Lessons learned

1. I need to enjoy spending time with myself
>>>Since I’ve been young, I’ve been a social butterfly! I love love love spending time with family, friends or pretty much anyone I meet! Whether it’s shopping, going out, grabbing a cup of coffee or going out to dinner, it’s always fun to do so with someone I can have a great conversation with. Something I learned from specifically when I lived in DC alone is that throughout life I will be doing many things ALONE. Gasp! As I’m getting busier and busier during senior year, I’m learning to appreciate and enjoy time I do get to spend alone. Learning that it’s okay–and sometimes refreshing--to do some things alone is a valuable lesson to learn!

2. Be Your #1 Cheerleader!
>>>As a self-proclaimed people pleaser, it’s hard when people are unsupportive or unhappy around me. It’s hard when I am excited and passionate about something I’m doing just to be slammed in the face with rejection and negativity from others. I always have to remind myself that IT’S OKAY that every single person might not love my ideas, plans or what I’m doing with my life. Life is too short to worry about what others think about me, what others say about me and what others do to me. I can’t control any of that, but I can control how I respond and react. I’ll keep my head held high and be my own cheerleader to continue pursuing my dreams and refining who I am. Check out my full thoughts on this topic in my GenJuice post “Your #1 Cheerleader”

3. Life is made for enjoying the moment & LIVING IT UP
>>>Enjoy today. Be better than you were yesterday. In my post “Everybody Dies But Not Everybody Lives”, I shared a favorite quote:  “Being present is imperative to not overlook the opportunities that lie in front of you and the inspiration that could potentially be the catalyst of a new adventure.” Instead of overanalyzing the past or the future, instead of beating yourself up about mistakes you’ve made, instead of being too scared to pursue your future, instead of stressing yourself out beyond belief…choose to celebrate life and where you are at in this given moment.

All my beauties visiting us in NYC was definitely a moment to soak up!

4. I am more than my physical body.
>>>I shared with you in the post “There’s Nothing About You That’s Plain” how I’ve grown and learned that my value does not come from what my exterior body looks like. The post read: “I’ve been blessed to have powerful influences in my life who reminded me that regardless of weight, height, hair color, talents, skills, abilities, WHATEVER—that I’m of value and can live feeling secure and confident.” It’s so true! I am beyond thankful for the people who love me regardless of what I look like.  Learning to love myself and my body right where it’s at has been a journey and process in and of itself! I want to rehash what “positive body image” really means: You celebrate and appreciate your natural body shape and you understand that a person’s physical appearance says very little about their character and value as a person. Beyond true.

One way to love your body? Dress to impress YOURSELF

5. I’m a work in progress.
>>>I am far from perfect. I am FAR from where I want to be personally and in life overall. I am still learning, growing, evolving and becoming the person I was created to be. And that’s the exciting part of life! I constantly make mistakes, but what’s  important is that I learn from those mistakes, don’t make them again, and move forward to live a better life. A  personal ideology I like to live by is this: Be better than you were yesterday. What if the “peak” point in your life was high school? I am so much happier and secure in who I am now compared to four years ago, and I hope I can say the same in four more years. I explained that I chose to not exactly make New Years Resolutions, but instead, GOALS (Read more here). I did decide to frame a  few goals I have for the upcoming year in order to remind myself daily to be better than I was the day before. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you for letting me pour out my heart in this post and reflect on a few things I’ve learned lately. I’ve found it’s important to look back on what I’ve learned in order to move forward to live a fabulous and fulfilling life and I hope you do the same! Happy Monday, xo!