Life Chats

[Photo by Nathan Martell]

It’s the 1st of July and that means we are halfway through 2016.  Can you believe it?  It’s so crazy how time has this ability to move so quickly yet also stand still in certain moments.  I’ve been reflecting back on the goals that I set for myself at the beginning of the year and it’s been interesting to see how much I have accomplished so far and what I have still not yet tackled.  One thing that I stuck to was making this the year of many travels, both in and out of the U.S.  I kicked things off with Sweden, then went to Charleston, Chicago and in just two weeks I will be in London & Paris.  I would love to take at least one more big trip and one more small trip before the end of the year because I have no idea what 2017 has in store for me.  This Europe trip is one that I have been saving for over these last several months and it just makes me so happy that I have been able to bring this lifelong dream to an actual reality.  I honestly wasn’t sure if I could make it happen.  I plan to share more on the details of this trip next week and in the near future I think I might do a post on tips for saving money for travel. Let me know if you might be interested to read something like that. I’m always open for suggestions.

Another huge goal for me was to get back on track with my fitness and if I am being completely honest, it’s been this constant back and forth cycle for me this year.  There were a few moments when I was extremely unhappy with my body and it’s not easy for me to admit that.  I would work so hard and then let myself go and it just kept happening.  When I don’t feel good about myself it affects the way I think, it changes my mood and it makes me feel miserable.  I haven’t felt 100% confident in a swimsuit in a long time.  Yeah, I’ve worn them and have even taken some photos in them, but I never actually felt entirely comfortable and confident.  A few months back I set this goal that this would be the summer where I would change that.  It’s not just about looking good, it’s about feeling good.  When you feel good, then you feel confident and that shines through so much.  My fitness journey this year has definitely had a lot of detours, but I have truly been sticking to it lately.  I did several rounds of the 21DayFix program and realized that it was time for me to switch things up and try something new.  I was retaining a lot of water for some reason, which caused me to get super bloated for a month or so and I was not happy about it.  I weighed the most I ever have in my life.  My clothes were not fitting me.  It seemed that nothing I did made the bloating go away and I couldn’t figure it out.  I tried this 3 day refresh cleanse and lost 4.5lbs in those 3 days.  It was basically all water weight, but that’s exactly what I needed to lose.  After the cleanse, I felt super motivated and ready to continue with a healthier lifestyle.  I was more aware of the food that I was eating and learned to make more adjustments and substitutions for certain things. Now, I am doing a completely new workout program called BBG (bikini body guides) from Kayla Itsines and it is killer!! I just completed the first week and feel really good so far.  I’ve seen so many amazing transformations and I already see a huge difference in myself from before I started the cleanse until today. I WILL stick to this.  I WILL hold myself accountable. I know I mentioned doing fitness posts before and I never did, but I believe I have finally found what works for me and I plan to share more with you guys as I get further along into this.

I had hoped that by the end of the year I would already be living in NYC, but it’s clear that will not happen just yet and I’ve learned to accept that.  It’s still of course a goal of mine for the near future and when I say near future I mean 2017. It has to happen.  It will.  I’m just going to continue doing all that I can to bring that dream to life also.  I keep reminding myself that everything happens in its own time exactly when and how it is supposed to.  There is a reason that it has not happened for me yet and I believe that.  I just need to continue working on my patience.  It is a virtue that I often struggle with from time to time.  Another goal that I have somewhat slacked on is completing my TEFL [Teaching English As A Foreign Language] course.  I have until January to finish and I’ve got still got 4 modules to get through. I need to set some more time aside for this because it really is such an amazing opportunity that I would be able to use at any point in my life.  I am still very unclear about my future.  I don’t know if I will get married and have children.  I don’t really know what the next steps are going to be for me career wise or if I am meant to live in the NYC/Jersey area all my life.  There are still so many unanswered questions, as there should be, because none of us knows what tomorrow will bring or take away.

 For the remainder of the year, I plan to keep working on myself with the belief that everything will fall into place.  I will continue to work hard, set goals, and bring more dreams to life. While of course there will always be setbacks and failures, I won’t ever allow myself to give up and I will keep pushing through.  Onward and upward.  As always thanks for taking the time to read my personal thoughts and I hope you all have a great holiday weekend! <3