Something's Burnin' Up

Coffee shops always take me back to NYC.

With every sip of my hot cafe' Roma, I can taste the energy and power that fight to consume the big cities crowded streets. It makes me wonder what my life would have been like if I chose to stay and continued working in 'Corporate America'...
If I continued to to focus my attention on something intangible, something I enjoyed doing, but that did not define me.

Although I truly miss the city lights, cobbled streets and late nights at Jack's,

There is nothing more powerful than the human soul on fire...So light me up and watch me shine...

What Defines You?

So many of us spend our entire lives trying to fix or forget small insignificant moments in time that have somehow managed to redefine who we are.

Whether it is the moment we foolishly got behind the wheel of a car while we were under the influence, or when we first saw our father's lay a hand on our mother. Or maybe it is the moment we gave away our innocence, cheated on a test, or the time we watched in silence as the person we loved walked out of our lives.

We go through our day's replaying these small moments over and over in our heads, wishing we could change or even wish them away altogether. We allow them to torture and build walls of resentment against us and no-matter how hard we try, we never seem to wholeheartedly forgive ourselves, even if it happened a really long time ago.

For anyone who is still holding a grudge against those small moments where you made a mistake, left someone behind or forgot who you were, don't allow these fallen remnants of time determine who you are and what kind of life you deserve... Leave that to all of the millions of seconds that follow after... for those are the moments that will truly define you...Those are the moments that matter most.

Not Alone

Last night while putting my car's daily fuel injection in at the gas station, a stranger approached me. He asked me how my night was going and proceeded to tell me about his. Naturally you would think this gentleman was trying to hit on me, but as the conversation continued, I realized he simply wanted someone to talk to.

He told me about how lonely and difficult it has been for him since he has moved here from NY a few months ago and proceeded to speak about all of the things that had been bothering him. I simply listened.

Later that night, I found myself at the local Denny's at 12am sitting in my favorite corner booth nestled up to a strong cup of coffee. I was trying to finish some work, when yet another complete stranger approached me,

"Do you mind if I sit with you?" he asked.

As I nodded my head in agreement, he let out a sigh of relief and made his way into the seat across from me. Two hours later, we were still in deep conversation about his life and the current struggles he too was dealing with. He had literally just gotten out of jail and came straight to Denny's to clear his head before having to go out and face the world. As I listened intently to his stories and current predicament, it made me realize how vital human connections are in this life.

Even if it is something as simple as a random conversation or smile in their direction, everyone needs to feel that they are acknowledged and alive at times. Because in a world full of billions of people, it's truly insane how alone so many people feel.

Someone once told me that life is about building relationships and feeling like you have a purpose. After last nights unexpected connections, even if they were only for a small fragmented moment in time, I was reminded just how important human connections really are.

So no-matter where your destinations will take you today; filling up your car at a gas station, eating at a restaurant, working out at the school gym, sitting on a plane on your way to a business trip or even while watching a sunset on the beach in Oyster Bay, make sure you find the courage to reach out to one another and put your energy out into the world...

For you never know who or what the world will give you in return...

Worth the Fight?

Why is it so EASY to be HARD on ourselves?

I'm too fat!
My hair looks gross!
I'm so stupid!
Who would ever love me?!

It's as if being hard on ourselves is a full time job that we can't afford to miss the pay cut for.

But when it comes to being positive and confident, it can be the single greatest challenge of our day.

I am beautiful?
I look good in these jeans?
I deserve a good man?
I deserve a raise!?

It's as if the second we start to believe we're talented, or God forbid beautiful we tense up like a ball of frazzled stress and start running back to our old BFF Negative Nancy. Do we enjoy torturing ourselves or is it something we've grown so accustomed to that we don' know how to reverse the painful cycle?

I figure if self-worth and confidence is something I can only achieve if I work at it, I mine as well put up a really good fight in the process. Because let's face it ladies, we are feisty little creatures already! We constantly fight each other, fight our men, our parents and siblings and even the employees at work get a little of our wrath every once in a while...So why not redirect some of that energy and start fighting for ourselves?

Who Knows? We may even find out we're worth it!

Finding the time to find myself

Well hello! It has been quite some time since my thoughts have traced over these blank pages. I hope you don’t feel neglected, it is just that I have had so much on my mind lately, but at the same time it has been completely blank!

Why is it so easy to forget about or forego the simple things in life that make us so happy? If you think about how many hours are in a day (24 for you math magicians) why is it that we can hardly find even 5 minutes for ourselves????

I know the easy excuses are that we get caught up in everyday routines and obligations from work, to kids or spouses, to pets, the trip to the bank, grocery shopping, laundry, dishes and of course the phone that won’t stop ringing! But when do we ever get time to soak in the moment and sunbathe under a ray of self-reflection and worth?

I recently moved into my very own apartment and even as a young women without pets or children, I still find it near impossible to enjoy a moment to celebrate and love little ol’ me.

So whether you are single or married with five kids, a science major or even a math whiz, find the time to add up enough hours in the week to dedicate to you and only you! Whether it’s relaxing with the paper, taking a jog, reading the twilight series (yet again), or even taking a well deserved nap in the middle of the day… just make sure you make the time!

Because as we all know time fly’s by sooo fast and we don’t want to wake up one day jetlagged on the runway wondering why our life has left us behind...

The Easy Way Out

Right before I turned to run away, something brought me back... back to myself.

Why is it so easy to run from the possibility of failure or even better yet, the idea or success? In this rat race of self-discovery we fight any possibility of ever becoming more then we are right now and we act as if our potential isn't 400 feet in front of us, about to lap us on the track.

Yes we have those moments where the finish line is in sight, but we are so afraid of what is on the other side that too often we take ourselves out of the race altogether. And this way we never have to know if we were going to make it or not and we can go through life without ever having to risk anything at all, especially failure.

So we put our hands over our head and choke up a few excuses of exhaustion or bad running shoes and proceed to throw in the towel. We retreat back to the starting line where we may or may not have the courage to begin again, but at least this way we won't have to watch as others finish in front of us.

We are safe in our resting place and have nothing to lose. And because we have nothing to lose, we will never have anything worth gaining, so we must ask ourselves which is worse... the risk of failure or the risk to succeed?

My Nana

There is this beautiful and incredibly talented young woman who reminds me everyday who I am and even more, what type of person I want and deserve to be.

She brings color and laughter to my world as she forces out the best parts of me. Her mere presence takes me back to my inner child that I so often tend to neglect....There is never a dull moment when we're stuck together.

This morning, I had to watch as this crazy little ball of energy flew away on a plane that will bring her that much closer to her dreams. She will be moving to the University of Hawaii where she has dreamed of playing soccer for a long time. And although it is insanely painful to watch her go, her ability to fight for what she wants in this life has inspired me to never settle for anything less than everything!

I have watched her fall, break and sacrifice everything to make this dream come true and even though there were many times she wanted to give up, through it all, she has finally made it happen! It wouldn't make a difference if she dreamed to be a movie star, a dancer ("Heeere's Breezy") or the secretary of state, what matters most is that she had the courage and passion to follow her dreams wholeheartedly. She didn't take the easy way out and she didn't give up when things got hard. She never once waited around for life to hand her anything, she made her dreams come true all on her own.

This amazing young woman is destined for greatness and this journey of hers is only the beginning...

And I am so grateful and proud to be able to call this kooky little person who I look up to most my baby sister.

Te quiero mucho Bobby Boy



Steroids + Scrawny




su estrella estaba destinado a brillar hermana, así que ve la luz de este mundo en el fuego .