Life gets in the way

I realized that I've seriously been slacking on the posts lately, I could give you a million reasons why I haven't been writing but truthfully every time I start my list I hear a voice in my head saying "excuses are tools of the incompetent, used to build monuments of nothing...those who dwell on them seldom succeed".  So here I am, silencing all the excuses I have for not keeping up with something I truly enjoy.

I've noticed a big jump in readers the last few days so I'd like to give a little background on ALL the things I do.  Perhaps it will help you understand 1. why I take a hiatus from time to time and 2. no matter how busy you are, there is ALWAYS time if you MAKE time.

Where do we start?  Let's see, I work full time in an office 9-5 job.  I sit all day and there are always temptations lingering in the kitchen.  Our office is situation in one of the restaurant meccas of the city and there are a plethora of options for eating out.  It can be really easy to give in and indulge my stomach's desires when I smell chocolate just walking down the street from the train station to the building.  Aside from that, I'm also a student.  I'm a full time college student FINALLY finishing up my degree (in business if you were curious).  That in itself is a huge workload to manage but I do my best manage my time efficiently.  As I'm sure you've noticed, I've become quite the avid runner/triathlete so I have to work in training time and races as often as I can (this usually means sacrificing sleep and getting up extra early to get in a run before work).  Sounds like 3 full time jobs in itself doesn't it?  Well, we still have a few more items to cover.  I'm a nerd, and I LOVE volunteering.  Last year I became an education volunteer at The Field Museum of Natural History.  I do early childhood education with kids age 2-6 and this is what really helps keep me sane.  It's my escape from the world and I can just enjoy being a kid, seeing things through their eyes.

Put all of that aside and my real passion is for makeup.  I'm a freelance artist and just in the last few months have had some exceptional opportunities.  A short independent film I worked on was shown at a film festival this weekend and next month photos of some work I did will be in a gallery showcase debuting in Switzerland.  I'm not trying to impress you or anything, I want you to know that no matter how much life throws at you, keeping things balanced will allow you to pursue all of your endeavors.  You have to learn to eliminate the dead weight.

This is my test for things.  If you're pursuing something new, it deserves ALL 100% of you.  Give yourself to it completely.  Don't just kind of do something.  This doesn't mean all of your time goes to it, but you need to put all of your heart into it.  Anything worth doing should receive the best effort you can give.  All or nothing.  The things that don't deserve a full commitment are like dead weight and will only slow you down and hold you back.  You can't expect to get 100% results from something you're only giving 50% effort to.  This goes for everything in your life...school, relationships, business, diet, training, work, etc.  Sometimes my friends think I'm crazy when I dive right into something, but the truth is I couldn't see myself doing it any other way.  If you can't commit your max effort to something then you should probably re-evaluate if it's even worth doing.

I realized I haven't been giving this blog 100% effort and it totally deserves it.  So expect some more posts to start rolling in, I'm recommitting myself to inspiring others and helping them achieve success.  (on a side note, I don't always have ideas for posts so any suggestions are most appreciated!)

And because tt's been awhile since I've posted one of these...not because I haven't made any ‪progress‬ or that I'm not proud of what I've been able to accomplish, but mostly because this is just a way of life for me now. I don't see it as a "before and after", its who I am, it's a part of me. On the left you can see how big my smile was, despite how unhealthy I felt because I knew I was on a journey to better things. It won't happen in a day, but each day that you stay focused and committed it will get easier and you will feel stronger.  Wherever you're at in your journey, have faith that you're making the right choices and believe that you possess everything you need to achieve success.

A big inspiration to coming back to this was seeing myself featured in the newest edition of my sorority's newsletter La Mensajera check out page 11 to read a bit more about me :)