Flowing thoughts from an over-analytical mind

I'm just going to let this post flow from my thoughts to my fingers...

You know you're alive when something changes. That robotic feeling from life stops when something dramatic happens. It can be emotionally, physically, or just witnessing it happen to another person. You don't actually understand the ups without the downs. This post is about the down moments. I take it that life wants to challenge me. I take the challenge. As easy as it is to let it affect me and those around me, I try to breathe deeply, think logically, and plan my next move towards that solution. Undoubtedly, it is much easier to just give up and go cry in a corner and receive sympathy.

Personal beliefs have truly formed in my 20's. I didn't know what I wanted to believe in growing up until I became independent. Parents are there for guidance, advice, and influence, but they aren't there to tell you that the way you're transforming into you own person is right or wrong, that's your decision. I don't believe one religion is the right one, but I also don't believe religion is all wrong. And that is where I separate religion with faith. Faith, to me, is believing in your own impressions of the world, universe, and higher being. I now see how people in very deprived situations turn to their faith as their only resort.

As someone who likes to consider themselves as independent and needs to have control of every arising problem, I think I can fix the problems myself. That's not how life works - I know this, but I can't help but try to do everything myself. The majority of the time, it is best to do things for yourself, because it's really tough to find anyone that will do things the way you need them to. And when all things fail, I turn to my faith. My faith in the universe that everything happens for a reason. 

Falling for...Fall

Every morning when I wake up I look most forward to picking out my outfit for the day...

Top: Burberry Brit (new)
Skirt: Talbots Petite (new)
Shoes: Cole Haan
Watch: Marc Jacobs

Look good, feel good  is my personal mantra. It's wonderful to have a reason to dress up! (even if the reason is simply because "I wanna!") Fortunately, my work life allows me to be comfortable, yet requires the business casual look. With that I can mix & match and experiment if I'd like. For someone that has a secret guilty pleasure of preppy fashion blogs, this is the perfect season to try out a new style and mix it with what I know & like. Autumn is all about change - why not experiment with personal fashion?

Florals, reds, and greens galore

My inspiration for this outfit of the day? The University of Pittsburgh's undeniably beautiful campus. Check out the colors of the leaves, green grass sprinkled with light snow & blue skies!

Happy Autumn :)

The Big Picture

I suppose I've made it my mission not only to inspire others but to acheive every goal I've set for myself - one of which had me thinking after 6a hot yoga class with my favorite yogi teacher (he gave me a free class this morning weeee, extra smiles!)

My goal is to be happy, maintain positivity, and just be appreciative of what I've got. The more I think about that goal, the more I realize life can be made up of a million little happy things and a few sad, tragic, stupid big moments. I had a little happy moment this morning as I was walking to my car this am - I experienced a death by happiness when I realized how phenomenal the weather was being lately especially at the 5:45 darkness of morning. If only that could last longer than the 2 minutes that I did get, but it was those 2 minutes that really pumped me up for my 16 hour Tuesday. I was in 110% mode of happiness. 

I know everyone says "it's the little things in life" but truly, it is! Appreciate the little bouts of happiness, string them together and all of the bad moments will be overpowered. Get your favorite latte, listen to an upbeat song, do some work that you must do, talk to someone you like...putting all three of those happy experiences into one day will feel like the best day ever! (even though you still had to do work) Take things in life on a micro level, then step back to really feel it on a macro level. Try it out and let me know how it works out for you. 

Peace, love, & happiness everyone. Happy Tuesday!

Sunday Inspiration on Change

As fall approaches, it’s inevitable to have things stay the same. Someone told me that it’s the springtime – winds of change – that he sees when life alters. For me, I find the fall to be that time. It’s the beginning of a new academic year, and although I am no longer in school, I still feel like I am on that schedule. I suppose having my birthday in September also marks the change, another year completed, another year to look forward to. After graduating, the amount of change that has occurred in the last 5 months is amazing. New address, new job, new opportunity to be a better me, finding myself, creating myself. Other things have changed; my parents don’t need such a big house anymore. The kids aren’t living at home, everyone is growing up and life throws curve balls. It’s going to be weird, no doubt, but I truly know it’s for the best, and I have a feeling it’s going to be better this way. It’s uncomfortable to adjust a lifestyle, even tougher when you aren’t so mentally prepared for it. I’ve also realized it’s incredibly silly to be attached to such material things.

