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2018 taught me…..

I just can’t get over that it is already December and it will be 2019 before we know it. I did start my Christmas shopping but still need to finish up and actually wrap stuff lol. 

I am so excited for the new year and what it has to bring. I am always thankful to see another year and learn from the lessons that the previous year taught me. 2018 was all about learning about myself and getting to really know who I am. I spent most of the year stressed out, overwhelmed, just over everything and it was driving me crazy. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me until one day, the lightbulb turned on. I realized what was really going on and found the source of why I was feel this way. I just felt so relieved and thanked GOD for showing this to me. 

I would make these impossible “To Do” list that I never completed or even got to, made all these goals I knew I could not get to in the time frame I set and asking for too much when I prayed. I just got so frustrated and upset with myself all the time and just wanted to figure out why I could never get to anything or accomplish anything. It just drove me crazy until I realized I was doing way too much. I needed to take a step back and slow things down. I needed to tackle things one at a time and just go from there. I needed to focus on doing one thing at a time and not praying for so much at once. I started to feel so much better about myself and how I was going to move forward. 

I also learned the importance of having a tribe that supports, motivates and uplifts you. They are always there to hype you up, call you out on your shit and always wanting to see you succeed. You would do the same for your tribe. I always didn’t have that and started to realize it with some people I associated myself with. I would often get super frustrated when most of them wouldn’t support my side hustle and I saw other people promoting and reposting their friends. I wondered why some people didn’t do that for me. The tribe I’m starting to build are people that benefit me and I get positive vibes from. We uplift each other, always there for each other, bounce ideas off of each other and so on. It just feels good for once to be around others who want to see you be great and I want to see be great as well.

2018 also taught me that I need to be more fearless and bold. I attended The Fearless Conference ,BlogHer and The Bold Experience which really motivated me to be a better version of myself. I was holding myself back and feared that things wouldn’t work out. I started to doubt myself as a blogger due to being influenced in the wrong way and always looking at others. I didn’t think I was good enough in any aspect of my life but hearing from some bad ass, confident, strong women motivated me to think different. I realized that I can do anything I put my mind to, that I am everything and more proud to be a woman. I needed to stop doubting myself and down playing my potential. I know what I am capable of and needed to refocus and find my motivation again. Plus, I met some amazing blogger friends. 

This year taught me so many eye opening lessons that I am so grateful for. I am so happy I found the source of my stress and learning to take things one at a time. I am learning to let go and just take the leap of faith. I am learning not to hold myself back anymore and be in my own way. What have you learned this year? What do you hope 2019 brings? Comment below and let me know. See you guys Thursday!

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Is Social Media Ruining Our Life?

When you hear the words social media, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Is it a place where you share your life or a place where you are trying to become “instantly” famous or a place to promote your business?

I feel like social media is driving everything and somewhat ruining our lives. I remember one day last week YouTube went down. I didn’t know anything about it until I logged into Twitter(which I am struggling to utilize lol) and saw the commotion. Like what would everyone do if YouTube went away? What would you do if all social media went away? Would you still be able to promote your business by word of mouth or the old fashion way before social media took over? Would you be able to function in society without being glued to your phone?

I remember being out one day and I saw a family out to eat and all of them were on their phones. No one was talking to each other, they were checking emails, sharing memes, taking pictures of their food and so on but no actual interaction. It made me think about how much social media has changed this world. We have to capture everything on our phones but not live in the moment. I am guilty of it when I’m out eating, out with my husband, out with friends, at a concert, at an event, I am capturing stuff. There are times where I will live in the moment and not be on my phone but I am still trying to capture those moments.

I use social media myself to promote my blog, my brand and just for fun but I feel some people just overshare their entire life online, like everything. I feel that you should keep some things to yourself. I personally don’t share everything and feel there are things that you need to keep private. There are people who hide behind the keyboard and write hateful comments all day which I don’t understand why. Why waste your time following someone you don’t like just to post ignorant comments? I honestly will never get it. There are people on social media that I do not care for and I just don’t follow them or pay them any mind. It is that simple if you don’t like someone, there is a thing called an unfollow or block button. There are people who use social media to try to be the next big thing after seeing other people do so. Success does not happen overnight and if it does, it was by luck. I have been working so hard on being successful at what I do, trying to get brands to notice me and just chasing those goals that I have been working for. Sometimes it is posting the right thing at the right time or having those right hashtags and so on. Sometimes it can be too much trying to get noticed for the right reasons.

