big sister blog

you know when they say artists do their best work when they’re sad? i believed that for a hot minute, hence the long hiatus here (sorry not sorry!). then i came to a conclusion that made me feel a little better about myself, that maybe i wasn’t writing because i was sad, (though that did inspire some of it), but because i was unemployed and had the time. maybe two things can be true at once, but now i’m sick of the excuses. you can always make time for something you truly care about. and also, changes hits just as hard as journals. argue with the wall.

quick recap, i did end up getting a job after 8 months of finding hobbies, including this one. being patient paid off (highly recommend) and i’m now working in an industry i’m passionate about around people i truly adore and am inspired by. what more can you ask for? 

anyways, it’s been one long winter, one that’s been noticeably more brutal than the rest. nevertheless i’ve really come to appreciate a lot of things, which has gotten me through this season. don’t worry, i’ll spare you all the time and just pick one to reflect on.

passion.

it’s truly such a gift to be passionate. if you’re passionate about one thing, awesome. even better, if you’re passionate about lots of things, but the best if you’re passionate about about life as a whole. it’s key in the recipe for being truly content. and being content is the least any of us can ask for considering the state of the world right now. 

i think everyone should (at least try to) approach every single thing they do with passion. i’ve always recognized and loved my own passion for so many different things. not only things like artists, music, and movies, but also about sharing my thoughts, helping others, and doing better for myself. 

there’s always room to be passionate. you don’t have to be completely satisfied with where you’re at in life right now, but more so where you’re going. be passionate about the journey and about the person you want to become, because that’s truly the best part of it all. if you’re having a hard time with this, i challenge you to picture the person you want to be. this will help build up passion in the moment, in order to achieve that version of yourself.

it’s one thing to be passionate about your favorite sports team or singer, but it’s another to be passionate about your life. what i’ve found helpful is integrating both of those things. i’ve always been passionate about entertainment and pop culture, so i made it my mission to have that be a key part of my every day life. hence, working in entertainment.

be passionate about the highest highs and the lowest lows. there have been many days this winter where i felt anxiety that i thought would never end. i’d nitpick every little thing and question what, if anything, lied ahead of me. i’m not asking you to be an eternal optimist. i know it’s hard to see the bright side in every situation. all i’m asking is to be passionate about having a positive mindset through it all. be passionate about the fact that tomorrow’s another day. although it’s gloomy outside and nothing seems to be going right one day, the next day can be sunny and something amazing could happen. you could go to bed with scary thoughts rummaging your mind and wake up the next morning feeling lighter again. like an enormous weight was lifted off you. and then it’s up to you to leave those thoughts in the past and start the day on a clean slate. use this clean slate to live life with passion and go out of your way to find things you’re grateful for. kick off these good vibes by listening to your favorite album on your ride to work, treating yourself to your favorite coffee, or thinking about where you are now versus a year ago.

one thing i’ve noticed recently is how quickly things can change. they truly aren’t lying when they say your life can change at any moment. and the most important part that no one seems to acknowledge is that this doesn’t always have to be a major change. all it takes is changing your mindset. going from feeling anxious and hopeless one minute to realizing there’s quite literally no way to predict what the future will hold the next. and what really matters is taking advantage of the very moment you’re in right now, the present. 

yesterday i was talking to my best friend, who is married and pregnant, about my life. everything i said seemed so insignificant compared to hers. the more i spoke about how much of my life is uncertain, which right now is pretty much everything, the more i felt sad, afraid, and fast, impending doom. i let this be the case for about 5 minutes before i told myself that there’s no point in spiraling about the future. at all. why be sad and anxious about things i have no control over? this is where i’m meant to be right now and the rest will follow and play out how it should. instead of throwing a pity party, use that energy to be passionate about where you are right now. doing the best you can at the job you have, even if it’s not exactly where you want to be. showing appreciation for the people you care about. showing yourself appreciation. you owe it to the person you’ll be in another year from now. maximize that growth so you can look back and marvel at how much has changed in such a short amount of time. 

now, about 12 hours after that conversation, i’m on a walk during the first day in what’s felt like decades where the sun is out and it’s over 60 degrees outside. it’s easy to find things to be grateful in times like this. times like these not only make me realize how quickly things can change. like the weather being rainy and gloomy and cold to being sunny and warm. but also how important it is to make the best of the days that aren’t so easy to appreciate, in order to make it to days like these. 

find things to be passionate about. there’s few things that are better than the glimmer in someone’s eyes when they’re on a tangent about something they’re passionate about. and from experience, there’s few better feelings that being in a flow state of passion 🙂

xoxo,

jm