Life stops when change does. I’ve learned to trust the world and accept what comes my way because I truly believe that “everything happens for a reason.”

I woke up in the middle of the night the other day and, in the dark, aimlessly grabbed my notepad and pen and wrote down what was on my mind. It was about change. Today, I attended a yoga class I was not planning on going to until my originally planned yoga class elsewhere was cancelled. I had to get my yoga in for the day, and I tried someplace new and a new technique really. At the end of the class, the teacher read an excerpt that was about life and change. At this point, I knew the theme in my life must be about transformation, adjustments, change. I couldn’t just be thinking about it randomly. (Absolutely nothing in life is ever random in my humble opinion, including spontaneity). There was a reason I thought about it a few days ago, so after this reading, I was insanely inspired to go to the park to write this blog post about it. I simply wanted to share with you all how change is taking place in my life. 

The excerpt was from the book “Journey to the Heart” by Melody Beattie (which I just purchased on Amazon) and I hope it inspires you as much as it has inspired me on this beautiful, late September Sunday. When I find that quote, I will be sure to share it.

**Be open to change - it's usually for the best. And if it's not for the best, then it won't happen. Trust your intuition, & if it's something you can't change then remember, everything happens for a reason.** That is basically what I wrote in the middle of the night...

Your Typical Life Insights Post

Let's be real, how many of us have been reading and sharing all of these articles that provide some pretty powerful and equally "no duh" insights into our lives? Many of these articles and viral blog posts are written by twenty-somethings, because I suppose 30-somethings+ aren't into writing blogs and articles about "looking back" or "giving advice to yourself 5 or 10 years ago". Although reading parent forums and posts get pretty comical & make me never want a child. I also hope no one is 40 yrs old and writing a post about how lonely they are and looking back at their life. That would just be depressing.

So I called this post something bland, it won't stick out, and yet, could trigger some readership. Why? Everyone loves a relatable post. Don't lie, you do. In your head, while reading that "thoughts of a 20-something" post, you are all like "heyyy, that happens to me! Yea, yea, totally agree. Ugh, why is this writer talking about my life. Seriously." But really. I know, been there. Now I will attempt to evoke those same thoughts with this post.

Here is my list of 23 things I have insights about in my 23 years plus 8 days of living...

