Tag: Word Wednesday

20 Seconds

When I was younger, I remember watching this movie in the back of my mom’s car on the way to school. Completely jealous that the man in the movie purchased a real, live, actual zoo, I re-watched this movie over and over, hoping one day that would become my reality. Now, I can gladly say that I do not own a zoo (could you imagine!), but I remember this one lesson that was buried amidst lions and peacocks.

As I grow older, this quote becomes more relevant. I’ve never really been a confrontational “I’m going to get what I want” person, but as I navigated high-school, I quickly learned that this mindset would not get me far in life. There have been countless times, meeting with a teacher regarding an unfair grade, telling a coach that I won’t make a big game, and telling an ex-boyfriend to leave me alone (just to name a few), where I’ve needed 20 seconds of insane courage. It’s not much, but boy does it feel good when those 20 seconds are up.

The more I used this rule, the more I realized that I didn’t need the full 20 seconds. In fact, there are some instances when I don’t need them at all. The more I implement this rule, the more natural it becomes. Like practicing a sport, the more time spent performing a skill, the more likely it will become muscle memory.

I will admit, there are times when I need to give myself a 5-minute pep talk before acting within my 20 seconds, but it works! Something just as simple as:

“Georgia, you are going to do BLANK. You’re amazing, smart, and courageous. You’re more than capable of doing this. Just be yourself and trust your instincts. Now, Georgia, let’s go do this.”

This may be silly, but to each their own. I’ve found what works for my 20 seconds; you just need to go out and find yours. It’s trial and error, but eventually it’ll click. Go out and try it! You’ll be amazed at how impactful 20 seconds can be.

Embrace Yourself

This quote has been sitting on my infamous Pinterest quote board for a while, but I never realized the importance of it until recently. In my philosophy class, we’re currently in the middle of our discussion of self and what it means to have an identity. So, I figured this quote fit perfectly with the current thoughts running through my mind right now (probably because I just finished my reading for our next class discussion, but oh well! this is an important lesson here)

Everybody has a distinct self. There’s no arguing. Deep down, we all have something that makes us tick; something that drives all our decisions, actions, responses, etc. It’s just a matter of fact if we chose to recognize this self (this is called bad faith: refusal to accept the facts of your self).

At some point in our lives, usually around our teenage years, we reflect on who we are and what we stand for. This could be a self-inflicted reflection or one brought on by parents, but regardless the motivation we all go through it. Once we’ve taken the time to decided who we are, it’s only a matter of whether we stand firm in ourselves.

While this quote may not represent a mindset that everyone has, I believe that we need to work towards one mimics what Doyle is saying here. If you’re not comfortable with a decision within a friend group, administration, or larger group, don’t just sit back and “go with it.” Break off and stand firm in what you believe. You shouldn’t have to pretend to be someone you aren’t in-order to be accepted. Especially in relationships. Trust me. I’ve experienced it and it is not pretty. I spent almost 3 years in a depression just because I wasn’t strong enough to stand firm in myself. I don’t recommend it.

Find who you are. A good starting place is your past actions. Reflect on them and how they made you feel. This will give you a good gauge on what sits well and disturbs you. You’ll be surprised at how powerful your own emotions can be. If they don’t sit well, don’t just “forget and move-on.” They are valid emotions. Accept them and how they made you feel; use them as guidance for your next decisions. Your best mentor is yourself, specifically your emotions as they are authentic to you. Don’t fight it. Embrace yourself!

A Perfect Life

I believe that this quote perfectly sums up my past couple of weeks. As my final 9 weeks of high-school rolls around, I can say that I am feeling that senior slide (a.k.a. senioritis). As I go through my day, I no longer stress about what assignments I have to complete that night, but how can I soak in my last moments in the halls of my school. I want to leave high-school knowing that I had fun, especially these last few weeks. Not wanting to look back and see stressing assignments, dooming deadlines, or pressing papers, I hope that these last few months are full of memories that I will look back on and smile.

Being totally honest, I’m a perfectionist. I think about tasks way too much, getting caught up in any possible mistakes or failures. When I was starting club soccer, I would spend so much time worrying about making a mistake during the game that the coach would have to sub me out and “reset” my mind, telling me that it was ok. This only got worse as I grew older. My english papers would keep my up at night, editing and re-editing my writing until the words ran together on the screen. Looking back, it was not fun.

Now that I’ve switched my focus, I’m allowing myself the ability to breath and do what I actually want to pursue. I’ve joined the inaugural women’s lacrosse team at my high-school and absolutely love it! I’ve only had 4 practices, but I’ve had so much fun during our hour and a half time together each day. Every day, I talk walks with my best friend. We have no idea where we go, but we enjoy wandering campus talking about whatever comes to mind. In fact, I’ve discovered some things about my campus that I didn’t even know existed during my last 4 years!

