Hope For Tuesdays?

The only aspect that actually held me back from creating a blog for so long was thinking of the name. The moment I knew I wanted “Hope For Mondays” I realized how I was going to really have to commit to the consistency especially because the name does imply that I will be posting every Monday. Which is still the plan but sometimes life happens. I believe in keeping consistency but I also believe in keeping my sanity. So my deepest apologies for breaking my streak of persistence because that is the last thing I want to do with just about anything.

 As my blog continues I am going to randomly choose times to post on a different day other than a Monday (and not to use as an excuse for laziness) but just the purpose of Hope For Mondays is that you can not only have hope for the beginning of the week but the rest of your days that follow.

But I am convinced that Mondays simply refuse to get along with me. All I’m trying to do is spread some positivity and how do I get repaid by the grumpiest day of the week? A broken pinky toe two weeks ago and my car died luckily only for a day because of a bad alternator. Each on a Monday. Even though I did not post yesterday it was a rather peaceful yet productive day. You can usually find this out by following along with my snapchat story: @leahhope1. Here you will often see me stressing about life and the amount of caffeinated beverages I drink on a daily basis. But sometimes I snap some exciting daily moments too.

 Check my Snapchat story @leahhope1 for a play by play of my Mondays and all the days in between.

Photo by Geneva Patterson

This is me freaking out about everything par usual. Geneva Patterson is so good at getting black mail shots of me far worse, it's not even funny.

So here’s to another week of Macroeconomics quizzes, torturous astronomy labs, eight articles due for my Friday deadline, puffy clouds, washing your car the day before it rains (happy Tuesday to me), cherished friendships, and new opportunities. Wish me luck for an interview today while I squeeze that into my schedule. But I am hopeful for the rest of my week and the rest of yours.

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Cool things:

• "Do You Remember?" by Jarryd James
• "12 Labels to Watch During New York Fashion Week"
• Ted Talk: "As Work Gets More Complicated, 6 Rules to Simplify"
• "ABC" by Alexander Fairchild
• Ted Talk: "I am the son of a terrorist. Here's how I choose peace"

A Little Ten About Me

I hope many of you are enjoying your extra long Labor Day weekend even if you are working your ten hour shift today (a.k.a. me). After a long week of working a bunch, a broken pinky toe, breakfast with my gal pal, and online math a nap sounds like quite a nice idea. But I’ve got my “Monday” shirt on and a smile that says "I'm making bank on Labor Day" so I'm feeling more capable to take on this week with full force.

My first Hope For Monday posts have all been pretty philosophical so I thought I would keep this one on the light and fluffy side by sharing ten things you didn’t (maybe) know about me. Feel free to send me a little message by going to the “Contact Me” tab if we share any of these top ten or you would like to discuss them further! So here’s me:

Photos by Geneva Patterson.

1. My favorite song is Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy.

2. I am an ambivert: in between an extrovert and an introvert so I can pretty much choose when to turn them on and off but I am 15% more extroverted on the ambivert scale, according to “16 Personalities” test.

3. All time favorite book is East of Eden by John Steinbeck which I plan on reading as often as I can in this lifetime.

4. I love the idea of my birthday but it also terrifies me.

5. The 1975 is my favorite band, their songs “Sex” and “Heart Out” are my fav tunes.

6. I enjoy sitting down and talking about life and the oddities of it with anyone more than anything.

7. I wrote a high school graduation speech that was never heard but the one I'm writing for my college graduation hopefully will be someday.

8. I am a very easy crier: happy and sad.

9. My future may lead me somewhere else but I would actually love to stay in Arizona indefinitely.

10. I am not completely sure what field of journalism I would like to endure as my career I just know I have a passion for knowing the truth, sharing it, learning as much as I possibly can, and writing.

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It's nice every once in awhile to not take life so seriously, throw on some lipstick, and wear a small cactus on your head instead of always searching for the meaning to our crazy lives. Keep an eye out for some more fashion and styling related posts in the next few Mondays, since this is a versatile blog after all. I look forward to sharing my journeys with you. Happy Labor Day, don't work too hard today ;)

Have a Passion for Passion

“Make time for passion. Consider it a real priority instead of an “extra” to be squeezed in when you have some free time. You may never have free time.”

If you have just survived your first (or second) week of this college semester: Congratulations, woot woot, insert confetti here. And also if you are a returning reader on Hope For Mondays, congrats on that too! 

Like many of you, I had the ultimate week of firsts including starting my internship at College Times (on my first day I wrote not one, not two, but FOUR articles and three on my second day and I'm still having a blast), beginning my online sign language class,  trying out Ollie Vaughns for some spectacular breakfast, and continuing to set aside time for passion. While evaluating these new experiences I started to recognize some common themes in my life too. I have noticed that I use these same phrases about every week: "I don't have time," "I'm too busy," "I have this other thing I have to do, sorry," etc.  Some of these statements may be common in your vocabulary too, although there is nothing wrong with being aware of your time management capabilities. But it can become a problem when one puts passions on the back burner because they believe they simply do not have the time. I find it important and healthy to do something you like to do at least once a day, which explains my simple yet obsessive Starbucks addiction. But when it comes to passions these do not have to be acted upon everyday but as often as you can without forgetting them. 

So far my list of passions include (and not in any specific order): surrounding myself with people I love; furthering my career in journalism; The Local Citizen; discovering all the aspects that make me me; and living in a world where those around me are happy, comfortable and aware.

Our happiness and future success should not be put aside while we wait for the "free time" bus to stop. If you keep standing at that bus stop passing up each and every opportunity to be happy, you will never recognize this happiness when it approaches. As far as I am concerned, there is no such thing as "free time". This myth is nonexistent to most college students, working individuals, busy bees, and just about anyone who has ever had to experience multitasking. I don't believe in free time but I do believe in making time for passions. We all have our busy schedules but try and pencil in "my passion" into your planner once in awhile. You can be selective when it comes to this time too. I am still working on prioritizing family, friends, school work, work work, passions and my happiness. But as long as I work on my passions I think I will be equally happy.

Outfit details: "Monday" tee (TJ MAXX), circle skirt (Urban Outfitters), necklace (thrift gift), colorful bracelet (Target), gold spike bracelet (Rocks Box), Dior lipstick (originally my grandmother's)

So in case you are completely lost on exactly how to freeze time and fit in your passions here are some tips which you can practice if you so desire:

1. List your passions.
2. Stop saying the words "busy" and "can't", you will continue to be busy for the rest of your life so stop stating the obvious, it's getting old.
3. Do them with a friend.
4. Be grateful that you have activities to prioritize vs living an endlessly boring and lost existence.
5. Schedule your life: when to grab lunch with your family, homework, passions that make you happy. It sounds silly but if you schedule your happiness you will most likely treat it as a priority.
6. Make a career out of your passions.
7. Prioritize your passions and your outside work separately and equally.
8. Repeat steps 1-7. 

"Create the perfect time, the perfect opportunity, and the perfect situation." Because most of the time if we are waiting for this moment and this free time it will never happen. I stumbled upon this idea in a video called "Change" which you can find at the bottom of this post. I advise you to listen to this at your lowest and your highest.

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Some other things that might make you smile or think:

• "Quiz Yourself: Do You Lead with Emotional Intelligence"
• Demi Coffee and The Hive on The Local Citizen
• "Change" motivational thoughts we always need
• "Heart Out" by The 1975