2017! How did we even get here?!

2017. Sounds so "futuristic." I am always amazed with how fast time goes, and it seems like as I get older time just moves faster. I notice things more. This year I became more observant with the world and people around me. I watched certain emotions like love, happiness, sadness, sorrow, joy, passion, heartache and worry unfold within me and around me.

As of late I have noticed that many people are feeling ready for 2016 to be a thing of the past and I know that a lot of bad things seemed to happen in 2016, but I also think a lot of transformative things happened. Things that needed to happen, things that we do not understand the "why" yet. 

In life, I think stuff just happens and we have to learn how to handle it, without knowing the "why." 

For instance, how did we get here, 2017? I do not know how or why it happens... it just does. Time is fleeting and if you aren't ready to buckle up and take the journey as it comes, then you're in for a rude awakening called LIFE. 

For the past few years I have written an "end of the year blog" mainly for myself, so I can go back and look at how far I have come year after year. When I was thinking about my blog for the end of 2016 all I could think about was how awesomely powerful 2016 was and how I hope that 2017 is full of more life changing moments, happy tears and hugs! So many hugs! 

My top 10 wishes for 2017 are as followed...

1. I wish for the good health of my family and my friends and myself for the entire year.
2. I wish for more answers as to "why" certain things happen the way that they do
3. To quote my 2.5 year old niece, I wish for "peace forever!" I know we are all feeling anxious about where we stand as a Country in the future, and I just hope through it all, we can learn to find peace, whatever that may mean to you. 
4. I wish for an easy going "wedding planning" year. Things seem to be falling into place so far, so I hope things continue to go as such.
5. I wish to continue to fall more and more in love with my guy Michael. He is incredible, and I hope that with each passing day, I never forget how incredible he is. 
6. I wish for more happy faces at The Ballet School. I LOVE my job and I LOVE the students and parents that have entered my life! I can't wait to make more friends and love more students!
7. I wish for Performing Arts Studio to continue to flourish and become the amazing program that I know it can and will be. 
8. I wish for adventure. I want to go to new places and be more adventurous with the food I eat. YOLO... am I right?
9. I wish to watch more sunrises and even more sunsets.
10. I wish to continue to be there for the ones I love. 


I am leaving 2016 with a grateful heart. I learned a lot. As I said before, it was a very transformative year. My family and I were faced with a health scare that we got through, and I think that through that scary time, I surprised myself with how well I stayed positive and trusted in the light. I also lost some friendships, and got closer to new friends. When I think back on this year, I picture myself on a beach, just sitting and watching the waves come in and go out. As I sat on this "life" beach, I was affected my some waves; some were too cold, or too warm. Some waves came in with a vengeance, while others drifted in peacefully. But, through it all, I stayed on that beach and found ways to enjoy the view. 

2017 is going to be a year full of new beginnings! I can just feel it! Let us all stay positive and enjoy the ride because if I have learned anything it is that time moves quickly and we never know what will happen, and when something does happen, we rarely get the honor of understanding the "why." So, all we CAN do is enjoy what we know and look forward to learning about what we don't know. 
Let's stand on that beach, hold hands and JUMP into the waves of 2017! Who's with me?!

Let's stand on that beach, hold hands and JUMP into the waves of 2017!

Goodbye 26... HELLO 27!

     Well, here I am... 27 years old! I guess technically I will REALLY be 27 at 8:57pm, but 27 years ago today I began my journey to this earth. Ever since my Mom found out she was pregnant with me, she kept journals about her pregnancy journey with me all through my 16th year. I love looking back on these journals because it just shows how far I have come and really how far all of us have come. Birthdays are very personal. When you really think about it, being born is quite a remarkable experience and all of us did it! It boggles my mind! 
     This past year has been full of growth, change and new experiences. I continued to discover my voice  and I learned a lot about myself and others around me. I wanted to share my list of things I learned in my 26th year and I hope to take what I learned and use it in my 27th year!


What I learned at 26...

- It's ok to allow surprises into your life, it doesn't always have to be planned out

- Sadie learning to walk was a BIG highlight!

- "Don't quit while you're ahead, sing out there's more in store for me."- being a part of The Mystery of Edwin Drood at Town Hall was a great way to begin my 26th year.

-Sometimes you start gong to therapy again and find that it is the most life changing experience of your life because you finally feel like YOU again!

- I can't control everything, I'm not that powerful. :) 

- Sometimes the high altitude of Lake Tahoe can make you feel light headed, especially right after eating a ginormous Thanksgiving dinner

- Family isn't just blood. Family is who is there for you when you need them most and who you can trust.

- It's always better when one of your best friends that was on her mission for a year and a half comes home and you can laugh and go to Target again with with her!

- Washing your hands and cloroxing everything REALLY does prevent you from getting sick

- There was something so joyful about watching Michael sing the song "she loves me" as George in She Loves Me. I will never forget about how giddy I felt in the audience

- Communication is everything and feeling comfortable to communicate is even more important

- It can be stressful looking for a new place to live, but if you have Jenny by your side to help you find the perfect place, it makes all the difference in the world.

- It's fun living with your very best friend Michael Doppe

- Mayella Ewell will always have a piece of my heart

- Being able to spend time and moments with my To Kill A Mockingbird cast was a BIG highlight of my 26th year. Thank you all for everything. 

- Being asked to be a Bridesmaid in one of your life long friends wedding is a surreal and beautiful experience. 

- Words matter

- Cancer sucks, but early detection does't suck because they can help you!

-Doctors know what they are talking about and they really can help you.

- My mom is the most amazing woman on the face of the planet. She is an angel. 

- WE GOT THIS

- I love Disneyland. I love my Ballet School family... so going to Disneyland with them was SO FUN and I can't wait to do it again!

- Sometimes you JUST have to get that BIG CONE of Chocolate ice cream and eat it down the streets of California Adventure

- having to go back to your high school years and sell ice cream with your best friend, Ariel, is SO FUNNY and a memory I will NEVER forget! #whatyearisthis

- selling the bible in the lobby of the theatre with your best friend, Ariel, makes you sometimes ask yourself #whatisthislife

- Young REP Summer 2016 taught me one major thing: And Life Goes On....

- Speaking of Young REP.... I also realized that it is harder than I thought to say goodbye to students that are going off to College that I have known since they were 11 *cough* Kathleen *cough* I'll just be over in the corner crying some more....

- I love Young Actors Studio and this past summer was truly exceptional. 

- The Disney Aulani resort in Hawaii is full of magic

- My dad makes me smile

- When things bother me or people bother me I just remove myself from the situation. It's the only thing I can do to control the situation. Whether that's the "right" thing to do, I don't know, but its what I do. 

- Hearing little children sing Seasons of Love makes my heart pitter patter

- Benny is still my favorite student

- Watching Grace do Kung Fu makes me proud to call her my niece. She is such an amazing young lady

- Waking up at 5:15am every morning changed the way I viewed the world. 

- I like watching the sunrise everyday

- The show Devious Maids is TOP NOTCH

- When one of your dearest friends tells you that he and his wife are having a baby and you are so excited you can't even deal!

- Laughing and dancing cures all 

- Flywheel is one of my new favorite places

- working out in the dark is GENIUS

- I got Diogi as a Birthday present for my 13th Birthday and to this day he is still one of the BEST gifts I have ever received

- There are two sides to every story

- Doing the hokey pokey all day everyday is life changing because you are constantly asking yourself, "maybe this really IS what it's all about?!"

- Love conquers all





As I head into 27 I find myself excited for the unknown! I know this will be another year full of growth and change. I pray for more happy than sad and more laughter than sorrow.

"I pray for more happy than sad and more laughter than sorrow..."

CHEERS to 27!

 

A little story.

     Once Upon a time there lived a little girl. She lived each day feeling worry free because she had a roof over her head, lots of friends to play with, a family that loved her and her creative imagination. A typical day for this little girl consisted of playing in her backyard with her imaginary friends, hanging out at her Grandmothers house or going to work with her Mom and playing make believe in the office. She would imagine different worlds each and every day. Sometimes she was Princess Jasmine who just discovered Aladdin, other days she decided to be a mermaid and divided her house up into what was under water and what was land.  Her most favorite game was to put on the movie Mary Poppins and pretend to be all the characters and dance and sing just like they did. She lived her days fully and passionately. 
      
      Little by little and day by day this little girl started to grow up. She went to school, she met friends, she lost friends to other friends, she started to see that not everything was all sunshine and rainbows. As she traveled through time and got older, she started to doubt herself. She doubted who she was and how she looked. When she got to middle school she never saw herself as one of the pretty girls, she saw herself as a girl that was growing up and going through a lot of change. She discovered how fun it was to have a crush on someone, she discovered how great it was to have friends that were nice to her and thought she was funny. This little girl started to grow and change into a young woman. She never really got in trouble, she always saw what happened to her other classmates if they did something wrong and she decided she didn't want to be one of those kids. She was who she was and she tried really hard to accept that. 
      
