Guys — I don’t know about y’all but my New Years turned out A LOT different than I had expected… Originally planned, Sav and I were going to take our cute pics, sip on some champagne, and then potentially hit up a restaurant for a casual drink. I truly had planned driving home and being in bed before midnight. I was WRONG!!
Let’s just say, a glass of champagne turned into three glasses and then a couple shots of Patron {oops}.
That also meant an Uber ride, and no driving home… Ever since one of my good friends died from being hit by a drunk driver, it makes me cringe thinking about people who are so selfish to put their life and other’s at risk.
Anyways — We started our night by getting ready and jamming to music. We then went to some party that someone from her high school was throwing; however, we didn’t even last an hour there {and I also think I spent the majority of that time talking to the guy’s mom about her hurt knee and physical therapy… If you’re on Hinge, my answer to that one question “where you’ll find me at the party” is most likely with the parents lol}. Then we got one more drink and made our way to some local bar by the name of Tipsy Goat.
Now, I have heard a lot about this bar, and honestly because I have heard so much about it, I expected to see TONS of people there that I knew… I didn’t!! Sav’s boyfriend’s friend “got a table,” and because it was very pub-like, the table consisted of a tall bar table with two bar stools. Also, as good as I am at third wheeling, before I knew it, I was chatting away with some other people and then making my way onto the dance floor.
Dad, you’d be proud to know that I was showing EVERYBODY your dance moves. I was doing the cotton-swab, the sprinkler, the disco, etc. NO SHAME OVER HERE.
Also — Because I know people are thinking this and wanting to ask {due to people straight up texting me and asking me}, NO KISS AT MIDNIGHT EITHER.
Long story short though, I had an incredible night that ended with some yummy cookies and the best feeling ever: taking my contacts out, taking my pants off, and getting into bed. It was also neat randomly running into a few people that told me they read my blog and “loved the content I was putting out” and “love what [I] post about.”
Ceilidh, if you’re reading this because I know you kept saying “I can’t wait to read your post tomorrow about tonight,” sorry I don’t post on Tuesdays hehe BUT I’m posting now!!
Now — The main reason for my post was to share some of my New Years Resolutions… Usually I am THE WORST at following through on them {and they’re truly unattainable like when I say I want to look like a Victoria’s Secret Angel}, but THIS IS MY YEAR. This is the year that I am truly going to focus more on keeping myself accountable. Please feel free to share your resolutions with me by reaching out, because I absolutely love supporting each one of y’all like you have supported me.
NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS:
FIND LOVE:
Now, I’m not talking about the kinda love you need to find in another person. This is NOT my way of saying I need {or want a boyfriend}, because I’m honestly trusting God’s plan when it comes to that. Also as annoying as it is to listen to my family during the holidays ask why I’m the ONLY kid {of five} that isn’t in a relationship, I’m talking about finding love within in myself. With social media these days, I have been a victim of judgement. I have labeled other people, and I have put a label on myself. I see feeds of people who are tan, skinny, traveling the world, in love, eating incredible food {but still not gaining weight}, etc. and as a result, I always catch myself thinking “I want to be them.”
Why is it we want to be someone we’re not? Why is it we always want to do something we can’t? Social media has engrained {for the most part} unrealistic exceptions into our heads.
This year, I have been SOOOO extremely hard on myself. I have told myself I am not good enough for love and that’s why I always get treated like s**t by dudes. I have told myself I am literally a walking ball of cellulite. I have told myself so many negatives; however, I feel as though it is human to push away all of the positives…
Our bodies have been with us through DAY ONE!! Be grateful. Be thankful. You’re fortunate. Although I am unhappy with where my body is at currently, I also have to think about the fact that when I went to Italy I would MUCHHHH rather eat Italian pasta and a glass of wine than a plate of leaves and water. I was also a college student; every once in a while, I liked to go out and have a good time AND although we wouldn’t like it to be true, alcohol has a lot of calories. Not to mention, I hate the taste of alcohol, so if I’m at a bar, then I’m most likely going to get a sugary drink to mask the taste. It’s just all about balance.
I know it’s possible to kick my booty into shape. Going into sophomore year of college {freshman year I’ll be honest… I gained about thirty pounds}, I got a trainer and worked out two to three times a day.
This is my year to focus on myself and make myself happy. I want to love myself. I need to appreciate where I am at in my life. I want to love the skin I’m in. I want to love the job I end up getting {the search is another story}. I want to love more about myself. If another kinda love {like a guy} comes into my life when I’m finding my own self love THEN that’s a chapter we’ll just have to write when we get there.
BE BETTER:
Now honestly this kind of relates to what I said above; however, I’m going to do a my best to elaborate on how I want to be better. Soooooo here it goes… I want to:
Be better at loving myself: After reflecting on all of 2018, there were a lot of tests that were placed before me and a lot of doubt. God put a guy who I had once loved back into my life to tug on my heart strings a lil bit more {but ultimately he blocked me on social media hahah so don’t worry, he’s nothing but the past at this point} and God also felt like putting the one guy I had feelings for in Europe back in my life. After not hearing from this man for almost a year, I received a DM {that was practically a novel} on insta. I think a lot of the times, girl’s love the attention they get from certain people and it’s what makes them feel safe and // or wanted. I have talked with some girls within the past few weeks {my best friends and even some girls I met just on new years} and that always seems to be the case. Personally, I think it’s time to focus on loving myself before I start worrying about another person.