1) Love yourself. You cannot love anything else until you love yourself.
2) CHOOSE happiness. Yes, it is a choice. No one can make that choice for you. I cannot imagine I used to be a miserable teenager that hated life & just everything during my whole "punk-goth" phase. I feel like I wasted a period of time in my life choosing unhappiness. 
3) Appreciate your parents. Acknowledge their love and guidance and most importantly, their support. I am truly biased towards my family. Family is everything. I wouldn't be anywhere near my dreams without them & they truly want what's best.
4) Prioritize your priorities. Need I say more?
5) Lose the sense of entitlement. You are absolutely entitled to nothing, nada, 0. 
6) Be willing to apologize even if you know you did nothing wrong. It just proves that you are willing to stand down in order to keep a relationship. [and by relationship I mean a friendship, closeness with a family member, a significant other, etc.]
7) College is the best four years of your life. Savor every drunk, hungover, tired, hungry, poor, busy, happy moment. #yolo right?
8) Lose the jealousy. It doesn't help & it doesn't motivate. If you want something make it a goal that you will get it, but don't get jealous because someone else has it.
9) Be Spontaneous. Or as spontaneous as your bank account allows you to be.
10) Save money.
11) Don't think because you finished school, you can't still learn. Keep an open mind and keep learning. Why not pick up a new hobby? Read a random college textbook?
12) Indulge. Once in a while, you'll need it.
13) Don't nit pick. You honestly limit yourself when you are too focused on alllll of the little things that irk you. 
14) Travel.
15) Experiment. This goes for anything. Wanna get something pierced, do itttt. Wanna know what happens if you mix redbull & tequila all night, do itttt. I mean, it could turn out badly, but you also wouldn't know and it could turn out fantastically unless you try!
16) Have no regr@ts. But really, try to have as little regrets in life as possible. It significantly helps to make you happier and you learn from mistakes. Cliche, I know.
17) Keep in touch. The networking and connections you make in life will definitely help you get to where you want to be. I have absolutely no doubt about this insight.
18) Fall in and out of love. This is so you know what it feels like to be obsessively in love with someone and then having your heart ripped out and stepped on. You grow and learn from experiences like these. Everyone should understand these two emotions. Also, it's so you know not to hurt someone the way that someone has hurt you. It suxxx.
19) Have a credit card. I don't care what you do with it. Have one. It teaches you things..like debt and monthly payments.
20) Be Inspired and Inspire Others. A day without inspiration is a day wasted in my opinion.
21) Rule #1: Never get sloppy.
22) Be Thankful!!!! Whether or not you believe in a God or higher being just thank life once in a while. It forces you to notice the good things in life.
23) Have a life motto: (mines changed a few times, and it should!)
- everything happens for a reason. ;) 

Peace, love, and happiness. 

Work hard, play harder

As I begin this journey into the post-grad life, I realize more and more how thankful I am to have a full-time job where I make just enough to pay my own bills and still keep some dough on the side for my entertainment, particularly for weekend brunch & shopping. Yes, I am working those 40 hours a week plus I have two part time gigs on weekends, but that only reinforces the fact that when I can work this hard, I can play harder when I decide it's time to let loose. I've still got a phenomenal work-life balance & still have this fantastic feeling inside of me. I'm excited to go to work because it means I worked hard to get to this next level in life. 

A lot of people want it easy, but that's no fun. When I dropped $100 on a pair of jeans 2 weeks ago, did I feel guilty? Not at all. I felt proud because it was all my money. Not from Ma & Dad and out of their weekly budget for me. Have I worn those jeans yet? Not even close. Still folded in the pretty little bag they were wrapped in. 

Happy Thursday!!

Inspired

Be inspired. But most importantly, inspire others. Give your life a meaning. Don't be selfish, it's not all about you. It could be worse. There are people that can't help others. They are too consumed with themselves. 

I'm not saying don't give a dollar, or donate your clothes, but if you feel like you should be rewarded because you did, then that doesn't count. If you inspire someone to do something, to change, to think differently, then you didn't intentionally mean to. Inspiration comes up in the most unlikely places at the most unexpected times. 

When you just gotta lay back & breath it out

After feeling stressed, it's nice to have the few luxuries of spending time with the people that mean the most to you, relaxing outdoors, and some free time to breath in the fresh air and blow it out with all the insecurities of the recent times. It's hard not getting into a rut where you lose motivation & feel unsatisfied with recent events, but the key is to breathe through it. You're still living and gotta do what ya gotta do. I can't stress enough that each experience is a learning one. (Although, I feel like my hangovers never seem to get any less tougher to get over.) There's a reason for everything!! I truly believe it.

Personally, I'm so lucky to have so much and to have the greatest people surround me. They're my motivators & supporters. So when I'm feeling down, I know they're there to help. So my quotes of motivation are "with no expectations, there are no disappointments" and the following picture...

Enjoy the rest of the weekend! 

