"Sit down, lemme tell you a story....."
My Sunday funday includes crowding your feed with my inspirational BS to launch 2017. OK? Here we go…. Beginning in 1994, I spent 10 years in a relationship with someone that was not supportive of any of my dreams, nor did I even know his. Got out of that relationship and right into another mostly toxic one for a few more years. Flash forward, I am ecstatic to report the fact that I have done almost everything that I've wanted to do since getting the courage to leave those relationships, getting around more inspiring, supportive people and just doing it. I am thankful for the people supporting me over the years. It's not always looked pretty but looks should NEVER matter. I still did it, all while raising 3 amazing kids solo. I started really taking care of myself better, working out, and eating healthier about 7 years ago. It has been challenging for me to be able to do consistently but I persist. I got my CWP a few years ago. I salsa dance and, while I'm not the greatest, I still love getting out there and letting them throw me around until I get it....bc that's how I learn! haha. I bought a house 8 years ago and am currently renovating it, mostly on my own. Much like EVERYTHING in my life, I don't really give a shit how long it takes me or what it looks like to anyone, I'm having fun with it and love the process. Someday I would like to get my pilots license. So far, I’ve had two separate opportunities to fly a helicopter in 2011 (pic below) and a Cessna.... fucking amazing btw!! I've had opportunities to travel a little here and there. I taught myself how to fix things that most people don't know how to do....like soldering a capacitor on a power board and fixing household appliance. I've gotten to do so much that it's too long to list. The person you know today is not like the person I was and I am forever evolving (as we all should). For many, many years... like more than ten.... I never went anywhere or did anything; I barely had friends or even the courage to talk to people bc of the toxic, controlling relationships I was in. I'm still thankful for those relationships though because they taught me so much. I've overcome having MAJOR anxiety to the point one glorious day my daughter told me I went from a 2 to an 8 on a scale of 1-10. I feel like I've lived 100 lifetimes. My kids have accomplished a lot too. I don't believe in resolutions, I just get out there and do it, not really caring what it looks like. I don't need a plan and I rarely make excuses, even when I don't have the money or resources, I still do what I can. When it seems to not work out, I try not to be so hard on myself because none of us will ever get it perfect....so stop trying...bc even when it's not working out.....it's really working out, we just have to shift perspective. If I didn't have REALLY bad days then I wouldn't know what a REALLY good day was. If I had cared about any of those ridiculous things or people's opinions, I never would've gotten to do any of this. I would've still just been sitting there in a cocoon of fear or doubt saying, "Someday..." and then maybe I would've died that way. Tragic. Or, as Dr. Wayne Dyer would put it, “Don’t die with your music still in you.” And…so…here I am.
Me flying a helicopter over Charleston in 2011.