Friendship 101

My brilliant friend Maggieothevalley just wrote an excellent post about friendship, and it inspired me to do the same!

Disclaimer: This post is written about normal friendships, not abusive ones. In the case of abuse, please seek help! Also, read this.

My Friend Story

I write this as a person who has grown in the area of making friends and being a friend. Growing up I was always painfully shy. I’m talking about about hide-behind-my-mom-can’t-make-eye-contact-can-barely-hear-me-because-i-spoke-too-softly kind of shy. I also could not be vulnerable – if I was upset, I shut down. (I’m still working on this but I’ve gotten much better.) This all changed out of necessity, when I started working at a coffee shop. I had to call out orders and I got tired of repeating myself because people couldn’t hear me. This started my life long journey of learning to be more confident and charismatic. I am always reading books on the subject and watching YouTube videos. I think everyone can develop these traits, you already have what you need, you just have to learn to let it shine.

How does all this have to do with being a friend? Well, you can’t give what you don’t have. It’s very hard to have the confidence to make a new friend if you are constantly focusing on yourself and how weird you are. I believe it’s important to develop an arsenal of habits and mentalities that make you feel more confident and secure in yourself. I think we try to attract friends by appearing strong and showcasing our beauty, talents, intelligence, and accomplishments when really it’s more about being kind, welcoming, uplifting, and genuinely showing interest in someone else, and giving others permission to be authentic through our vulnerability.

Continue reading “Friendship 101”

God’s Ways Are Better Than Our Ways

There’s Always Something

Recently, I have been feeling much more stressed. My schedule has been out of whack because it’s summer and my to do list has been larger because I have been entertaining more, which is wonderful and I love it, but it’s still a lot of work. We have had some unexpected repairs come up for the house as well as some other surprise mishaps. So needless to say, I’ve been stressed. I’ve tried to make time to read, however, and I just finished the book “Living a Life You Love: Embracing the Adventure of Being Led By the Holy Spirit” by Joyce Meyer. I loved it, it’s super simple and straight forward, like all of her books. And man, does she have a great sense of humor. The part about obedience really struck me, and how God rewards our obedience. I also took the part about praying for God’s grace to heart, and I have been.

Continue reading “God’s Ways Are Better Than Our Ways”

You Think You’re Being Considerate, But You’re Doing it Wrong

I believe that being considerate is a vital part of being a decent human being. We should always have empathy and think of how others are feeling. But, I also think many of us have a wrong understanding of what being considerate is, and it can prevent us from having thriving relationships and meaningful connections with others as well as receiving the help we need.

Continue reading “You Think You’re Being Considerate, But You’re Doing it Wrong”

How Does the Ten-Item Wardrobe Work, Exactly?

How does the ten-item wardrobe work?

You may have heard about capsule wardrobes, nonetheless the ten-item wardrobe. They are all over Pinterest. For those of you who don’t know, it is a collection of clothes that can be mixed and matched into countless outfits, and there are separate capsules for Spring/Summer. I love this concept, but have you heard about the ten-item wardrobe? You maybe also be asking, how does the ten-item wardrobe work? It’s a micro wardrobe adopted from French lifestyle. Let’s take a look.

Continue reading “How Does the Ten-Item Wardrobe Work, Exactly?”