Peace, love, & happiness

Into the summer

So going into summer break you usually have a list of to-do's, and for me, I didn't realize post-grad meant there are no more "summer breaks" - horrifying realization, really. Well, I'm only 3 weeks out and my motivation is losing steam, but I do hope by sharing mine with you, you will go out and write yours down to try and accomplish it. Nothing feels better than crossing an item off of a list. This is mine, yet I am fearful I will not be able to accomplish all of it by the time the fall comes around and kills all of my motivation. Yours may or may not be similar to this, or it may just inspire you: 

➡ Read all the books you've been piling up to read in your spare time 

➡ Get a summer income (aka get a job, forreal though) 

➡ Watch all the movies and TV shows you've been meaning to get into to

➡ Read the news, educate yourself especially about a topic you really don't understand 

➡ Workout, work hard for that summer bod

➡ Get a nice tan and hopefully it'll last until October 

And most importantly,

➡ Travel! Go where you want, when you can. 

Although I may have finished my academia part of life for now, it doesn't mean I want to stop learning. I want to continue to educate myself with topics of interest and really honing my skills. Perfect example? Writing this blog. Social media is absolutely nothing with a little sharing, a lot of engagement, and a dash of self-taught basics about what people want to read. Go out and pick up a new hobby, apply to a million jobs, lose those pesky 5 pounds, or simply go outside and enjoy the warmer weather & sunshine by yourself or with your friends. The simple things in life can really do a lot for those unhappy days. [I need to keep convincing myself of my own advice when I'm really feeling down]

Peace, love, & happiness

People on an Airplane

This is a post dedicated to the annoying people on an airplane. Also known as your ideal flight from hell. 

A.

1. You're old

2. You're old and grumpy

3. You're old, grumpy, AND take up 2 seats.

B.

1. You're foreign (*cough*EU) and don't know the social norms. (My family are all foreigners, but we know how to fly without being the most annoying people on a flight.) You'd think that flying across an ocean taught you how to act on an airplane.

2. Speaking across aisles and seats in another language because you were too incompetent to book seats together. 

3. Constantly asking people to move because you couldn't book seats next to each other. 

C. 

1. You're a child under the age of 12. 

2. You're a gross little being touching every hole on your head & touching things. 

3. You're a youngin, gross, AND loud.  

Ladies and gentleman, we are now ready for take off. 

Best wishes, 

E

{written on a flight from CLT ✈ MIA at 32,000 feet}

Post-grad

So now that the last few weeks of finishing up projects, term papers, finals and family visits are over, I am not quite sure what to do with my life. Graduation was my first step into the "time-to-grow-up-and-find-a-job" stage of my life and that is exactly what I've been up to. In all honesty, it's scary. I still don't know where I'm going here. I know I'm not the only one, and I've been taking the advice I've been given along with lessons I've picked up.
After a semester of straight A's, 12 hours of an internship and another 12 at my part-time job, I felt pretty successful. I felt like I'm good, I'll be set, "this won't be too hard." Now, I laugh to myself. This is hard, and what do I do now? Hope my chances are still in my favor...just as I they were in my college career and professional experiences so far.
What I've learned? Good luck. Make your personality be the hook, line, and sinker. That resume? Try networking. Resume's are just to make it official. People make it happen. 👇YOU👇 make it happen. Not a piece of paper, even if it is a resume, cover letter, degree, certificate, or whatever.
To the 2013 graduates, you got this. Oh, and karma will treat you well if you treat your supporters well. Don't forget to say thank you to your financial backers (mom & dad!), academic supporters (advisor, mentors, professors), & to your friends who definitely kept you sane while in the process of getting that degree. (I'd like to give a mini-shout out to the alcohol that gave me a false sense of awesomeness past the wee hours where only terrible things may happen - I've got lively stories to tell for the rest of my life).

Congrats, y'all! 🎓🎒🎈

Happy Monday!

Had enough time to stop by my favorite Starbucks and write a post - the usual. As I sit by the fireplace where it's incredibly warm & lifts the mood of the place, I can't stop looking at the cute old man sitting across of me. He's got a mini-planner and pen in hand as his hands tremor to hold it. Grabbing his coffee, it looked like it was about to spill out. Kudos to the old man still reading his little planner, hands shaking, and without glasses! Old people can be cute...

