Something to smile about
We are living through a weird moment in history. If you’re lucky, you are working from home with your partner and maybe a pet. If you aren’t so lucky, you may have just lost your job. Right now, our inboxes are filled with brands trying to sell us comfy WFH clothes that are 20% off. And our social media is either overwhelmingly negative or annoyingly, and questionably upbeat.
What. Is. Going. On.
For my inaugural post, I wanted to acknowledge the fact that everything IS weird. Despite the uncertainty of the future, I am trying to keep finding reasons to smile.
On St. Patrick’s Day, I found myself in the unlucky column. I was told that I was being put on unpaid leave…indefinitely. As an emotional person, I am shocked by how well I handled the news. I didn’t shed a tear for days. It took a week’s worth of emails from brands I now hate urging me to spend money on clothes to make me more productive while I work from home. After unsubscribing from the lot, I realized that after this week I won’t have an income. I don’t have a massive savings to fall back on, and like Carrie Bradshaw, I always abided by the rule of, “I like my money where I can see it - in my closet.” Needless to say, I began to freak out. I hurriedly began applying for unemployment- to no avail because, the Florida unemployment site is criminally unnavigable. It took an entire week to apply for benefits. At first, I was hesitant to agree to receive help from the government. I felt like it meant that I had failed. I mean, I was only employed for TWO months when I was let go. It was a huge blow to my ego, and I grappled with my self-worth for days.
My scope has since changed, and I feel more optimistic. I realized that everyone is feeling some degree of angst, confusion, disillusionment, and stress. I am not alone in feeling inadequate or less than. I diverted my energy from feeling sorry for myself and comparing myself to others into focusing on what I can control. I realized that my perception of this situation and I how I choose to spend my days are completely up to me.
I started this blog upon realizing I have something to say. I have been putting it off for years out of fear and uncertainty. The last few weeks has taught me that you cannot live in fear, because we aren’t guaranteed tomorrow. I spent five incredible years of my life traveling and not conforming to societal norms. Until now, I always admonished my decision to put off getting a “real job.” I am eternally grateful that I did put it off because, if I hadn’t, I would not have the content to pursue this project.
Over Everything is a collection of images from my travels that I will use to explain the way I live my life. I believe that everything you do should be done with love. When you drink coffee – drink the best coffee; don’t waste your time (and money) on things that are mass produced. Do your research, find the ultimate and don’t ever settle for anything less. I challenge you to think outside the box, find beauty within, try something you haven’t tried before, support local, support small, and most importantly- get out of your comfort zone. This is where you find the things that really matter – the things that are worth writing about.