2016 is My Lucky Number

January 04, 2016 by leah goldberg

Approximate time reading this post: 2 minutes

Hey there fellow readers and bloggers! It is the first Monday of the year and I hope you are just as excited as I am. There is a very high chance that you are not but it’s not too late to turn that around.

Many of you might feel the same way but I would just like to say that this year is only four days in and I can just tell it is going to be utterly fantastic. Each day has consisted of wonderful company, delicious breakfast outings, and some of the best Arizona weather we have had in a long time. I won’t claim that my stigma for this year is the whole “new year-new me” thing because I don’t necessarily want to be a new me but just continue on becoming a better me. This year is all about getting prepared and ahead. It’s my chance to up the ante of this blog, excell in my Spring classes at PVCC before graduating, meet as many new and quality people as possible, along with putting aside time for friends, apply for ASU: Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications, and continue reaching outside my comfort zone. Those specific goals can go in a couple different directions but it’s in writing now so It’s basically do or die. But I am way more excited than stressed.

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But that is another idea I would like to improve in this new year, to do fewer things and excelling at all of them. The following quote by Jim Collins, author of “Good to Great,” really hit home for me. It has to do with the idea that less is always more, in my opinion. Maybe you will have just one priority or a maximum of three, but if you have made yourself feel responsible for ten or more different activities, clubs, education responsibilities, etc., it is increasingly difficult to treat each of these priorities like a major priority.

“If you have more than three priorities then you don’t have any”

— Jim Collins

Think of 2016 as the year to clean up the mess you may have made in 2015. And if your 2015 wasn’t too bad, then use 2016 as a year of action. Put your thoughts into words, apply for the job, make a major life decision, but most of all: don’t settle for anything less than what you have worked so hard for. I hope 2016 is your year and that the next 51 Mondays make it even better.

P.S. I am working on removing the phrase "too busy" from my vocabulary with an exception of this super cute shirt.

Outfit details: soft crop (Forever 21), comfy sweater (Forever 21), distressed boyfriend jeans (Hollister), booties (Papaya), Guess sunglasses (TJ MAXX)

Neat new things to read/listen to this year:

Hope For 2016

December 28, 2015 by leah goldberg

Approximate time reading this post: 3 minutes

I know what you’re thinking and no this blog post is not full of new year’s resolutions. I would just like to look back a little on what this year brought and precisely what I have learned through 2015. I always think the days approaching the new year are slightly odd since I wonder if we are supposed to look back at what made this year or what is to come in the next?

Like most of my peers, this was one of the most difficult years for me in academics, extracurriculars, emotionally, and everything else I seemed to regale the readers of this blog on. But like every difficult situation, we live and we learn through them. At 20 years old, I feel accomplished to have learned as much about myself and my surroundings this year than any of the years before.

Photos by Claire GoldbergOutfit Details: Turtleneck and sleeveless open poncho, Forever 21; ripped jeans, Hollister; wedge booties, H&M; earrings set, RocksBox. — Photos by Claire Goldberg
*Outfit Details: Turtleneck and sleeveless open poncho, Forever 21; ripped jeans, Hollister; wedge booties, H&M; earrings set, RocksBox.*

My top list of the most important things I did learn in 2015 include the following (and in no particular order and also because I love lists):

Learning how to drive.
The concept of doing less with more. Which I want to practice much more prominently in this coming year.
“Just because things get busy doesn’t mean you have to stop living. You just need to prioritize.” Which is something my sister Claire told me near the end of my academic struggles.
“You don’t have to let your heart be broken after someone is honest with you.” My mom reassured me of this after an end to any type of relationship.
Take opportunities you are given and do the most with them. But you do not have to take every single opportunity that comes your way.
Know your limits, having them doesn’t make you incapable compared to others.
Don’t forget about your friends and don’t forget to ask them about their day too.
Give gratitude more than anything else whether it’s face to face, an email, a card in the mail, just remember the people who got you here first and foremost.
Embracing change: practice stepping outside my comfort zone more often.
Having dreams isn’t realistic because it’s always important to support positive social change.

I can’t thank my friends, family and mentors enough for their guidance for me and my actions this year. Simply starting this blog is something I did because of those individuals. And the purpose of Hope For Mondays is something I hope I can hold onto and pass around with my silly hashtag, #hopeformondays, or give insight to others if they too share similar and even opposite thoughts. If anything, this blog has really helped narrate the ideas in my head when it came to making decisions and solving problems I encountered.

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In 2016 I am looking forward to practicing and even failing at the top ten lessons I learned in 2015 to see just how the new year responds to them. I wish everyone a new year of fresh starts, multiple new favorite songs, opportunities to accomplish personal goals, lessons learned, and 52 hopeful Mondays in 2016.

Not Everyday Is a Good Day

December 13, 2015 by leah goldberg

Approximate time reading this post: 3 minutes

Recently this thought dawned on me as I stepped into my car after grocery shopping and had myself a good cry on a not so good day. I have learned that, especially being a college student, it is socially acceptable to cry in the confines of your own car and in general have a bad day. I found it refreshingly honest when the bank teller, the guy at AutoZone replacing my windshield wipers, my mom’s coworkers at the grocery store she works at, and other regulars I encountered asked how my day was and I told them the truth with a shrug and maybe three honest words.

Yes, it’s partially true that you can wake up and decide which side of the bed to get up from but it’s not so easy to maintain that positive attitude. Once you grasp those hopeful feelings how exactly do you hold onto them long enough to feel like you are unstoppable? I’m not quite sure yet either. My blog won’t have the answer to unlimited happiness but I would like to say that not every day is going to be a good day and that’s something worth noting. This is not about throwing a pity party but just facing the facts. It doesn’t mean I am not going to try to make everyday better than the last but sometimes you need to know when to put the brakes on and accept defeat. In that sense, it’s okay to accept defeat but not failure. Yes I failed math for the the second time. Do I accept my defeat? Yes. Do I accept the failure? No, because I am going to retake it with high hopes and the sheer fact that I need this class to graduate.

In the wake of these occurrences, I decided to take my own advice (I know, I am as shocked as you) from my last blog post, “Choose Gratitude,” to remind myself outloud why I was going through certain changes to reach my goals. I also made a list of things I am grateful for in the same moment that I was feeling very unlucky. Things get interesting when you try and fight the negative battle in your own head, but there is no need to fight to the death and overwork yourself. This goes hand in hand with accepting defeat and a bad day.

But being completely honest here, today is actually going to be pretty fantastic because I am seeing my all time favorite band, The 1975, perform tonight! I won’t regale you with my obsession with The 1975 but you can be sure to get bombarded by pictures and videos tonight if you follow me on any social media, whoops.

Whether you find yourself listening to your favorite band’s hit new album or shed a few tears in your car due to the events of your day, I hope you can take the negative circumstances with a grain of salt. Bad days happen to everyone but they don’t have to happen all the time.

Some things that I can't promise will turn a bad day around but might make you smile anyways: