Tag Archives: Explore

The Best is Yet to Come

August 22, 2011 3:16 pm ,
orgasm

The Little Things

If you haven’t noticed, I find myself asking, “What does it all mean?” a lot lately. Part of me thinks that there no meaning, and that we have the ability to make life what we want it to be for us. That is an important part. You can miss out on life when you become uber obsessed with what’s right, best, or perfect. A lot of the time you wont feel a magical fate, sense a perfect destiny, or hear a clear voice of God. In those times, you have to make the best decision you can based on the knowledge and wisdom you have.

Then there are those times when everything makes sense and you know there is for sure something bigger that hears you, sees you, and knows you. Like when you say a little prayer that your loaner car will be an off-white convertible with a black top just because that’s what you want and then . . . that’s exactly what you get. Or when you’ve been coveting NARS nail polish in Orgasm (color not sexual experience) and the really fun, gay sales guy at Sephora hands you one for free. Or when you think to yourself, ‘God, I need a massage, “and walk into your gym and it just happens to be Free 15 Minute Massage Day. While these are silly little nothings . . .  they were things that I wanted, that came true, without me saying a word. There are more meaningful signs, of course. . .

But that was just this week.

And for me, it was enough to remind me that there is something bigger, that the Universe hasn’t forgotten about me, that there is a plan, and that maybe, just maybe the parts of my current life that don’t make sense to me now, probably will someday.

Who else would know I wanted an off-white Mini convertible for the weekend or NARS nail color in Orgasm??

Life lesson of today:  You may not see the bigger picture right now, but there is one. You aren’t just a random piece of flesh floating around. He hears us in the big things and the little things.

You are special, important and lovely and there is so much more in store for you. The best is yet to come.

XO,

Amanda

Posted in: Life According To Me, Life Lessons, Quarter Life Crisis, Self-Love, Uncategorized , Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Travel – Five Lessons in Contentment Learned in Europe

July 3, 2011 7:20 pm ,
a-cute-girl-on-bike-300x198


I am slightly obsessed with traveling.


I went to Europe for the first time last summer, and quickly fell in love. I tried to travel with a group, but found that I preferred the freedom of traveling alone, quickly moving from city to city yet wandering slowly through each one. When I travel, I don’t think about my emails to check, my errands to run – I am in the present moment. In Europe I learned to roam, without a map, down narrow streets various stones, marbles, and brick while gazing upon the ornate architecture of the classical, renaissance, and baroque periods. When I travel, I move as I wish, I sit as a wish, I stop to write or take pictures only when I feel like it – I am free. My decision making process is nothing more than asking myself if I am really ready to leave or if I would like to stay, and deciding. I trust my intuition – I lead with my heart and I find myself meeting those that I feel I was supposed to meet and discovering places I feel I was supposed to discover.

I trust myself.

And trust me, I work to incorporate these mentalities into my daily life.

However, yesterday I got to rediscover World Traveler Amanda. I found myself on the most perfect short stay in Germany on the way to Israel. I exited the plane, took a train and attempted to wander. My plan to explore, discover and enjoy. However, as I tried to do these things, found it was difficult to sit still, to relax, to get lost in the beauty  – I found myself worrying about where I would go next, how long I would stay, and what I would miss if I made the wrong turns.

Thankfully, if you focus only on the good in the present moment, you can ALWAYS relax. As I breathed in the culture, I breathed out my distress. As I looked around, I thought more about what I saw and less about what I needed to see.  As I asked locals questions, I cared more experiencing their culture and felt less caught up in the fast paced mentalities of my home. As I moved around, I was only aware what there was to experience right there and less about what I could experience if I went somewhere else. As I sat and ate, I let go of the errands and emails. I decided it was okay if I missed the living social deal or didn’t return those forever 21 shorts in time to get a smaller size. I sipped espresso. I ate gelato. I relaxed. As I moved and sat and slept and prayed, I found myself again – I am just a girl who wants to see the world. And for me, that doesn’t mean show up and take a picture and leave, I have to take it all in. As I came into my back-packing, low-maintenance, traveling self again, I recognized me and quickly I remembered all I had learned the first time I traveled alone so far away.

You don’t have to be in Europe for this to get present and relax.

 

In the spirit of finding yourself, enjoying your life, and learning as you go. . .

Five lessons I learned in Europe that will bring contentment to your life:

 

{one} Eat slowly. In Europe, dinner can take up to three hours. You have to ask for your check. You sip wine every meal. You taste every single bite of food. You delight in the food, the scenery, the conversation. Slow down, breathe deeply, relax :).

{two}  Enjoy everything. I think sometimes in my busy life, I look around, but I don’t see anything. Here, the culture is one of enjoying yourself. People watching, wine sipping, picnicking, strolling, and doing nothing are all acceptable pass-times. Yes, I said it: it’s okay to do absolutely nothing. In fact I think it’s quite possible to find a great deal of peace when you accept yourself, your worth, and your life while doing absolutely nothing. There is contentment to be found in the space between the busy moments.

{three} The world is good. There is only one language – and it’s not English. While traveling, I am amazed at the kindness of people. The automatic knowing of I-take-a-picture-for-you-you-take-a-picture-for-me custom, of no-I don’t-speak-English-but-that-guy-does assistance, the hey-you-dropped-your-sweater-here-you-go mentality. Every city I’m in, I have a thousand and one experiences with someone without exchanging words. I find myself believing that humans are innately good after all.