Well, it's Monday so I am very glad to be able to indulge in a little coffee as I reside by the fireplace before I tackle the longest of my two days ahead of me.

Remember, indulge a little, take in the sunshine, and don't stress. Not only will you be happy, you'll pass your serenity on to others.

Happy Monday!
Peace, love, & happiness.

Life is too short

Hey, just remember that life is too short to always be angry, be bitchy, be egotistical, to be anything but kind.

Just when you aren't prepared for it, someone will put you in your place and you won't like it.

God will take a loved one, and you won't be expecting it.

You'll feel sorry and regretful. Just avoid that and call, write, send a text to those that matter and those that you love. Most importantly, tell your parents or whoever raised you that you love them and truly appreciate all that they've done for you - because they're the ones that dealt with your shit for 18 years [at least] and still haven't beaten the shit out of you (even if you truly deserved it).

Peace, Love, and Happiness

Who would've guessed...

This post is about running.

You will not believe that since the time I had to take the mile run test in middle school, it was a fear of mine. I hated running with a passion. I couldn't do it. My body wasn't trained for it, or able to do it in the "acceptable Grade A" time for a girl of my age. Let me say this, that standard is stupid. I tried my best and ran like a 300 pound kid, I would be gasping for air, ready to murder my gym teacher. I seriously couldn't. But I could dance for hours. I was trained as a sprinter, and being 4'11" playing tennis, really made that clear. I hated being judged and graded for something my body was not meant to accomplish at the time.

Now, a senior in college, I am able to run/jog/walk 3 miles up hills, across bridges, through the forest, in the snow, with the wind against me. I trained on the treadmill for 3 full weeks (every day) before accomplishing the feat of getting my ass outdoors. Outdoors is where I begin to get nervous. My feet sweat, I can't breathe as well. It was a problem. I started with about 1.75 miles around my neighborhood, until my good friend (runner friend!) took me through a path of hers, with which I had falled in love for a total of 3 miles.

My goal now is to run a 5K in Pittsburgh by the time I graduate. The Pittsburgh Pirates have one on April 13, which I am planning on participating in! I literally would've never guessed back in high school I would be running in any sort of event. It may be 3.2 miles, and I am sure I can accomplish that, my goals until that are to just be able to jog it the entire time without stopping. That has proven to be the hardest for me. I love interval training, so I am very much used to walk/runs/sprints. But, if I got this far after completing my fourth week, I trust myself to be able to reach my goal by graduation.

Added to Senior Year Bucket List: Run a 5K. Signed up & ready to go.

Late night thanking

As I continue to gather more ideas for my #senioryearbucketlist and post, I'm going to interject with a little late night thanking.
I'm going to start them with a bunch of cliches, be prepared:
- It is true what they say, it's not about what you know, but WHO you know. It's incredible how networking can change your path in life.
- It's all about being at the right place, at the right time. Seriously, without a little *luck*, I wouldn't be where I am and as content as I am, to know who I know and to do what I do.
- It's no joke the quality over quantity is a big deal. Here is a phenomenal example: I have an important tweet to share with the world, but I may not have relatively many followers, but WHO and the TYPE of followers I have are very influential people! [S/O to my RT followers, I appreciate your influence]
- You better believe it, but hard work ~definitely~ beats talent when talent doesn't perform. You absolutely cannot just fly by. Life can be incredibly fair in a sense of karma if you expect things to be dropped in front of you.

Lastly, I am incredibly thankful and acknowledge that to have all of the opportunities I am given is very special indeed. It's a combination of the aforementioned cliches & their themes and without each, I wouldn't be as lucky, special, happy, & content with my life. As a senior in college, I couldn't ask for better friends, coworkers, boss, supporters, jobs, internship, & student groups.

Peace - Love - Happiness

*picture for inspiration!*