"You're such a grandma"

Not related to passion but I needed to write these feelings out of my spirit. 

FOMO - fear of missing out - it's a big thing thanks to social media. It's 6:30 am on a Saturday and I'm doing my usual scrolling before getting out of bed and starting my day.

I'm 24 years old. For some reason, when people use the phrase "act my age instead of like an old lady" something starts burning in my chest. Is it FOMO? Embarrassment? Shame? Am I ashamed that I don't remember the last time I was drunk? That I haven't had a drunk meal in 2 years? That I haven't blacked out in even longer? 

Yes, it does seem my peers, in general, have different values than I do at this point in life. And sometimes that makes me feel like I should be spending my evenings differently. But I don't WANT to be out late, I don't have any desire to get drunk. (Those headaches, I don't care to ever have one again) My goals and my idea of fun are just different, now. 

I came here to write out my feelings so I could let go of that negativity before starting my day. But also for any other 20-somethings that feel they're being called a loser or a grandma for how they spend their weekends. I did enough drinking for us both in this lifetime, there are no memories in alcohol. Get out and live, absolutely. But "living" does not equal alcohol on Friday and Saturday night. For me? It's spending quality time with my boyfriend and exploring new places together. For you? It could be family game night... Dinner with friends... Girls weekend.

Define your life however you want. Then live it to your fullest. No one is "cool" and owning your unique journey doesn't make you old, it makes you wise. 

Happy weekend y'all 

Passion Report

Somehow, whether through studying passion, or just organically progressing through my journey, I have managed to flip a switch. It is now so much easier for me to focus on the positive things, change the things I CAN and let go of the things that I cannot.

 

Little things that would have normally set me off have been diminished. I see life’s beauty EVERYWHERE. I see people yearning for the future, and I just choose right now. I see posts about ugh, another Monday. And I think YES another Monday, another fresh week, another fresh start. It took a bit of coercing my mind to adjust to this new way of doing things, don’t get me wrong, but life has become SO MUCH SWEETER since choosing to see the glass overflowing. I swear, when you choose to start emitting positive, you become a magnet for the good life.

 

And you’re right, my life is relatively carefree. I do not have kids, I have no horrible event to deal with in my life, knock on ALL the wood. But shitty things do go on. My older half-sister is an ongoing heroin addict who has lost her home and is very close to losing her life. My mom was just diagnosed pre-diabetic and the stress she puts on herself from my sister doesn’t bode well for her own health. Things have broken in my house, bills have been larger than expected, money gets tight. But the sun shines, there are forests to explore, there are rainbows to behold. (Good food to eat ;) ) The greatest weapon we have against negativity and worry and stress is our ability to choose one thought over another. It is that simple.

 

I want to be a positive force in this world, if nothing else. THAT will be my passion. That is what this month has taught me. I will be the passion.

XOX

PS

This weekend I will be setting my intentions and choosing my word for March!

Truth Bomb

“Finding your passion isn’t just about careers and money. It’s about finding your authentic self. The one you’ve buried beneath other people’s needs”

 

Just going to leave that right here.

Don't Quit Your Day Job, Kid

I will no longer use my day job as an excuse not to live my passions.

3 days a week, I roll out of bed and start my day at 4:30 am, I take advantage of my evenings and my weekends. My day job is what allows me to actively participate in my passions!

No, my career and my passion doesn’t align. But I will no longer allow the daily grind to be blamed for me sitting out on personal goals.

Ever since starting the Fit Girl’s Guide and becoming a healthier person, this has slowly been coming to fruition. I feel energetic and motivated and I know it’s because I am able to see the world with clearer and brighter eyes.

I am ready to live the happy and full life that I want to live.

And I won’t have to quit my day job ;)

XO

Passion Report

I have been concentrating more on being present and therefore open to participating in my passions. I have been living actively. Eating purely.
Spent the weekend in nature, it was a beautiful spring preview!


I have also come to the realization that adventures and spending time and money on being active and trying new things is much more important to me than random material possessions.
When I first bought my home, I had all of these ideas for decorating, and things need aesthetically updated. But the more I live my life in line with who I truly want to be? The less I care.


