Lovely insight from Hillary

"Too many young women I think are harder on than themselves than circumstances warrant. They are too often selling themselves short. They too often take criticism personally instead of seriously. You should take criticism seriously because you might learn something, but you can’t let it crush you. You have to be resilient enough to keep moving forward, whatever the personal setbacks and even insults that come your way might be. That takes a sense of humor about yourself and others. Believe me, this is hard-won advice I’m putting forth. It’s not like you wake up and understand this. It’s a process." - Hillary Clinton

To what does it take to really live life to the fullest?

Do you believe those who don't rebel miss out?

It seems like everyone has a moment in their early twenties where they are kids for just a couple more years. They are able to do and be anything they want, and aren't confined to the expectations of the professional world. You can travel the world with a couple of bucks in your pockets, and make lifelong memories with friends...teach english in impoverished countries. All things i would love to do. But Is that necessary to grow up? Am I growing up too soon? What happens if you never have it?

I aways make it a point to live my life to the fullest but My fear of missing out says I need that, but on the other hand I'm grateful for where I am because my journey upward (professionally) has a slightly more solid foundation than some.

#adventurecravings #reflections #rebellion #kidultproblems #justtryingtofigurelifeout #readytolive #carefreevscareless

21 secrets for your 20's

1. Never looking at your budget and never making a budget is the exact same thing.

2. The possibility for greatness and embarrassment both exist in the same space. If you’re not willing to be embarrassed, you’re probably not willing to be great.

3. Feel no shame in seeking help from a counselor or therapist. We all have crap we try to wrap and hide under the Christmas tree. Get rid of it before it smells up your entire holiday.

4. All job listings on Craigslist lead you to a warehouse in downtown LA “wearing something nice with shoes you can walk in”.

5. Don’t ever, ever check Facebook when you’re:

A. Depressed

B. Drinking.

C. Depressed and Drinking.

D. Unemployed.

E. Anytime after 9:17 pm.

F. Struggling with being blessed with singleness while all your friends seem to be blessed with 2.4 kids and that blazing white-picket-fence shining with the glory of Jesus Christ himself.

6. All those amazing college friends you swore you’d never lose contact with after college yeah, well, you might loose contact. Moving all over the country, getting married, having kids, all make that forty-five minute conversation with your sophomore roommate a little more complicated than it used to be over a game of Mario Kart. Making and keeping friends in our twenties takes intentionality.

7. Your twenties will produce more failures than you’ll choose to remember. The key is when you fail, don’t begin calling yourself a failure.

8. Every break up has two break ups. I’m no physicist, but this is a law of physics, of this I am certain. Yes you’ll have the first tearful “It’s over” sitting in the front seat of your Honda or on a park swing. Then 1-2 months later after there’s “been talk”, you’ll have the “real breakup” because she forgets to call like she used to or he checks out the waitress like he’s a judge for Miss USA. And gird those loins because in the second breakup there will be a lot more breaking.

9. The Freshman-Fifteen is nothing compared to the Cubicle-Cincuenta. Don’t sit at your computer perched like a Roman gargoyle. Don’t let office birthday cake be forced on you like a cigarette behind your middle school. Bust out before your butt does.

10. And yes, cubicles don’t make sense to anybody other than upper-management. I would be willing to bet that only 3% of all “Cubicle Americans” actually have a positive outlook on life. And half of that 3% is stealing from their company.

11. If at some point between 22 – 27 you feel like you’re six years old again, lost at the San Diego Zoo (it’s a big-frickin-zoo), frantically searching for a familiar face – hold tight, you’re experiencing a bit of a Quarter-Life Crisis. Stay put. Pray a lot. And in no time someone will call your name across the loud speaker to tell you where you can be found.

12. Reckless drinking and reckless flirting have a direct correlation. Friends don’t let friends drive, or flirt, drunk.

13. If you grew up going to church, at some point in your 20′s you’ll probably stop going to church. If you grew up with faith as a central part of your life, at some point in your twenties faith might move to the outskirts of town next to the trailer park and three-legged squirrel refuge. Your twenties are a process of making faith your own apart from your parents and childhood. Sometimes that means staggering away so you know what you’re coming back to.

14. Don’t ever begin dating someone you first met whilst in swimsuits. Doubly-don’t if you’re both in swimsuits whilst holding an alcoholic beverage.

15. Obsessive Comparision Disorder is the smallpox of our generation. 9 out of 10 doctor’s agree this disorder is the leading cause to eating a whole sleeve of Oreo’s while watching Real Housewives of OC. Say no to obsessive comparison disorder before it starts. Remember everyone’s too busy putting a PR spin on their Facebook profile to care much about yours.

16. Life will never feel like it’s “supposed to”. Being twentysomething can feel like death by unmet expectations. However, let me be so brash to say that you are right now, at this moment, exactly where you need to be. But you’ll only be able to see that five years and thirty-eight days from today.

17. You might have your first kid and realize what it’s like to be young, a parent, and have no freaking clue what you’re doing. And for the first time in your life, you also might actually understand your parents for the first time.

18. Marriage WILL NOT fix any of your problems. No, instead marriage will put a magnifying glass on how many problems you really have. We grow up carrying bags with our insecurities, fears, bad relationships, problems with our parents — you name it. Begin to ditch these bags now. Newly married and living in a small apartment is no place to store a luggage set full of shiz.

19. An assortment of crappy jobs are a twentysomething rite of passage. Figure out what you need to learn there and learn it. If you don’t, an assortment of crappy jobs might be your thirty, forty and fiftysomething rite of passage as well.

20. Great ideas alone mean nothing. Your ability to persevere through 16 major setbacks, a lack of passion, forgetting why you started this great idea in the first place, and all the people who allude that your great idea is actually quite terrible — well, that means everything.

21. The grass is always greener on the other side, until you get there and realize it’s because of all the manure. - Via random Facebook friend
Funny, accurate, interesting

Breathe...

community love...

Gentrification. What a depressing word. It's whats happening a lot in big cities, and what's slowly emerging in neighborhoods in Atlanta. One way atlanta is trying to "pretty up" its blossoming neighborhood, Castleberry Hills. I went to an Art Stroll among the newer art galleries in the area this weekend. While I wasn't moved by the art...something else caught my eye. A community grocer- made by locals, for locals, supporting locals. Talk about community love. It is truly "organic". Still a little bare, the Boxcar Grocer fills its shelves with Atlanta based brands and chatter of new developments. Not only did they give a space for good food and community coffee but it offers a farmer's market to the up and coming community! They focus on healthy eating, organic goodness, and affordability. GENIUS.

Gotta Pay It Forward

Wow. Someone at the Farmer's market paid for all of my groceries today. He noticed that I started neglecting things in my cart in order to stay on budget and all the sudden I heard "you should get those things, I've got 'em for you."

I'll admit, it was tough accepting a gift from a stranger, but the moment I accepted, I immediately told him "Thank you, I will definitely pay this forward." The smile on his face was unforgettable.

I am now stocked up on food for weeks, and have what I would have spent saved for that special moment when I can make someone else's day just like he made mine. Thank goodness for kind people in the world.