Back in November, I was on the website of Seven Studios and learned about their Life Transformation Contest. Seven Studios is owned by Julie Wilkes and provides work out classes and life coaching programs. I had met Julie once before at a goal painting event I attended. Seeing her at work that evening and learning more about her studio through their website, I knew I wanted to be a part of her program.
I came a long way in 2013, especially since that day in June. But I want to keep going, I don't want to plateau. So, I decided to enter the Life Transformation contest. I thought it would be a great opportunity to bring in some other professionals to guide me along my path and help me find my way. I know my Single Girl Project is not yet complete and if I could win this contest, I would be sure to not get stuck. To apply for the contest, I had to write a 500 word essay that told my inspiring story, showed my readiness to begin and why now is the right time to transform my life. I wrote away, hit send and waited. I was confident, yet also so anxious -- the winner wouldn't be announced for over a month! The further we got into January, I thought for sure someone else had been chosen.
And then, I randomly checked my email last week and saw one from Julie herself with the subject line "Congratulations!" As I hurriedly read the email, it said out of the 48 applications they received, my entry made it to the Top 5. {At first I thought it was like all of those emails you receive after you apply for a job -- "While you are well qualified and we appreciate your application, we have decided to go with another candidate. Good luck in your job search."} But I read on and learned that the panel of Seven Studios judges couldn't pick just one of their top 5…so we were all winners! I don't remember the last time I got so excited over something! I had the biggest smile on my face the rest of the day and just kept saying to myself "Oh my gosh, I am so excited!" Literally I said that for, like, the rest of the day.
I love writing, so I was proud that something I wrote was recognized. My essay was so personal, so I am grateful it was heard. I am so honored to have been chosen to be a part of this project. Visit this site to see what I will receive as a contest winner. I will be blogging weekly updates of my 6-month journey so please follow along with me -- I want my process to inspire you, and I am sure I will need some motivation & encouragement along the way, too!
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Create
I have long been crafty. I just love making things with my hands, it's so fun and personal and unique. Growing up, I always loved making projects. When I taught elementary students, I would teach them a craft project when we had indoor recess. Once I learned to sew, I started making quilts and other projects. Now my grandma is teaching me how to knit. I am so excited to get better at it and the possibilities of what I can make. I can give hand made gifts to friends, I can make things myself for my home that are made of organic cotton and with love.
I've always been good at the crafty art, but I've never considered myself to be an "artist." Even my doodles look terrible. However, I have had the pleasure of attending multiple Wine Your Art Out events and I end up quite proud of myself when it actually turns out and looks like something. It's very fun to see it come together from start to finish. I learned that I really like painting. I like the movement of it and the process of it. I want to make more paintings that aren't necessarily of something but are instead reflective of feelings and emotions -- what is called Abstract art, I've learned.
Lucky for me, my best friend is not only an amazing artist, but an awesome teacher who happens to have her own art studio (that hosts Wine Your Art Out) So I called her up this week and went to paint at her studio. I loved it! It is so cool to lose yourself in a work of art, to see where it takes you and to watch what it turns into. It ended up a little different than what I initially pictured because of the fact that I let go and went with it. And I loved how it turned out, it's now one of my favorite pieces. It was inspired by someone else and will eventually be given to that person, but it has a little piece of me with it, which is awesome. It's a one of a kind. And for someone who never would have considered myself an artist, that is pretty cool. It's neat to think that I've created something one of a kind.
While I was painting, there was a little girl there also painting a project (I happened to have crashed an after school art class), and she commented that she loved my painting. I said "Really?!" and she said something like "Yes, why shouldn't I? All art is great because you're making it" It was very profound & wise for such a young student (she obviously has a great art teacher in Miss Anna!) But I guess that's why I love to create. It's your stamp and it can't go wrong. I think we all get caught up in all of these things that we have to do that we leave very little, if any, time for our hobbies or things we enjoy doing. Just for ourselves. I'm not saying you have to paint a masterpiece, or sew a quilt, or knit baby socks, but something where your hands are busy, your mind is free and where you can lose yourself in creating something.
Life is all about creating. And it starts with your hands.
I've always been good at the crafty art, but I've never considered myself to be an "artist." Even my doodles look terrible. However, I have had the pleasure of attending multiple Wine Your Art Out events and I end up quite proud of myself when it actually turns out and looks like something. It's very fun to see it come together from start to finish. I learned that I really like painting. I like the movement of it and the process of it. I want to make more paintings that aren't necessarily of something but are instead reflective of feelings and emotions -- what is called Abstract art, I've learned.
Lucky for me, my best friend is not only an amazing artist, but an awesome teacher who happens to have her own art studio (that hosts Wine Your Art Out) So I called her up this week and went to paint at her studio. I loved it! It is so cool to lose yourself in a work of art, to see where it takes you and to watch what it turns into. It ended up a little different than what I initially pictured because of the fact that I let go and went with it. And I loved how it turned out, it's now one of my favorite pieces. It was inspired by someone else and will eventually be given to that person, but it has a little piece of me with it, which is awesome. It's a one of a kind. And for someone who never would have considered myself an artist, that is pretty cool. It's neat to think that I've created something one of a kind.
While I was painting, there was a little girl there also painting a project (I happened to have crashed an after school art class), and she commented that she loved my painting. I said "Really?!" and she said something like "Yes, why shouldn't I? All art is great because you're making it" It was very profound & wise for such a young student (she obviously has a great art teacher in Miss Anna!) But I guess that's why I love to create. It's your stamp and it can't go wrong. I think we all get caught up in all of these things that we have to do that we leave very little, if any, time for our hobbies or things we enjoy doing. Just for ourselves. I'm not saying you have to paint a masterpiece, or sew a quilt, or knit baby socks, but something where your hands are busy, your mind is free and where you can lose yourself in creating something.