Be better in the health department: Many of y’all already know this but for those of you who don’t, I am technically supposed to be dairy and gluten free {or else I get bad rashes and stomach issues}. Going into 2018 I told myself that I was going to actually cut that crap out of my diet; however, there were times I was faced with pressures because all my friends are literal twigs and can eat whatever, whenever. A stop at Susie Cakes because “we deserve it?” Count me in. Pizza because it’s “quick and easy and we don’t need to cook?” Sure, why not? I gave in to so many foods that I shouldn’t have eaten and it REALLY took a toll on my body this year. There was also a point of 2018 that I got into a funk and stopped “having the time” to workout but in reality, I procrastinated EVERY DANG DAY for maybe two hours and just watched Netflix or something. I’m now going to utilize my “procrastinating time” to go to yoga, a spin class, Barry’s Bootcamp, or even my trainer {shoutout John Blanks}. I am DETERMINED. I will eat healthy, workout, and take care of my body; but I will also treat myself to a glass of wine every once in a while.
Be better spiritually: Honestly, I truly only relied on the man above when I was feeling doubt. Ever since I lost my friend a couple years ago, I put a TON of blame on Him because I didn’t know the reasoning and it got really hard for me when I would go to church. I felt a lot of doubt and therefore put my bible in my bedside table for the longest time. I think in many cases {like my own} when were upset or feeling extraordinarily sad, we place blame on ourselves and // or Him; however, we never take the time to thank him for the wonderful lives we live. We have eyes that enable us to read posts like these, we have a heartbeat, we have roofs over our heads, we have so many things we just take for granted. We owe it ALL to Him.
SAY YES:
Lots and lots of opportunities arise when you say “yes” and I also feel as though saying “yes” leads to a more spontaneous life that is full of excitement and adventure. Ever since I lived in Europe for almost eight months, I have wanted to do EVERYTHING except be stationary. My life is a constant yearning for exploration.
With that being said, I am so excited because this year is starting with a journey that I get to plan: my road trip from Texas to California. In just two weeks, I am going to fly out to Texas to finish packing up all my stuff, say my last goodbyes, and embark on a fun road trip that my parents are going to fly out for. I have a couple stops in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona already planned out and if you wanna basically join in on the fun, make sure you’re following my insta-g and YouTube. I {of course} am going to be posting stories of ENTIRE drive back as well as creating a vlog.
Another thing I have been fortunate enough to do this year is blog more and work with some amazing companies. I have worked with beauty and cosmetic companies, clothing companies, pop up museums, etc. and I have recently been receiving emails with blogger event invitations which is SO DANG COOL. I can't wait for the collaborations and working opportunities of 2019 to arise.
Once I officially get myself settled in California, it is a goal of mine to say “yes” to more opportunities.
CREATE MORE:
This one is super important to me because I feel as though some days I just hit a wall and I want to do nothing except lay in bed with my pups and watch a movie or watch some vlogs on YouTube for inspiration. Growing up, my parents {and I} ALWAYS knew my brother and I needed a creative outlet and honestly I think this whole blogging thing has been helping me out a lot.
Social media is taking over. Businesses are relying on social media as a means of marketing and advertising. Social media allows people to express and display their creativity. I use social media {i.e. Instagram, blogging, Facebook, YouTube, etc.} as a way to express myself in different forms. Text. Photographs. Videos. Social media has been an incredible outlet for myself and I cannot wait to utilize it more and to share more content with y’all!!
Alsooooo if y’all have anything in particular you would like to see, please please pleaseeee hit me up!! This year I have some BIG plans for my blog and social media platforms.
ENCOURAGE OTHERS:
As sad as it is to admit, our world is sooooo full of negativity and judgement and I think it’s time to change that. Although I cannot change what other people do, I can do so more on a personal level and encourage others to spread love and positivity.
One thing I absolutely loved doing this year was text a few girls younger than myself some inspirational quotes I found on Pinterest every day for a whole month. I would’ve never thought that by me just posting a story to Instagram would lead to girls I don’t even speak to asking me to send them quotes and ultimately open up about themselves and their doubts. I was then able to help motivate them and spread my own words of wisdom {that I most likely learned from my parents or my own experiences}.
Also, another thing I found out works well is commenting on other people’s photos they post. If you don’t know them, well… SO WHAT?! Personally, I get a rush of feelings when girls comment on my post “this is the cutest photo,” “omg I’m obsessed with your jacket,” “you’re so pretty,” etc. and I know that I’m not the only one who likes to be complimented {lol}.
Encourage other people’s dreams and do whatever you can to help them reach them.
LEAVE THE PAST IN THE PAST:
Those stupid boys {or girls} who played with your heart strings and strung you along… Yeah, keep them in 2018 {or in my case, in 2016}.
The class you were taking that you were hoping would ultimately raise your GPA but didn’t… Thank your teacher for the experience and the learning BUT as long as you didn’t fail it and don’t need to take it again {which has happened to me before}, that grade is sooooo 2018.
Friendships you thought were going to last a lifetime but ended up only being one sided… You deserve more and should leave them in 2018. If there is a time they reach out to rekindle the friendship, by all means give it a go BUT friendship {and love} is a two way street so it requires effort from both sides.
The past is the past and you can’t change that; however, whatever steps now can change your future. Choose what to leave behind and focus on what’s in front of you because this year could be the year of your life!!
2019 I AM SO FREAKIN READY FOR YOU!!
Xoxo V