{four} Move. Use your legs to get where you need to go as often as you can. Walk across the parking lot instead of drive, walk the block, walk while catching up with a friend, bike to work, etc. It slows you down, helps you relax, and increases your overall health.

  • ((On a side-note: If you walk/bike everywhere, you can live on gelato, pasta, wine, and espresso and not get fat. Okay so I kind of am lying, I also ate some fruit, but I am telling you, I was in Italy a month, I ate tons of the above, I walked every day, I only worked out 3 times the entire month and I LOST 3 Pounds. We can only do so much about our packaged foods and dependency on cars so I’ll just say the principal is: exercise + fresh food = healthy.))

{five} You deserve it. It’s so funny that when I tell Europeans my love and aspirations for traveling the overwhelming reaction is, “Good for you! See the world!!” In America, I regularly get responses along the lines of: “When will you start your career? What about having kids?  What about your responsibilities? What is it you do for a living again?” Let’s not let the mentalities of others stop us from doing the things we love. I believe there are plenty of time to add more responsibility to my life, right now I consider it my job to fulfill my dreams :)

 

 

 

Love your life. Follow your heart. Dream. (And in my opinion) Travel.

Wishing you the best in your journey.

Xo,

Amanda

 

Posted in: Life Lessons, Self-Love, Travel Tuesday , Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

If You Can Dream It. . .

June 28, 2011 3:18 pm ,
yourgonnamakeit

I am embarking on another world-traveling journey this week – to Israel. It is my heart and deepest desire to travel the world. Because of this, it felt appropriate to reflect on how far I’ve come. I added some posts from the distant painful past to the bottom of the page, but thought I would insert this one right at the top. It’s interesting to me when I need a reminder of my own already-learned-life-lessons. While it’s a little idealistic for how I think now, I needed it today. I hope it blesses you a little too.


SATURDAY, JUNE 5, 2010

 

My mom always told me that I could grow up to be anything I wanted to be. So, of course, when I was three, I either wanted to be a singer, a painter, a writer, or an actress. Or maybe I could be all of those things. As I grew up, I decided I wanted to be lots of other really fun things… like a princess, a cheerleader, a journalist, a psychologist, etc. I believed I could be and do anything and everything. Walt Disney told me so. Vacation Bible School at the Baptist Church told me so. My mom told me so. And I believed it.


 

Years later, I was convinced that this was not the case. I was told that moms were wrong when they told their kids that and that actually, moms should tell their kids that they could be what God [this person really meant himself speaking for God] wanted them to be, and they would not like it, it would be really hard, it would not be fun, but they would be blessed for it. So . . . some kids I know gave up their dreams and did the things that  this person who plays God told them to do. . . I was one of those kids. . .

That was the past. And this isn’t about hating on someone else’s life. But for me, with this type of worldview, life became messy, disappointing, and downright boring. I was miserable following someone else’s version of “right”.

It took me a while, but I finally figured out that this person had it all wrong. It occurred to me that maybe the things I long for – are the things I am made for. Maybe what I love to do – are the thing I was created to do. Maybe the career that brings passion and purpose to my heart – is the career that I will use to show love and hope to people.  What if the dreams that are dreamt without trying – those are how I will influence this world? What if desires are a safe-guide? What if God is in the middle of my dreams, not void of them. Maybe I’m lucky to have a passion and maybe the things that burn within me, are what I was made for. I decided that for me, these ideas are true.

I love to look at the dreamers around me. When my man-friend, Drew, conducts research about work place and school motivation and other really intelligent things he lights up. Have you seen my little sister run? You can’t tell me the girl hasn’t found something she was made for. We can do the things we want to do. We can grow up to be the things we want to be. We can make the portion of the world we have influence in better by loving our lives (Love my life = LML) and living big and following our hearts. My goal is to live a life I absolutely love. I get to create it – so I’m going to create it the way I want it. Life is hard most days, but that’s just part of it. Living takes work . . . might as well make the work, worth it. I am proof that dreams come true. From getting out of a controlling and abusive lifestyle, to finishing my bachelors degree in two years, to getting into grad school, and going to Europe. . . I believe in me.

I am not on a flight to Europe right now because I am wealthy, or lucky, or special –  I am a girl who follows her heart the best she can. I prayed and had faith: in myself, in God, and in my dreams. I don’t how much it matters that you call it God, destiny, the universe, etc. I all I know is that there is something looking out for me and that dreams can come true. I had to research, schedule, plan, and work things out – I had to do my part, but something was on my side.

Destiny might not be obvious every day. Sometimes it seems like God or life has a different plan then you did. All I know is that for me, on this day, destiny prevailed. I sat in an IHOP in Orlando three years ago and made a checklist with several European cities on it and called it Mission Dream BIG and now my uncle has so generously given me his frequent flier miles. I had just enough to get to Europe. A few semesters ago I sat in the Language Lab at school and watched videos about French culture each day after class and now I’ll be in Paris in a few hours. A few months ago I only got into one of my top 3 graduate school programs. That program only has two international classes a year and now the class which is held at NYU Florence and starts the same day my tour of Europe ends. It ends one hour away from where the class starts. Three hours before it starts. When I booked the tour, I had no idea SMU would let me start a term early. It’s not coincidental or accidental. It’s fate. I don’t have it all figured out, but I know that there is something to dreaming and doing so without limits.

Let your heart go wild.

Something inside me keeps saying, if you can dream it, you can do it.

 

 

Xo,

Amanda

 

 

Posted in: Life Lessons, Self-Love, travel , Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,