Life is all about creating. And it starts with your hands.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
This year I will be fierce
Ah, my first blog post of 2014! I feel so excited by the possibilities of what stories my blog will tell this year. I have never before felt so renewed. I've had lots of beginnings in my life, but none quite this liberating, none that have made my gypsy soul feel as free and spirited as it has this first week of 2014.
Each journey in the past (college, post-graduation, starting a relationship, for example) has begun with some sort of plan. Each time, I had an idea of where I wanted to end up. Any deviation in the path was a surprise. Some surprises were good, some were bad. But they all caught me off guard. I went with it, of course, but it knocked loose my sense -- idea, really -- of control. It made me become vulnerable when that really wasn't welcome or comfortable {I've come to learn that being vulnerable is the truly brave thing to let yourself be.}
What is so exciting about 2014 for me is that for the first time that I can remember, I don't really have a plan. I have NO. IDEA. what to expect for this year. And it feels so awesome. I am approaching vulnerability and control from a new perspective. Instead of having everything dependent upon this almighty plan, and having it shake my foundation when it doesn't work out, I am living on that ledge of the unknown, of being fearless. I am embracing the surprises, {which will be fun! this year will be full of surprises!} I am allowing myself to be vulnerable to my life's path. The only thing I am going to expect is the unexpected. I feel ready for anything, and that makes me feel secure. When I don't have an itinerary to stick to, I can have the year take me where it wants to take me, and I can change the course at my own free will if I decide I want to go somewhere else. The freedom I've found in that realization is so great, so monumental.
I have goals and things I want to accomplish, for sure -- that is only healthy. But this year I am going to focus on the journey to get there. I figure if I make smart decisions, do what makes me happy and follow my heart as I go along, I'll reach my goals. I'll live my way there without even realizing it. And if the path I choose leads me to something different, then I am certain it will be even greater than what I had set out for.
I did make resolutions for 2014; I've never really made resolutions before but this year I wanted to. The only sure thing I have to hold onto is myself, that's the only sure thing we all have. {I know, obviously, that I can always count on the love, friendship and support of my parents and friends. But what I mean is, their life doesn't revolve around me, and my life doesn't revolve around them. I am responsible for my own happiness, my own actions, my own life.} I evaluated what I want for my self, my inner self, and I've made resolutions that are more like habits that I want to live by. If I'm recreating my life step-by-step, resolutions seem to be as easy a way as any to guide me. My resolutions are things that I want at my core, to make me the person I want to be. That way, no matter who or what the year brings into my life, I know who I am, I will remain steady. My path can criss or cross and my foundation will not shake. If I live the life that I want, that is true to my self, then the people and things that come into it will be reflections of that. My true self will not be compromised.
I'm excited for this new year because of the promise it holds for happiness, for learning and for surprise. I am honoring my resolutions, I am going with the flow, I am putting my destiny in motion. I am fearless.
2014 is launching me into something great
Each journey in the past (college, post-graduation, starting a relationship, for example) has begun with some sort of plan. Each time, I had an idea of where I wanted to end up. Any deviation in the path was a surprise. Some surprises were good, some were bad. But they all caught me off guard. I went with it, of course, but it knocked loose my sense -- idea, really -- of control. It made me become vulnerable when that really wasn't welcome or comfortable {I've come to learn that being vulnerable is the truly brave thing to let yourself be.}
What is so exciting about 2014 for me is that for the first time that I can remember, I don't really have a plan. I have NO. IDEA. what to expect for this year. And it feels so awesome. I am approaching vulnerability and control from a new perspective. Instead of having everything dependent upon this almighty plan, and having it shake my foundation when it doesn't work out, I am living on that ledge of the unknown, of being fearless. I am embracing the surprises, {which will be fun! this year will be full of surprises!} I am allowing myself to be vulnerable to my life's path. The only thing I am going to expect is the unexpected. I feel ready for anything, and that makes me feel secure. When I don't have an itinerary to stick to, I can have the year take me where it wants to take me, and I can change the course at my own free will if I decide I want to go somewhere else. The freedom I've found in that realization is so great, so monumental.
I have goals and things I want to accomplish, for sure -- that is only healthy. But this year I am going to focus on the journey to get there. I figure if I make smart decisions, do what makes me happy and follow my heart as I go along, I'll reach my goals. I'll live my way there without even realizing it. And if the path I choose leads me to something different, then I am certain it will be even greater than what I had set out for.
I did make resolutions for 2014; I've never really made resolutions before but this year I wanted to. The only sure thing I have to hold onto is myself, that's the only sure thing we all have. {I know, obviously, that I can always count on the love, friendship and support of my parents and friends. But what I mean is, their life doesn't revolve around me, and my life doesn't revolve around them. I am responsible for my own happiness, my own actions, my own life.} I evaluated what I want for my self, my inner self, and I've made resolutions that are more like habits that I want to live by. If I'm recreating my life step-by-step, resolutions seem to be as easy a way as any to guide me. My resolutions are things that I want at my core, to make me the person I want to be. That way, no matter who or what the year brings into my life, I know who I am, I will remain steady. My path can criss or cross and my foundation will not shake. If I live the life that I want, that is true to my self, then the people and things that come into it will be reflections of that. My true self will not be compromised.
I'm excited for this new year because of the promise it holds for happiness, for learning and for surprise. I am honoring my resolutions, I am going with the flow, I am putting my destiny in motion. I am fearless.
2014 is launching me into something great
and I can't help but smile.
{I wish the same for you}
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