I keep my house clean (but lived in) and as far as drapes and curtains and decorations for every holiday? I just don't care. I want to spend that energy on things that will manifest within me and within the Universe.


So that is what I have been reflecting on and realizing since I last blogged!


XOX

Be the Passion

I googled “learning passion” to get some ideas for this week’s blog posts and that silly Google flipped the SCRIPT on me and returned all hits that were about having PASSION FOR LEARNING. Holy…… HELLO my passion for learning is HUGE. Why didn’t I realize that before 2 weeks into this month?

I loved school. I never didn’t love it. I was so excited to buy new text books and go to university classes. I genuinely MISS school. I miss text books, I miss learning new things every day. I still make it a point to learn new things every day, my curiosity is sometimes overwhelming, it always has been. I guess my curiosity is what always drove my love of learning… I don’t really remember a time when I just didn’t find it fun. At times, overwhelming and challenging, but mostly just really cool. CAN YOU TELL I AM A RAVENCLAW?!

 

Wondering if I could couple my love of learning with my new found love of health and fitness? Perhaps my next project?

2 weeks in and the one big thing I have noticed about passion?

Talking about it isn’t really DOING anything. Yes, it has helped me identify and uncover truths I had buried deep. Yes it has helped clear my mind. But passion has nothing to do with the mind and EVERYTHING to do with the heart!

From today forward my posts will be pretty short, the rest of my passion journey this month is going to be about DOING my passions. I will check in every day with what I did to take a step into my passion. Every single day I MUST do something I am passionate about or lay the tracks for something to come. No excuses. Every day until at least February 29^th.

"Clarity comes from engagement." And that is what I intend to spend the next 2 weeks on. Everything I do I will be fully present, I will bring my full self, I will BRING THE PASSION ;)

Let's Be Adventurers, Darling

This is going to be a slight tangent, but relevant nonetheless.

 

Travel is a big passion of mine and of a lot of people.

When I was younger I thought I would move away for college and never return, and then I went to school locally and studied abroad. It was wonderful, but it shifted my focus. I was so homesick. Appalachia is a very different environment to grow up in. We truly have been preserved by our mountains. When I say there is not a single Trader Joe’s or H&M in this entire state, would you believe me? Because it’s true. We aren’t overly commercialized. (Obviously good and bad to that, lots perceive this as "backward") We hold the door for strangers, and when someone holds the door for you, you say thank you. There isn’t “much to do”. I HATED IT HERE growing up. As I got older, as I went away more often, I realized… there is TRULY no place like HOME. Like my home. Like the rolling hills and the high mountaintops of Almost Heaven, West Virginia. I planted my roots and bought a home 10 minutes (we calculate distance in time here) from where I grew up. I’m one of THOSE people now. Do I still want to move? Yes. I do plan on moving once I have equity in this home and become more professionally and financially stable (SOUTH by the way, no more snow, please) But it was important to me to find my roots before I found my wings.

 

However, I am now able to take trips on the weekends. I am old enough to appreciate that there ARE things to do, I just have to search for them.

 

One of my great passions is travel. We have squared that away. But frequent travel just isn’t an option for my budget. Or is it? Do I need to go far? Aren’t there plenty of things that I take for granted all around me?

 

If I take nothing else away from my PASSION month, I want it to be to grow my passion for my immediate surroundings. To explore my state more. To adventure in my home state.

Yes, life is short. If you are truly unhappy where you are (location/career/relationship) you should make moves to change that. HOWEVER, make sure it is your situation that is what is making you unhappy and not YOU making you unhappy. Ouch, that's a bit harsh, Kaitlyn. But am I right or am I right? I want to learn to bloom right where I am planted. I want to see every silver lining, I want to cherish every day for the gift it is. I want to travel my own backyard and turn my spirit into the adventure, not the going. In essence, yes, I am changing my glasses to a rose golden hue. In my world it will officially be sunny and 75 every day because life is just too damn short.

XOXOX