2018SO much happens in the course of a year and it's crazy to look back. Most of us start the new year making plans, setting goals, dreaming of new things. Some individuals meet and exceed the goals they set for themselves and others... forget what they even said they'd do by week two. That's life. That's the beauty of the "New Year, New Me" concept. As cliche as it is ... we all do it (or have done it) and it will be something that will probably continue as the years go by (and there's nothing wrong with it). I honestly fall in the category of "forgetting what I said I was going to achieve by week 2" but only because this year as bad as it sounds... I didn't set any real goals for myself. Why? Because I really wanted to focus on living in the now. I wanted to go with the flow and see where life took me. I wanted to live my life out in a serendipitous way. serendipity: the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. A fortunate accident. Did it work out for me? Yes. I feel like a better version of myself a healthier (mentally not physically haha), happier, version of Alondra. I needed this year. I needed this year to fall in love with the same person and have my heart broken again to learn that he wasn't for me. I needed this year to realize just how passionate I am about writing and being there for others. I needed this year to appreciate my family and friends and the quality of my alone time. I needed this year to step back and focus on the little things. The problem I have with setting expectations for a New Year ... is that unexpected things happen all year round. One of my favorite life quotes is: "Want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans" or in a flight attendant scenario: "Want to get rerouted, make plans for your layover" I am aware that not everyone likes to live such an unstructured life, trust me, it's not for everyone. But this was my 2018 and I wouldn't have wanted it to go any other way (except maybe added more pleasure travel to my year but that'll come this new year). One thing I did secretly want in 2018 was to find love. I was very fortunate to have my wish granted.. my nephew Matteo has been one of the greatest blessings in my life this year. There's no greater love than the love of a tiny human. So thank you to my sister and Jona for giving life to the person I never knew I needed. P.S. I'M SERIOUSLY CONSIDERING GOING TO URUGUAY TO STEAL HIM (how dare his parents take him away on vacation without me!) For 2019 I again do not plan to write out a list of goals. I do however have a few things I want to do before 2020 comes (OMG 2020, WRITING THAT OUT JUST LOOKS BIZARE) woah, woah.... 2018 set the foundation for me personally and now 2019 should be the year to focus more on the professional side. No rules. No games. Just dream it and go. (that's my mantra). Needless to say 2019, this Modern Woman is ready for ya. but even if I wasn't ... it's coming for me. HA I hope you all had an amazing year. Sending lots of positivity for the start of this new one.
However let's not forget that the new year comes only once a year... but we ALWAYS get a new day. I believe that taking advantage of the new day is a hell of a lot more valuable than waiting on the new year. Love always, A
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Grateful,Thankful,Happy.I woke up today... let's start with that sentence: I woke up today.... and for that I am grateful. I can't tell you how many days I've woken up grumpy for whatever reason. But not today, today I woke up feeling grateful, thankful, and happy.
What was different about today than any other morning? Well probably the fact that I didn't have to wake up at 4am haha. On a more serious note this morning I realized that I should ALWAYS aim to wake up grateful, thankful, and happy.. for the simple fact that I WOKE UP, I am ALIVE, I am HEALTHY, I am .. HERE, I have a purpose. Also, it's also safe to say that the holidays usually bring the best in others. Let's not forget the best part of it all........ the Christmas Lights surrounding the cities and !!!!CHRISTMAS MUSIC!!!!!! ---------------------------------------- Growing up every Thanksgiving dinner my mom would force our family to go around the table and say something that we were thankful for. I remember always being so annoyed by this. I'd always say some dumb thing like "I'm thankful for my phone" ... now I realize just how important giving thanks is and not just on the holidays but everyday. Not everyone is as blessed as I was to grow up in a loving huge hispanic family. I didn't grow up rich but I grew up rich in values/morals ... and I have my parents to thank for that. Last year I was a bit sentimental about not being able to spend the holidays with my family but I was lucky enough to have my adoptive Minnesota family take me in their home (P.S. Miss you Angie). This year I was lucky enough to spend Thanksgiving *working* in a city that my family lives in so I got the best of both worlds; holiday pay and a fun family meal. Being a Flight Attendant has made me appreciate family/friend time sooo much more. The little things that didn't matter before make all the difference now. If I could travel back in time I'd tell baby Alondra to appreciate being able to spend the holidays at home with mom and dad... because things change. But theirs no time machine ... time only moves forward ... and it goes by FAST.. so instead I'm telling simi-adult Alondra to live in the now and appreciate the little and big moments. The sad and the happy days... and to be grateful no matter what. ---------------------------------------- I pride myself in having an amazing immune system ... I only get sick once a year. Unfortunately, that once a year sickness happened right after Thanksgiving and boy did it hit me HARD. To top it off... I still showed up to work (voiceless and all). Why do I bring this up? Well because it is only when we are sick that we