intentional and engaged, and truly invest in YOU.

The passion they have for the fraternity/sorority community is unrivaled. They KNOW that as Greek organizations, we can change the world. They have a way of igniting a flame in the people they meet, and it is this flame that will set the world on Phire with crazy passionate people - people who are ready to get together, make waves, and make our world a better place. They motivate and inspire people to be the best version of themselves and share themselves, uninhibited, with world - and if that doesn't make for a better world, I don't know what does!

I can confidently say, without a doubt in my mind, that every encounter with someone from their organization has made me a better person. Seriously. Words are not enough to describe how amazingly powerful, innovative, and caring these people are, and for that I will always be grateful.

Want to learn more about being socially excellent and Phired Up? Just check out their website, creep on their twitters, and fall madly in love. Trust me, it's bound to happen.

You should know them, you really should!

Build me up, before you go go

The other day, I was talking to one of my friends who recently went through a break up, and he said to me "it's hard, but it's okay though, I come here and I feel a lot better." Any guesses on where we were? We weren't at a gym or at the park, we weren't at a restaurant or getting dessert, we weren't at an amusement park or a movie either. 

We were at work, yeah, that's right, work.

Crazy right? For most people, the idea that someone actually goes to work and their mood is improved, sounds like a myth, but at Vivint, it's something that happens daily. This conversation really got me thinking about how incredibly blessed I am to work at Vivint, a company that is filled with insanely positive, hilarious, caring, and upbeat people. I work in an office where we genuinely care about each other and you might get told that you're "off the proverbial chain." I work at a place where people stay late so they can beat up on each other in ping pong. Vivint's a place where we don't just punch in and out of and leave, it's a community, it's a family. We work together, we invest in each other, and we build each other up - not just to be better at our jobs, but better versions of ourselves.

And it's all of this, and so much more, that makes me love my job and the people I work with. My work environment is simply put, uplifting.

When I think about it, it's a truly amazing and rare culture we have at Vivint, but it shouldn't be (rare, that is). We each have the ability to invest in one another, we have the ability to uplift others with each little interaction we have. So what are you waiting for? Tell someone you appreciate them for what they do, because while it's thought a lot, it's not spoken aloud nearly as much as it should be. Let those around you know that they are valued and awesome and wonderful. You are a part of building the culture and the environment you work and live in, so why not make it a positive one?