There are two camps when it comes to New Year's Resolutions. Either you love making them, or you don't.. I’m here to say, I LOVE resolutions. It doesn’t matter if we start making them at the beginning of the year or on a random Wednesday. Call me a hopeless optimist, but it takes courage to acknowledge a struggle and then try to change it.
Read moreMaking Choices
I woke up parched. Grabbed some water and look at the clock. It was 3:30 in the morning except this Thursday, I had nowhere to go. So why on earth was I awake at this ungodly hour? I spend the next few hours trying to sleep before grabbing Dom and heading to the pool deck for early morning water polo practice. I fully intended on crawling back into my comfy bed but driving back home I realized I had a choice. I could choose to be happy or at least complete one of my “happy tasks,” before 6:30am.
Read more#21DaystoHappiness
After watching Shawn Achor’s Tedx Talk on Happiness, I’ve been inspired to participate in his experiment. He has proven that in 21 days you can rewire your brain to be happier. As you know, it’s challenging for me to commit myself to a daily practice. But here I am, trying anyways.
The challenge is:
List 3 Gratitudes
Journal at least one positive experience a day
Exercise
Meditate
Give random acts of kindness
Day 1
Gratitudes
I’m thankful for my work. It allows me the freedom to live where I want. My business supports both me and my brother. I’m very lucky it’s thriving.
I’m thankful for my adoptive family. They are amazing, kind and loving.
I’m thankful for my roommates who in actuality are co-parenting my brother with me. They truly have become an integral part of this journey.
Exercise
30 mins of cardio at the gym
Arms day of weight training
Meditation
15 Mins of Meditation
Random Acts of Kindness
- Sent a text message to my brother in New York to let him know I was thinking about him and that I love him.
"The chimes of my alarm slowly woke me up at 3:10am. I rolled out of bed, threw some dry shampoo in my hair and put a pot of water on. I grabbed the hot chocolate and two to-go mugs from the cupboard. I rubbed my eyes but I wasn’t as tired as I thought I’d be. This morning was the Perseid meteor shower and I had convinced a new friend to join me.
We’re in that beginning stage of attraction where we can talk endlessly, but haven’t figured the other person out or the role either of us will play in one another’s lives. We laid on the lawn of a local elementary school, giggling at shared stories, innocently sipping hot chocolate and staring at the night’s sky. After a couple hours we nervously looked at one another before scurrying off to our respective responsibilities.
Friends? Lovers? Drinking buddies? It's fair to say that the verdict is still out."
Parenting Moments
It was July 4th when I begrudgingly left my adopted family’s Tahoe rental house to pick up Dominic and his friends. The house stood high above the lake, it’s wrap-around deck glowing in the evening light. My best friend and her fiance were cooking a meal for everyone. I had just finished a game of dominos with one of my sisters and her boyfriend after spending the day at the lake with our parents and family friends - reading magazines, paddle boarding, and laughing with one another. When I’m with my adoptive family, I get to be just another kid. The stresses of my life wash away under the protection of their love and unconditional acceptance. It’s a safe place where if even for a brief meal or weekend, I feel normal.
Read moreMy Existential Crisis
The moment I realized I wanted to become a mother is one of my most vivid memories.
I had just graduated from UCLA and had invited my little sister to stay with me for a week after graduation. I knew that her living situation with our own biological mother was unstable. She was 14 years old and about to enter high school in one of the poorer areas outside of Reno, Nevada. I thought that if I could get her excited about college and the class jump it could provide, if I could show her what it looks like to not live in poverty, then maybe I could plant a seed of hope to help her navigate the turbulent future she had in front of her.
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