Life is too short to be unhappy:

My hope for each and every person is that after reading this Eleanor Roosevelt quote you can jump up and down and yell "HEY THAT'S ME!" and honestly believe it. I've heard this quote before but when I saw it on Lisa's blog all hand written out and beautiful— I couldn't help but feel like it was speaking directly to me. I just get really overwhelmed (in a good way) when I think about where I am in my life right now and how there was a point in time where I was wishing for some of the very wonderful things I have now.

Several weeks ago, I decided that I wanted to put more faith in myself. I wanted to support my ideas and goals the way I tell my dearest friends to stop doing the things they hate and focus on everything they love instead. I realized that the advice I give others and the way I treat myself are unfortunately incongruent. I've never really been a negative person but I haven't really felt like myself in the last few months. After I lost my friend Ricki, all I could do was take a hard look at my life. There was a lot to be proud of, but also a lot that I needed to purge. I finally admitted that I was unhappy with several aspects of my life, and I honestly believe that it was making me physically ill and mentally exhausted.

I made a list of things I wanted to change: negative things to get rid of and positive things to replace them with. I guess I basically decided to overhaul my life. Flash forward to now, and today I am proud to say that I feel better than I have in the last six months. Right now I'm still in a transitional phase, so please bear with me. I'm changing jobs, collaborating with new friends, starting my own business, and feeling more inspired than ever.

I didn't mean for this post to be so long. It was really only my intention to tell you I was inspired by this image and that you should follow Lisa's hand lettering project if you don't already. But I guess I just felt you should know that even though I keep this blog space positive, I have been dealing with a lot lately. And I don't mean to say that so I can complain or to get pity. I just want you to know that if there is something big you are thinking about doing, or a change you know you need to make, or something inside you that says "You are better than that"— then you need to listen to it.

If you don't believe me, then just know that two months ago I decided I wanted to become an event baker and learn to style dessert buffets. Now I'm working with Stockroom Vintage as a styling assistant and picking up these tips and tricks. You guys, this is not a coincidence. This was a very intentional decision to start focusing on my own dreams instead of settling for less. So basically, what I am trying to say, is that I don't want anyone to feel defeated or disenchanted with the world. Life is too short to be unhappy. I don't care if any of this is cheesy.  I want you to decide what your dreams are and then go after them. I promise you won't regret it.