      This young woman quickly grew up. It seemed the last remaining years of school went by very quickly and before she could even blink her eye she was getting ready for college. In the years leading up to her High School graduation day she had discovered her imagination again. She had found a circle of friends that truly accepted her and her beautiful mind. Needless to say, she was feeling pretty darn good as she headed into college. 
      
      She grew a lot there. She met life long friends, she learned a lot about what to do and what not to do. She loved. She hated. She cried. She laughed. She changed. Her imagination became less beautiful because she let it turn into worry. She let worry encompass her and she became trapped in her own body and mind. As the college years moved forward she became unrecognizable. She had lost herself and it was so bad she didn't even know she was lost. She was in a relationship that was toxic and uninviting. Her mind was clouded with doubt and worry and regret and hateful thoughts all the time. She stopped believing in herself, she stopped thinking she was remotely pretty. She was just a person on this earth trying to stay above water.  The little girl inside of her went away for some time.  
      
     Now, it could have been the angels up above that helped her, or maybe it was just fate. But, something changed. It had to. The demon that had stolen her identity finally showed his true colors and he was vanished to another land. Literally vanished. The light entered her soul again and her imagination started to come back. She started imagining what her life could and would be. She saw a world where she was the hero and she was the beautiful woman that she had always aspired to be. 
      
     As time moved forward, she grew up even more. She found the joy of being on her own. She went on many adventures and met a lot of new people. She was reminded of what it was like to have crushes and feel giddy. She lived her days much like her child self. She let her imagination take her to amazing places and she found her again. As time moved forward she decided she wanted the opportunity to share who she was, truly was, with someone else. She went on a quest to find him. She went on many bad dates with people that didn't really get it. She didn't let that stop her though, she kept going. She kept believing that she would find that one person she kept thinking about. She knew he was out there. And sure enough, one day he just was there. At the time she didn't know that he  was the one she had been searching for, but he knew and thats all that matters. He didn't give up on her when she was being stubborn, he just waited patiently for her to realize that he was the one all along. Luckily, she listened to her heart and let him in. She found that she was more herself than ever. She was so excited that she got to keep all the special powers that lived inside of her.  She didn't feel lost anymore. She was found. 
     
     I tell you this story because I have noticed something as of late. 
     
     I consider myself an observer. I watch what goes on around me and then form my opinions on the matter. Lately, I have started to see the adults around me as their little kids selves. I have tried to use my imagination to see into their young lives. I look at Hillary Clinton and see just a little girl in dance class, or I look at some of the strong Olympians and see their child self wanting to watch TV instead of practice. It has been a fun little game for me to play and I think it has helped me a lot to not take things and people so seriously. Through my little game I have discovered something that I feel needs sharing. I have discovered that when we get older, something happens. We lose that little kid self inside of us and we allow our imagination to turn in to something different. Some turn it into worry, some turn it into happiness and others turn it into ego. I know that ego is important because it motivates us to keep going and assures us that we can do certain things, but having too much ego is questionable. I don't know, I think when we make big decisons or say certain things it's important to ask ourselves, "what is driving me to say this? or "what is driving me to do this?" Is it ego? Is it excitement? Is it fear? If we ask ourselves and allow a time to check in, then we will always be driven by truth. If you can look in the mirror and be proud of who you are and what you represent, then that's all you can ask for. 

 The little girl inside of me gets sad sometimes by the ways of the world and how some adults have chosen to act, but I have to keep reminding her that her and I have come so far and if we just stick together, we are unstoppable. 

The End.


   

What's the lesson here?

     We all start as a blank page. We all begin with our own, Once Upon A Time and through our journey we come across good days and bad days, and sooner or later our blank page starts developing words and pictures that describe us and make us who we are. We grow, we learn, we change. And, much like many fairytales, we meet Heroes and Villains along the way. Sometimes the Heroes turn into Villains and sometimes our Villains surprise us and turn into our Heroes. We all start out not knowing what is to come, and as we age, we still share the same knowledge of not knowing. We have days when we aspire for greatness and then we have days where we feel like we can't do anything right. We are human. We are our own master pieces and we create the life we have. WE lead the way as individuals. WE create own own story. Which leads me to my point. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid to strap on that warrior belt and head into that dark cave. Yes, we do not know what is inside the cave, but we do know that you can't find the light until you see the darkness. We do know that you can't walk around life trying to prevent every little bad thing from happening. Sometimes you just need to live your life and trust in that higher plan.  

