Monday, January 28, 2013

Fashion, my secret Passion

HEEEEEEEEEY!!

Sooo I didn't post last Monday because I was gone on a fantastic vacation with my family... however I did have this post ready but unfortunately did not feel like giving up lots of my money to pay for internet while cruising the Ocean but FORTUNATELY I will give you that post now while I write up something life changing for next week! Ha ha.. run on.

Now, I bet a lot of you were unaware that I was briefly an editor assistant for the fashion magazine Haute Couture last year. Must have slipped my mind. Here is the link to one of my appearances for the magazine:

Haute Couture

Obviously I am no longer with Haute Couture but it was a great experience, in the end I learned that it's more important to love yourself the way God made you... otherwise you get burned by hair straighteners.

Next Week: We discuss why Betty and Veronica are terribly mistaken when it comes to relationships.



Monday, January 14, 2013

Being Super Awesome

Today we talk about being Super Awesome.

The other day I got the opportunity to hangout with a friend, let's call him Jack, and he is truly awesome. He also happens to be very ADHD as well as autistic, and I believe this is what helps make him so awesome. The best part is that Jack doesn't fully comprehend how super awesome is he but yet carries himself as if he does.

Jack knows that he's a funny, fast talking guy that switches topics quickly and likes to make jokes. He also believes that everyone should want to hangout with him, at all times. Let me explain that one a bit more:
He doesn't second guess if people want to hangout with him, he just assumes they do.
He doesn't ask if he can go with you somewhere, he tells you he is joining you.
He will sit and ask many questions, unconcerned of overstaying his welcome.
He doesn't wait for you to give him an opportunity, he creates it and joins in.

None of these things are meant to put Jack in a bad light, completely the opposite actually.
Do you know how incredible and unique this is?
Can you imagine if all human beings knew that they were Super Awesome??
A huge shadow of self doubt has overcome so many people these days that too many are doubting their level of awesomeness. Countless times I have heard people say the following as they sit on the outskirts of life:

I knew about it, I just wasn't personally invited, so didn't go.
I didn't think they liked me so I didn't go/show up.
I was too afraid to talk to them.
I missed my opportunity.

Now I'm not saying you should show up everywhere you aren't invited and people will love it, but rather pointing out that in many aspects of life people forget that they are Super Awesome and unique and therefore entertain the doubts in their mind that people would not want to hang out with them, talk to them, give them a job/date/promotion/meeting, love them. I too am guilty of forgetting that I'm Super Awesome sometimes; it's more natural to doubt yourself than to have a strong confidence in yourself. Not an overconfidence in your skills or personality but a strong confidence, meaning that you know what God has gifted and blessed you with and your willing to use it to further his kingdom.

I encourage you today to not wait for an invitation to grab the opportunities in life that are waiting to be grabbed! Remember, you're Super Awesome and there are so many opportunities waiting for you to throw aside doubt and what ifs and to grab hold of them.
I leave you with this great picture that we should all print off and tape to our steering wheels, handle bars, skateboard, horse, shoes... whatever our mode of transportation. This way we can remind ourselves that we are Super Awesome and therefore people want to get to know us, they want to hangout with us, and opportunities are everywhere around us!! 
Be Super Awesome.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Success in a Fail: Bookworm 2012

Friends, Monday greetings out to you.

Let's jump right in and put you out of such great suspense...For an entire year, the year of 2012 to be more specific, I was working towards a book reading goal. It was a very ambitious goal.

That goal was to read 78 books in 2012.

Why 78 books? Let me show you...

January (month 1): 1 book
February (month 2): 2 books
March (month 3): 3 books
Getting the pattern? and this went all the way down until:
December (month 12): 12 books!

And when you add all those books together you get a grand total of 78 books. Now, perhaps you are thinking "well that's not that many books" or perhaps you are thinking "what!! No human can achieve that!", but hopefully your thoughts have moved on to the next question "Did you actually achieve your goal?"

And the answer is.... No. I totally didn't make my goal but I loved every minute of it! My end total was 54 books read for 2012. So I was short by about 25 books. Can you imagine how many books I might have read if I had made my goal to read 100 books!!
You see, even though I didn't hit my goal, I started the year knowing that I had the potential to do it. But whether I hit my exact goal or not, I read 53 books last year, and that's a great accomplishment in itself. I can sit around and boohoo that I technically failed since I didn't hit 78 books, but that's crazy. I'm a whole lot closer to reading 78 books than if I had never tried to challenge myself in the first place out of fear or laziness that I might not accomplish my goal. Unfortunately, I do not have this life changing quote by Mark Gorman for you at this moment but it goes something along the lines of this:

If you work towards a goal and fail you were a whole lot closer to accomplishing that goal than those who almost, sort of, maybe, were close to, came within the vicinity of possibly, maybe one day, might have, maybe, some day, setting a goal.

