5 Things This Year Taught Me
- Jaye Marie
- Dec 15, 2017
- 5 min read
I could not be more excited and relieved to have finished this semester. This entire year has been filled with so many accomplishments, experiences, and lessons. This marks my first full year of being away from home, and although I miss home a lot I could not be happier with where I am in my life right now. I know we still have a few more weeks left until the new year, but I thought I should get a head start and write about the 5 things this year has taught me.
1. Do more of what makes you happy: With school being very important to me, I sometimes find it hard for myself to not focus on the other things that are just as important to me. It's great that I can have that much focus and determination for my studies, but as a human, I also shouldn't deprive myself of the other things I love. Doing more of the things you love makes you feel more fulfilled and motivated. I've noticed when I shift all of my focus to just school I am motivated for only a short period of time because I'm draining myself, but when I focus on school and also focus on my blog, fashion, and all of that other good stuff I find myself to be more creative and innovative. When I started doing blog posts with TREND (my school's fashion club) I fell in love with blogging, but most importantly it reminded me of how much I love fashion. I saw myself becoming more creative and I knew that with how happy blogging was making me I had to make it a part of my life forever.
2. Having "me time" is important: To me, it's important to plan time during the week to have to myself, whether it's 30 minutes or a whole day. Doing so not only allows me to give myself love, but it can help me focus on my mental health. Being with friends and family is great and essential to living a happy life, but so is having time with yourself. It's so relaxing to be with you and your thoughts, and I've found it helps you get a better understanding of who you are. It also gives you a chance to experience life. Having time with yourself can look different for everyone, for example, my "me time" was a few days ago up at Mount Lemmon to view the sunset. Prior to this year I always thought it was weird to do things by yourself, and I would constantly want to have someone there with me. Then I decided after a busy week of school and work I needed time to detox and recharge in order to conquer another week. Schedule time (even if it's the tiniest bit) during the week to just be with yourself and feel the difference. I promise you, you will feel like you got a hold of your sanity.
3. "You'll never know until you try": This is a saying we've all heard I'm sure of, but it wasn't until earlier this year that I actually applied into my life. I definitely over think just about every scenario possible, and sometimes it's to the point where I get a little anxiety. I'll admit, I'm still working on it, but something that has helped me when I begin to overthink (or even when I'm feeling doubtful) is to take a moment and remind myself "you'll never know until you try". This saying is so true, it's crazy. A lot of the times we are so scared of what we THINK will happen. This leads us to not want to do something out of fear we won't get what we desire. The way I look at it is, there's always a 50/50 chance. If things go in my favor and I get what I desire, then GREAT! But if things don't go the way I would have hoped, then at least I can go to bed at the end of the day knowing I tried. I never want to walk away from an opportunity, or a situation thinking "what if". We should never live in fear, especially when it comes to chasing our dreams. So we must always try.
4. Staying organized truly does clear your mind: As embarrassing as it may sound, I used to be probably the most disorganized person you would ever meet. I mean it. I would have important papers thrown in a random bin, my purse would be filled with receipts, and I would throw random stuff under my bed. Even on my computer, I would have just tons of random files on my desktop scattered all over the place. I was a mess, and I cringe thinking about all of that. It was definitely something I had to work on (the organization in my car is still a work in progress) and my organization skills did not come overnight. I have never felt more focused, clear-minded, and at peace since staying organized. I make sure that I clean once a week (every Sunday) to maintain a clean space, and this is definitely important. If you go weeks without cleaning your room, home, or whatever it be, a mess is going to pile on. Trust me, been there, done that. I always write to-do lists every single day for everything I need to get done and would like to get done. I write some of the simplest tasks on my to-do list like "take out the trash" and "vacuum" because I know that if I write it down I'm going to get it done. Being organized has made me productive, happier, and goal driven. So my tip to you is, spend one day getting your space organized, and set one day of the week that you dedicate to tidying it up. Invest in bins, folders, and definitely a planner.
5. Work hard for what you want: I've been told this many times, but it definitely hasn't resonated with me until this year. I definitely think being surrounded by those who are goal driven has helped me truly see that hard work pays off. I have a lot of goals set for myself in my career, health, fitness, personal life, and doing my part to make the world a better place. I've always worked hard to get what I want, but this year has just been on another level. Sometimes all I want to do is lay in my bed and watch Netflix, but I know making that a daily routine isn't going to get me anywhere. It is definitely overwhelming at times (and I may have a meltdown... or 5), but it is SO rewarding to know I am in control of my life and I am working towards bettering it. Nothing worth having comes easy, which is why we have to put in the work now in order to get the rewards. I've told myself that throughout college it's important for me to focus on experiences that are going to benefit myself. In this past year I've done more than I could ever imagine, and I'm extremely thankful for all of it. I already have so much more planned for next year, and I absolutely can't wait to see what it brings.
Mt. Lemmon
Tucson, Arizona
December 13th, 2017
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