I feel like social media is kind of ruining things. You can become consumed in trying to be like those #Goals you see and stop being in touch with reality. There are people on social media who front and pose like everything is perfect, they have it all together when they really don’t. The biggest thing I have learned is just to be yourself and be authentic. You should not try to live outside of your means just to be noticed on social media and be famous. You should not act like something you are not just to “fit in” with the social media norm. You should be your genuine self and I have seen being authentic work in the right way.

What would you do if social media disappeared tomorrow? Would you be able to survive?

Have a great start to your week and see you guys Thursday!

~**Drea Notes**~

My family and I finally went apple picking! We had so much fun and I think we got too many apples lol!

It seems like we skipped over Fall and Winter is here! It has been so cold and windy lately.

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Be Your Own Goals

I posted this on my previous platform back in July and wanted to re-share this with you. Enjoy.

It is nice to admire others and inspire to be like them but it is also nice to be your own goals. It seems like social media has taken over and driving just about everything so you see your goals and aspirations from your favorite influencer to celebrity. It is so easy to get caught up in other people’s lives that you start to think that is how your life is supposed to go. You see your favorite Youtuber purchasing a new house, expensive car, going on shopping sprees, dating the hottest guy and so on. You see this and say to yourself, I want those things but in reality does it fit you and your current lifestyle?

I’ll admit to purchasing some things I see others purchasing online but I will stop myself when it is something way out of my budget or something I can’t see myself spending that much money on. As much as I want that particular item, it really isn’t a need. I have other things I could put that money towards and save. Sometimes I wish I could just go out an buy a house or spend hundreds of dollars on shoes and clothes( the most I ever spent on shoes was the ones for my wedding which were close to three hundred and so worth it!) and just buy makeup all the time. It would be nice but I don’t have the budget like some of these influencers and definitely live a different lifestyle.

Body images are also all over social media and it is so hard not to want to look a certain way. The perfect body to me is the body you look back at in the mirror and so happy with the way it looks. I know I’m not that disciplined to be in the gym about 5 days a week and eating super healthy to get my abs back I had in college. I choose to hit the snooze button in the morning instead of getting up to exercise or feel too tired to workout after getting home from work. This is reality but I am working on making time to exercise and eat better. I realized I can’t look like my ideal body images but I can be a better version of myself.

It can so easy to get consumed in the social media world with wanting to be #goals but it can be nice to be your own goals. Have a great weekend and see you guys Tuesday!

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What defines success?

When I was growing up, it was a whole different meaning of success. You would graduate from high school, go to college, earn your degree, get a job, work your way up the company latter  to get to that office with all the windows and be there for 30 something years until it is time to retire. You also had a big house, nice family, married with children and purchased a boat during retirement. This is what I saw on T.V. a lot and thought I had to follow this path. This is not the case today.

Now people are not working for traditional companies anymore and becoming entrepreneurs. You are not staying at one job for many years, you are kind of hoping around until you can find a company you love or you have a side hustle that you dream of making full time. Everyone doesn’t go to college or earn degrees, we don’t need the big house and fancy cars, we just want that success of pursuing our dreams. We just want to be able to make it and be happy with what we do everyday.

I thought I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, I had it all planned out. I was going to own a business, a hair salon to be specific and have the big house, cars, husband, kids and so on. I quickly realized that life after college was not easy. I had to find a job quickly and it was not in my field. I slowly started to forget about my business aspirations and had to figure out life. I was trying to chase that “success” and often thought I was not successful at all. I didn’t have that office, the house or luxury car but I was successful in my own way. I made it through college, I am pursuing my passion on the side and  married with a wonderful child. I have a car that gets me from point A to point B (and it was expensive to me lol) and I am happy with my life. There are those moments were I start to doubt myself and wonder if I had applied for internships after college, where would I be now or if I pursued my original career path, would it have been successful?

There is a new definition of success and you make it your own. You don’t have to follow those old school rules and don’t feel discouraged if it doesn’t seem like you have it all. If you are meeting and exceeding your goals, you are making a way and making things happen, you are successful. If you have a roof over your head, food to eat, transportation to get around, you are successful. If you are working full time and pursuing your side hustle to make that you full time job and it coming along and you are close to making it your full time job,  you are successful.

What is your definition of success?