You've got a friend in me.

So I'm not going to lie, my moods have been completely all over the place lately. On the one hand, I feel growth, I feel happy, I like the things I'm doing. On the other, I feel like I'm wandering. Trying really hard just to trust but wanting desperately to grasp that control back. But I can't and furthermore, I know it's best if I don't. I feel bad for my parents, they get the much longer story and complaints but I'm going to spare y'all. (Sorry parents)

In the midst of the roller coaster of emotions, one thing has become increasingly apparent. My support system is incredible. And I'm incredibly thankful for it. Over the past couple of months, I've gained new friends, reconnected with old ones, I've gotten to spend time with family members, strengthened existing friendships. Man, it has been great. Lifelong friends, high school friends, college friends, post grad friends, family, etc. It has been a blessing.

So here's a big thank you to each and every one of you. Very thankful for your support, encouragement, prayers, smiles, and most of all your effort. Now it's my turn to pay it forward. Friendship is a very powerful tool. Never underestimate what a note/smile/phone call/email/lunch/coffee/hang out may do. It could turn a person's day around, it could help them take a deep breath, it could offer them a new perspective. Most of all, it lets a person know that they aren't on this journey alone. There are people out there to just be with them. And that's pretty powerful.

Real Beauty

So I don't have much to post on today but I do have a couple of recommendations for you! They are both more targeted for women but you men out there should check them out too.

1. I highly recommend you watch the Dove Real Beauty Sketches. You can watch it Here. It's a powerful look at how we as women perceive ourselves vs others. I hope the message you take away from it is that we are all unique and beautiful. Start loving yourself. You were specially created and that's a precious gift.

2. Read Girls in White Dresses. I kept seeing it on Pinterest as one of the books "every girl in her twenties should read" so I did. It's a humorous look at all the changes we go through in our twenties and how most of the time it does not go according to our plan. It was really good!

And that's all I got folks. Have a wonderful week!

Storyteller.

The day after I post about being unoriginal, inspiration hits. Figures.

So randomly I have been talking about myself a lot lately. Which is something I'm not really used to.
The first instance where I'm having to talk about myself is interviewing for jobs. (Prayers/good thoughts are much appreciated!) It never fails that the first thing the interviewer asks is "Tell me about yourself." I of course I have the whole spill down but when you stop to think about it, there are so many things that make me, me. And I could spend all day telling you different components of my story that makes me who I am and why I want to pursue counseling. But aint no interviewer got time fo dat. So instead I shorten it. Hit the highlights.

I have also started a community group through my church and we have been spending time each week telling our stories and I told mine a couple of weeks ago. Let me tell you, it's not easy trying to summarize your life from birth to present. My family, friends, pets, relationships, the good times, hard times, lessons learned. It wasn't easy. But it really allowed me to take a second and evaluate my life and realize what makes me who I am.

Have you ever stopped and thought about your story? Who are the main characters? How did you grow up? What experiences made you grow? What have been the good times? How did that friendship/relationship affect you?

I truly believe God made us beautifully unique. Each one of us has a unique story with unique characters and experiences. I encourage you to take a moment and think about your story. I have a feeling there might be some surprises about what is remembered.

Your story makes you who you are. What do you want to do with your story? Share it? Change it? Start a new chapter? Resolve a conflict? It's yours.

And don't forget, there's never going to be another one like it. And that's pretty cool.

Stolen

So it's looking like Mondays are just going to be my blogging days? Last week was long but also super busy!

I'm not going to lie, inspiration hasn't hit for an original blog post this week so I thought I would share a couple of entries from the storyline blog. I know you're probably thinking seriously Courtney, you're going to mention Donald Miller again? Yep I am. Sorry not sorry. I came across both these posts from the blog he's started and they both captured my attention and made me think. And you know if that happens then I have to share them.

http://storylineblog.com/2013/04/01/why-most-twenty-somethings-are-delusional/

http://storylineblog.com/2013/04/05/my-drug-my-defense/

I think they are both great posts but I especially loved the second. Definitely made me think about why I thrive on staying busy.  I hope y'all check it out and enjoy it too!

While I'm at it being unoriginal and all, I'll share some of my favorite quotes I've found recently.

Have a fabulous week! Hopefully I'll have a chance at an original post this week. 

HelloGoodbye

If you know me pretty well, you know I'm not a big fan of change. I like my routines. I like the people I see on a daily basis. I like predictability. It's safe. It's comfortable.

Thing is though, life is full of changes. Some changes you carefully plan for, others happen out of the blue. If we didn't have any changes in our life, most of us would consider it a boring life.  But as much as we know cognitively that change is good, emotionally it is scary and sad. It usually means saying goodbye.

Goodbyes are tough. New hellos are tough too.

I feel like for the past couple of years, I've been in a state of interim in school, work, personal life, etc.  I say a lot of "goodbyes" without very many permanent "hellos" if that makes sense. On the flip side, I've also experienced a lot of personal growth these past couple of years and I've learned a lot.

One thing I've learned is that life is never going to be predictable. There are going to be twists and turns along the way but that's because God's in control. Not me. And when I think about it, it feels a lot better to have it in God's hands instead of mine.

So here's to uncertainty. Here's to trusting. Here's to knowing that God's got something much bigger planned than what I could ever plan.

Here's to enjoying the ride.