Blue Skies, Blog Friends, And Tags

July 20th 2017

Sometimes life presents you with people who challenge you to look within yourself and grow~

I have always found writing to be something incredibly cathartic. However, I never realized the writing could have given me the opportunity to connect with people I would have never met otherwise. To have the opportunity to exchange stories and insights with people from all around the globe, who are from all walks of life, is truly fantastic.

I would like to consider myself to be a bit of an introspective person who loves to share how I am feeling and learn about how others are feeling. I view sharing deep feelings and thoughts to be, in a way, like sharing part of your soul with another person.

I feel really lucky to have been given the opportunity to take some time self-exploring thanks to the lovely nomination from Journal of Dawn. Dawn has a beautiful outlook on life and some amazing stories, so I would totally recommend checking her out! Thanks again, Dawn!

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So this is the Blue Skies Tag and the rules are as follows:

1. Thank the person who has nominated you.
2. Answer their questions.
3. Create 11 questions for your nominees.
4. Tag your 11 nominees. (I really only know one person in the blogging community so I will be nominating her…sorry rules)

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So without further ado, here are Dawn’s questions:

1.Is your Life, today, half-empty, or half-full?

I am currently in a life situation that has been causing me a lot of anxiety and stress, and up until lately I would have probably said half-empty. However, I am a strong believer in the saying “what you believe is what you receive” so I have chosen to see my glass and my life to be completely full and awaiting an abundance of things I am waiting for.

2. How have you found goodness from the bad situations in your Life? Example, please :))

I always try to look for goodness in bad situations. I have lost a few friends over the course of college for a variety of reasons, however, I managed to find goodness. Instead of wallowing in the loss of a friend who was no longer serving me, and in many cases putting me down, I began to celebrate the fact that new people were entering my life and filling the spaces in my heart. I like to see every ending as a way of leaving room for a new beginning 🙂

3. Which relationships have been the most challenging for you, and what strategies have you created to improve them?

I think the number one most difficult relationship I’ve had the most trouble with is my relationship with myself. I feel like, if anyone has put me down the most, it has been me. I have created my own little strategies to improve that relationship though. My first strategy is to listen to myself. Communication with yourself is ultra important. Knowing what you want and how you’re feeling and expressing that to yourself really helps you stay mentally in check. I also have worked on positive self talk. I give myself pep talks in the car and whenever I put myself down I think to myself, “would I want anyone to talk to my best friend like this?” and if the answer is no then odds are, I shouldn’t be saying that stuff to myself either.

4. What causes you angst, and how do you overcome it?

Well I have anxiety, so a lot of things cause me angst.  Thinking of the future, thinking of the past, deliberately apathetic people, condescending people, people who rest their coffee cups on their laptops in bed, my current working situation, and so on and so on. I have found meditation to be a good angst squasher. Or just deep breathing and quiet (or gentle music). I also like to distract myself when I am angsty. Yoga is probably my number one go to anti-angst activity.

5. Have you ever written your own jokes???? Memorized them, and tried them out in a long, boring line at the Post Office . . . Did anyone chortle??? (ie — do you have a good joke ready for a sour circumstance :)) (I had a lot of fun writing my Cow Jokes.)

No, but I feel like this is a sign from the universe (and Dawn), that I should start, haha. I’m more of an “on the spot” humor person than a “I write my own jokes” kind of person. I feel like I’m funnier when I don’t try to be than when I do.

6. What challenges are you facing in your Life right now?

Right now, I feel at odds with my career. I just don’t feel like I am doing what I would really love to be doing and I am trying not to get discouraged because I’m only 22 and there are larger problems in the world and I have so much more life to live, but I’m just in a slump. I am also struggling with the whole “only 24 hours in a day” thing. Like I want to spend adequate time on my personal projects, my friends, my health, yoga, cleaning my room, earning money, making big moves towards a career I want, managing my long distance relationship, rehearsing for the show I am in, and a heaping list of other things…I just can’t find all the time.

7. What do you obsess over? How do you rein in your obsessions?

The past and the future, money, my success, things that haven’t happened yet, things that may not even happen ever…I obsess over a lot of super silly things. I try to rein in my obsessions by reading. I have been especially into personal growth books, but I am always down for a cool distracting story too. I also try to tell myself to stop being silly and to snap out of it. Also, yet again, meditating helps.

8. What strategies do you employ for stress relief?

It really seems like the answer to all my problems is meditating or yoga… yeah meditating and yoga. I also love writing (obviously, which is why I blog). I have journals dating all the way back to when I was in elementary school of just my thoughts and feelings and stories and dreams and plans. Writing helps me de-stress and get all of my thoughts in one place.

9.What other-wordly phenomena have you experienced? (Intuition, dreams, deja vu, ET, communication with lost loved ones, etc.) What have your learned from them?

My intuition is pretty great sometimes. I have even been told by some mediums (whether or not you choose to believe in them) that I have a strong connection to the universe and higher energy. I have also experienced a haunting which was really scary at the time but makes for a really awesome story now! I can’t name anything specific that I learned from either experience, but I guess all in all the experiences taught me that there is so much in life and death that we will never even fully understand, but it plays a large role in our lives every single day.

10. How do you make new friends, or strike up a conversation with a stranger?

I’m really shy, so talking to new people is incredibly nerve wracking for me. However, I like to start with a compliment. I feel like people are immediately more open and friendly which you take notice of something specific about them. Once I get talking, I am comfortable. I love talking about obscure topics and feelings. I am one of those “full disclosure” kind of people who will talk to anyone about anything.

11. What do you love to create? How do you motivate yourself to do more of what you love to do???

I love this question. I love to create anything and everything. I feel like the most beautiful gift we are given in life is our ability to create. I love to write and sing and take pictures and draw and color and decorate and express myself through clothing. I love to be creative and create as many new things as I can each day. I want to leave my legacy on the world. I stay motivated by reminding myself of the very reason I do the things I do, which is to better myself and leave a mark on the world in anyway I can. When I feel discouraged I always remind myself that my mark will be my mark.

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So now it is on to the tagging time! I tag my friend Devan to do this. Devan is one of my best friends and I would love to see her speak about some really hard hitting questions. I would also love to see your answers too, Dawn! I also tag anyone who is reading this who would like to answer these questions (and tag me so I see them!)

Now we are on to the hard hitting questions:

1. You have the chance to talk to your past self. You can’t change any decisions they will make, but you can tell them one thing you want them to know. What would you tell them and why?
2. What inspires you to write? When finding motivation or inspiration is hard, what do you do to reignite your creative spark?
3. If you wrote about book about your life, what would be the title of the chapter you are currently living? Explain 🙂
4. How do you feel you have changed within the last year? Where do you hope to see yourself within the next year?
5.  What is your most irrational fear and why? What is your most rational fear and why? (hittin’ you with that two part question)
6. If you could go back and relive one moment in your life, what moment would you relive and why?
7. What is the best book you’ve ever read? What made it stand out to you and why would you recommend to others?
8. What has been occupying your mind lately that you can’t seem to get out of your head?
9. Do you believe in the practice of manifestation? Do you believe that the energy you put into the universe cycles back to you? why or why not?
10. How do you handle feeling trapped in a certain circumstance or situation?
11. What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned from someone else? (It could be an inspiring quote, a valuable lesson, or a life changing skill, anything you want!)

So flex that blogging muscle and be honest! Looking forward to reading your answers!

Jess~

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