It’s crazy how one small change in mindset can do. Sure, I’m still a perfectionist at heart (I’ll probably edit this piece a few times before I post it), but I’ve no learned that it’s ok to pair that perfection with my new mindset of what Nichols calls wholeness. If we live our lives like it’s our last, soaking in every minute of it, we gain so much more than living in desire of perfection. No one has ever lived a perfect life. Each life is different, unique in its own way. If you feel like your life is whole and meaningful, then it’s a perfect one. Don’t let anybody convince you otherwise.

Precious Grace

I absolutely adore this quote. Maybe it’s because it regards one of my favorite topics, grace, but I think it’s because it accurately captures grace in action.

When faced with times of great pain or grief, it is easy to throw in the towel, surrendering all respect and rationale. Yet, when one is courageous enough to face this adversity, grace needs to be present.

Instead of giving in and letting adversity consume you, stand up and greet it head on. When doing so, don’t be afraid to maintain your manner and poise. Yes, overcoming a trouble feels really good, but when accomplished with your own style and charm? Now that feels euphoric.

Never be afraid to hold onto who you are. Everyone is unique in their own way, bringing different qualities to the table of life. If one person choses to forgo their own personality, copying another in-order to fit-in or overcome a problem, the world looses it’s variability. Stay true to who you are. Never shy away from your grace.

Small Steps

Everybody has the potential to make an impact. Whether it be through someone you see in your day-to-day life, social media, or some amazing scientific innovation. Everyone can make an impact.

I’ve always kept to myself, not wanting to disturb the ever constant force that controls the universe (if one even exists). I sat on my hands, waiting to see what everyone else was going to do. Yet, I always wanted to do something meaningful, helping people when they need a little pick me up. Having no idea of how I could achieve this goal, I put this desire on the back burner, waiting for an idea to strike.

When my mom put the idea of this blog in my head I immediately told myself no. Absolutely no way would I publish my personal writing for the world to see. What would I have to write about? What could be so interesting in my life that other people would want to read?

Pushing my doubts aside, I went ahead with the idea. Boy was I glad I stepped outside of my comfort zone! This blog has given me a new purpose in life, making me excited to write each week. The first time someone commented “I really needed to hear this” or approached me in the hallways to say “your quote this week was exactly what I needed to hear” filed me with immense joy. I knew I was doing the right thing.

What I’m trying to say here is that everyone has a purpose. There’s no excuse for hiding away from the world. Sometimes you just need to push outside of your comfort zone, even if it’s just a small step. Any impact, no matter the size, is meaningful. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!

What? Like It’s Hard?

Everybody knows the iconic story of Elle Woods. From a young age I was enamored by her and her hard work ethic, strong will, and refusal to give into the stereotypes of others. She has always been an icon for me, especially her style. Those outfits am I right?!

I’ve always wanted to be her, and recently I realized we’re pretty similar…minus the getting dumped and following a man to Harvard Law part.

My freshmen and sophomore year of high-school I had no confidence. I let someone else define who I was, pushing me down to better themselves. It wasn’t pretty. Instead of enjoying the few years I had in high-school I spent my time alone, keeping my head down as I went through life. I felt as if I couldn’t do what I wanted, instead having to sacrifice my desires for this other person.

The tides turned my junior year. I had finally separated myself from this person, yet I was probably just as lost as I was when I still associated myself with them. Having no clue who I was, I spent time reflecting, trying to decipher some sort key to life. It was hard, but manageable. I slowly started to build self-confidence, finding my voice through the one thing that I’ve always loved: writing.

Now, during the final stretch of my senior year, I could never imagine living my life how I did my freshmen year. I have complete faith in who I am and what I stand for. In fact, this person has tried to come back into my life, but I refuse to let them belittle me like they did a few years ago. Sure, it would be nice to put them in their place, but I think living my life how I want tastes a little sweeter.

Ok back to Elle Woods. Similarly, once she found out who she was, she didn’t let Warner bring her down whenever her success was greater than his. She stood firm, continuing to do the things she loved.

In-order to live life to the fullest, you need to have faith in yourself. Things could change overnight, but the only constant will be yourself. Know who you are and flaunt it. It’s not like it’s hard!

Disguised Blessings

I love Joseph Addison. He’s not that well known, but has made such an impact on the evolution of not only language and writing, but on the form of essays. Last year, I wrote a research paper on the one thing that influenced Addison the most and spent almost all of my 2nd semester reading his works. Of all the quotes I came across, this was my absolute favorite.

Last year was a time of big changes for me. I had recently gotten out of a long relationship, found my best friend, pushed myself out of my shell, and even started this blog! I was extremely disoriented and scared for some time as I didn’t know what was going to come. Looking back, I wouldn’t change any of it. It is through these hardships that I found myself and the things I deeply cherish.