    Which leads me to one of my favorite Disney classics, Sleeping Beauty.  Sleeping Beauty was kept in the dark for most of her life. Her parents wanted to protect her from the evil spell that Maleficent cast upon her when she was a baby.  They didn't tell her what had happened, they kept her royalty from her and made her live in the forest with three little woman, also known as the fairies. Sleeping Beauty grew up longing for a life of her own. She didn't know what it felt like to be alone, so when the moment finally came where she could be alone, she was drawn towards the one thing that her parents and the fairies had been protecting her of her entire life, the spinning wheel. What happened to Sleeping Beauty was sad, but I feel like it could have been prevented if her parents had just been honest with her. If Sleeping Beauty had known that there was a spell cast upon her and to not prick her finger on a spinning wheel, she wouldn't have done it. Also, the one thing that the parents tried so hard to not have happen, happened! It was part of her story the entire time. The parents couldn't prevent it, the fairies couldn't prevent it, it was destined to happen. Was it unfair? YES! TOTALLY! I mean.... who wants that kind of curse put on them? But, what we need to remember is that it all ended up alright in the end! Sleeping Beauty was able get some beauty sleep, as well as the entire kingdom and the Prince was able to fight off the evil Maleficent and find his one true love! Sleeping Beauty ended up winning in the end! What's the lesson here? Sometimes the one thing we are afraid of happening, could end up being the one thing that could save us and give us our own strength and one of several, Happily Every Afters.

     Take the very well known, Cinderella for instance. She was a lovely girl. She lived her life with grace, poise, kindness and heart.  She rarely got angry and would keep to herself when she knew she didn't want to interact with the evilness around her. She did her jobs that her stepmother and stepsisters left for her and she always kept dreaming and hoping that one day her life would be something different. I admire Cinderella. She could have easily ran away or found ways to get back at her stepfamily through hatred and violence, but she didn't. I think deep down somewhere, she knew that one day karma would come back to bite them all. When Cinderella found out that she couldn't go to the ball and the gown she had made was tattered and ruined by her evil stepfamily she was rewarded for good behavior by her Fairy Godmother. Because she always remained true to herself, then the Prince was able to see only her when she went to the ball. She left such an impact on him, that he made it his purpose to find her. After the ball and the whole "losing her shoe" fiasco Cinderella remained cool, calm and collected. She trusted that everything would all turn out alright. She had no idea that the Prince was going to find her, or that she would have the opportunity to speak her truth with her family and kingdom. Cinderella, still was brave enough to bypass her fears and allow her stepmother to lock her in that room when the Prince came by to find her. Cinderella didn't know what was to come, she just kept going on her path and sooner or later the truth was revealed. The Prince married her and she found her Happily Ever After and karma did, in fact, come back to bite her evil stepmother and stepsisters. What's the lesson here?  When you keep a kind heart and a true spirit you allow good karma to come your way. It's easier for a bright light to overpower darkness. Stay in the light and allow the darkness around you dissipate on its own.

      Our blank page doesn't stay blank for long. We start to add feelings and emotions and thoughts and opinions to our story. We create dramas and comedies and thrillers to our repertoire. We become more in touch humans that lead fascinating lives through every twist and turn of our story. So, why did I want to share this post with you? Well, I have recently added a new idea to my blank page and the idea is this, always be yourself, no matter what. Do not allow others to dictate how you should talk with others or how you should live your life. If you are feeling wonderful then feel wonderful, if you are feeling mad, then feel mad, if you are feeling lost, then allow yourself to feel lost. Sooner or later your feelings with change and you will move on to another one. We are always growing, always learning and always evolving into the Happily Ever Afters that we all want to be. Bottom line, don't be afraid to be your authentic self and to live a FULL life. Don't be kept in the dark about a spinning wheel and if you do find that spinning wheel, don't be afraid to prick your finger. Allow yourself to have kindness and courage like Cinderella and approach the negativity around you with an open heart. Sooner or later the truth will be revealed and the slipper will fit your foot. Trust in your story. It will always come together in the end.