realize just how important our health is. It's truly a blessing to have good health. Not everyone is that lucky. What's my point here? I'm not sure... I am just so freakin' grateful that I am healthy and that my family is healthy, because without health we have nothing. If you find yourself constantly waking up grumpy... just: Open your eyes and be grateful that you can see. Play some Christmas music and be grateful you can hear. Go to McDonald's and order some French Fries and be grateful that you can smell. Hug your mom and be grateful that you can touch! It's the little things. Be grateful about the little things and big things will come. ---------------------------------------- Also, I failed miserably at not having social media. New post about that will come soon after this one. In the meantime .... THANKU for reading. I am GRATEFUL for you. I know I've said the word "grateful" about a million times on this post. But that is truly how I feel. Blame the holidays, blame my Christmas music... or just blame the fact that I choose to be happy. I hope you're out somewhere feeling just as I do or even BETTER. Tis the season of love and happiness. Love, A PS. I cannot believe 2018 is almost over!!!!! UNFILTEREDI am trying to think of a time where social media wasn't taking over my life ... but I honestly cannot remember a time before it. It all started with the silly AOL chat rooms ... and making perverted old men think I was somehow this 17year old girl (still not old enough to be acceptable...) but I was 13 and dumb so 17 was "old enough" in my eyes. Old enough for what you may ask? Not sure, just old enough. Many of these AOL conversations were cut short thanks to my momma who ALWAYS had to call my tias to have hour long conversations. Thinking about it now, those conversations probably saved my life. Soon after AOL died and using an avatar as a profile picture was no longer cool things progressed to an even better platform MYSPACE. Who could forget those great old myspace days. Spending HOURS picking the perfect background, with the perfect song, all while choosing your top 4 friends for the week, instead of doing homework. Looking back I think Myspace was one of the greatest social media platforms because in a way it taught us about coding. You know the whole <p>pink<p> stuff?<p></pink><p> (see what I did there? haha) Somehow Myspace was too much or not enough because eventually Facebook made an appearance. I remember when I first logged onto Facebook, it was all so simple. No top 5? No background? .... what's the point?! In the blink of an eye facebook took over and Myspace became a thing of the past, kinda like casset players. I'm kinda shocked facebook is still going strong ... but I guess we can thank our grandparents for that one. ------------------------------------- I am not a morning person but the other day I woke up well rested around 8am.. and I thought "it's a beautiful day to go out and do something"... so I did what I do best and picked up my phone and started living vicariously through the posts of strangers/friends I follow on social media. Around 11a.m. I thought wow, where has my morning gone?! ------------------------------------- Honestly, I am ashamed. When did I become so dependent on posting something everyday? When did I become so invested in someone else's life whom I've never even met. A day without social media?, yeah nope, that's never crossed my mind. That is when I discovered ... I WAS ADDICTED to social media. (self diagnosed). I could have easily gotten up, made breakfast, gone on a run, wrote a blog post, started a new book. Instead I chose to spend my morning using my thumb to scroll while alternating through different apps. I realized that I was my own worst enemy. The way I choose to invest my time is the way I am choosing to shape my life... and um, while there are people making a living out of social media... I am not part of that percentage so I have to invest my time in a more fulfilling form. Not sure how I got to this point.. but I know change was needed. At least a small change because usually any sorta change is good. ------------------------------------------ If you're on the same boat as me.. starting to feel stagnant in life.. don't get too comfortable. !!Shake things up!!! You don't have to go rouge like me and delete all of your social apps.. but definitely try to do something different. Start on that project you deem impossible. Search for people who have similar goals as yours (or just goals). Just get up and go... or if you're in a good place in life where you feel like social media isn't COMPLETELY taking over your life.. I still strongly encourage you take a break from it. It feels so nice to be disconnected from the social world to be able to socialize in the REALWORLD. Not that you can't do both. I've been feeling a bit encouraged to start focusing on a passion of mine that I've always put to the side because I don't fully believe in myself. So here I am... in a writing class with a group of people who share similar goals as mine and besides the noise coming from everyone's keyboards, it is quiet, and I feel in my element. ------------------------------------- PS. It's been a whole week since I've deleted all of my apps and I won't lie... I do kinda miss socializing online.. but that's another post to write ;) Somehow this "Travelblog" turned into a life column about my terrible dating life experiences and feelings... so I'm terribly sorry for those of you who started reading my blog for the purpose of my travel stories. I'll add a travel story to the mix soon. Till then, THANKYOU for reading THANKYOU THANKYOU... Love always, A also, !!HAPPYBIRTHDAY!! to my babysister who faithfully reads my posts. I love you, I am proud of you, you are the most kind hearted, hard working, talented ...etc etc baby sister in the entire world. You inspire me. I love you. BRB |
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