Patience is such an interesting concept. We tend to use it as an excuse whenever we don’t want to deal with something. Yet, when we need time to complete something of our own we ask others to be patient with us. It’s easy to ask someone else to be patient, but what about asking ourselves? As humans, we want to see growth and success immediately; a majority of the time that won’t be the case.

That’s what Addison is commenting on here. When it comes to ourselves, the most important person in our lives, we forget all about asking for time. You can’t expect to immediately bounce back from any setback. Time is needed to properly digest, reflect, and build. It is in this time of personal patience where we find our true selves.

Personally, if I didn’t experience everything that worried or scared me last year I wouldn’t be the person I am proud to be today. It is in that time where I found my inspiration for writing, the person who I can rely on for anything, my recipe for happiness, and relationships that I couldn’t imagine having.

So, don’t be afraid to be patient with yourself. Give yourself time. It truly is a blessing in disguise.

Girls Just Want to Have Fun!

Happy happy New Year! What a wonderful thing, being able to close out 2021 and bring forth 2022. With a new year comes new possibilities and new stories to be written. Being completely honest, I never thought that I would make it to 2022. As this is my graduation year, it always seemed so far off, just an imaginary thing I was waiting to come. Now, it’s here and ready to be embraced!

A friend ask me what my resolution was as we were waiting for the clock to strike midnight a few nights ago. I had absolutely no idea. In the past, I’ve always embraced the typical challenges such as eating healthier, being more on-top of tasks, exercising more, getting more sleep, drinking water, pretty much any of the typical resolutions. Well, I decided to give myself a week to think about it before deciding what my main focus of this big year was going to be.

The answer came to me sooner than I thought. I was scrolling through my Pinterest this week-end trying to decide what quote was up for Word Wednesday when I came across this one at the very, very bottom of my quote board. Immediately, I took it to heart.

This is a big year as I mentioned above. I graduate high school, play my last seasons of high school and club soccer, move away from home, start my 1st semester of college, and a lot more little things that I can’t remember in this moment. Since so much is happening, I don’t want to get lost in the whirlwind of everything going on. I want to enjoy myself without losing sight of who of I am.

So, what exactly is my resolution? Simple. Have more fun! I want to soak up these experiences instead of worrying about what I’m going to miss or what is going to come. No matter what is going on, I want to go out and make memories this year, soak up the possibilities.

I hate to say it, but Cyndi Lauper is right; girls do just want to have fun! What better time than 2022?!

Cookie Cutter

This is inspired by a recent conversation I had with my mom. As this is my senior year, we’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on my time in high school and how it hasn’t changed who I am and the values I stand for. Plenty has happened that could’ve changed my character, but I stood, and will continue to stand strong in what I believe.

It’s super easy to get caught up in current trends, drama, and gossip. Many tend to get whisked away by others, bending and changing to fit into what society may call “normal”, but what is “normal” any way?

Van Gogh was onto something here. Normal is just a term used by society to make us conform to its ways, discouraging the idea that we’re allowed to be who WE want to be and not what others want. When we stick to who we are, that’s where the beauty really exists. It’s easy to just “go with the flow” of what others are doing around us, but if it’s something that you don’t agree with you don’t have to follow it. Be proud of who you are!

Growing up, I didn’t have the most normal life. We live on a ranch in South Texas and would have to drive an hour to school everyday. When I decided that I wanted to play club soccer, we would drive two hours one way three times a week for practice and then travel on the weekends for games. As high school rolled around, we ended up splitting our time in San Antonio during the week so I could attend Saint Mary’s Hall, the same high school my mother attended. Now, it isn’t what you would expect, but I wouldn’t change anything about my life. It’s uniqueness has shaped me into who I am and what I value most. In fact, I even went as far as writing my college admissions essay about how my childhood has helped me become someone who I am proud to be.

Don’t give into a cookie cutter life. Freestyle it and make your own outline! Go out and chase the flowers, straying from the path most easily traveled.

Trust > Fear

Fear is a crazy thing isn’t it? The idea of being scared that something will or will not happen has such great influence on our lives, impacting our actions and thoughts almost daily. Whatever happened to you only live once?

Fear is an abstract concept, something that we make-up within our minds. It is an illusion, not tangible. The amount of power we designate towards fear is far more than should be given. Instead, we should work towards moving that power to something more positive and impactful.

Fear doesn’t know the work that you’ve put into reaching a goal or bettering yourself. But what about love? Dedication? Grit? Skillset? All these things influence your character, what you’ve worked hard on improving your whole life. So why not give these things the power that we give fear? You’d be surprised at the difference!

Go out and throw yourself into the world! Don’t be scared of the possibilities because there are so many of them, especially ones that you might not even be aware of. This is where trust comes in: trust in God. He knows exactly what is going to happen and where you need to be in life. Cast away your fear and put your trust in the Lord; he’ll lead you to unimaginable things.