Friends, be wild and set goals for yourself on a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly basis, throwing aside procrastination and or fear of failing that goal. Failing at a goal will always bring you a small success closer to that big success. I didn't read 78 books, but I did read 54 and that's an awesome success. This is what 54 books looks like...


That's a lot of books. I even impressed myself when I stacked those all up.
Lastly, for all you curious minds... here is the complete list of all books read in 2012:

1 - The Secret Life of Bees
2 - Book of Negroes
3 - Nazi Officer's Wife
4 - Heaven is for Real
5 - Epic
6 - Left Neglected
7 - Hunger Games
8 - Catching Fire
9 - Mocking Jay
10 - The Last Lecture
11 - Redeeming Love
12 - For One More Day
13 - Crazy Love
14 - Power of a Praying Woman
15 - The Compound Effect
16 - She said Yes
17 - God's Plan for Prosperity
18 - The First Day of the Rest of my Life
19 - The Guinea Pig Diaries
20 - Comic Bible
21 - Miracle for Jen
22 - Beyond the Blue
23 - Skill with People
24 - The Book of Holiday Awesome
25 - The Tears of My Soul
26 - Tramp for the Lord
27 - Don't Follow Me, I'm the Leader
28 - Nehemiah: A Heart that Breaks
29 - Momma Married a Man
30 - The Cross and a Switchblade
31 - Leadership Pill
32 - A Complicated Kindness
33 - Jacob I have Loved
34 - Sheet Music
35 - Common Sense not Needed
36 - Defeated Enemy
37 - Amazing Love
38 - The Memory Keeper's Daughter
39 - The Hiding Place
40 - Shadows of Promise
41 - Trapped in Hitler's Hell
42 - Autobiography of a One Year Old
43 - Don't Sweat the Small Stuff
44 - As Nature Made Him
45 - Bullets on the Water
46 - The Screwtape Letters
47 - The Long Walk
48 - The Wizard of Oz
49 - Anne of Green Gables
50 - Beatrice & Virgil
51 - The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven
52 - Animal Farm
53 - Ms. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
54 - Hannah's Hope

I have also set a new goal for myself in 2013, so if you have any book suggestions feel free to send them my way, many thanks! :)

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

A Starting Issue

FRIENDS!! HI!! Where've you been?!?!

Good day to you all, I have returned to the writing world. For those ever so dedicated and have been missing me greatly over the last two weeks... I'm baaaaaack.

Now, I have delayed posting this week because I had an issue with starting anything. (Last week it was just a matter of it being Christmas Eve and I just ran out of time to write, I didn't feel too bad about it actually, I hope you had a great Christmas!!) Now, as mentioned I had a starting issue. However, I did master the resting, reading, eating, and family time technique over the last week, which may have contributed to my starting issue.

You see, when I went to go write yesterday the small amount of stress that I felt about writing something life changing, motivating and inspirational for all us humans heading into a new year was too much, so I probably had a nap instead. There just has been so much talk of New Years resolutions and summarizing last year that I didn't want to jump into the mix. And I won't. So I shall move on from that topic and back to my topic: a starting issue.

I wanted to write yesterday, since I write every Monday, but it just wasn't happening. I didn't know where to start! What would be my first great words of wisdom and welcome? How could I portray to my great friends how excited I am for their lives and their potential for greatness? How can my first few starting words demonstrate to my friends how much they are loved? What font should I use? What if my words have no impact? What if nobody reads my blog? What if...

Welcome to the Female Crazy Brain.

Guess how far my thoughts on starting got me? No where.
Guess how many blog posts I made last year? About 52.
So, Sherylynn, why in the world would you get all crazy about blogging yesterday if you are so used to writing on a weekly basis? Because I stopped for a week. And when you stop doing something, guess what, you have to start again. Know what's hard? Starting something. And the easiest way to start something, whether it's new or not, is guess what... just to DO IT!

January 1st or June 8th or December 31st.
6:00AM or 6:00PM.
By yourself or with a friend.
Public or Personal.
It doesn't matter when or what you just have to start.

If it's not perfect? SO WHAT! Would you rather have a blank canvas all your life because you are too afraid you may not be good at painting OR an ugly painting today that you can say was the starting point for your future masterpieces?

I shall leave you with that ever so deep question to ponder.

Next Week: I reveal a year long experiment I've been working on. Suspense.