Work & Happiness

I think it's important to love what you do. Some people work for the money, and others just genuinely love their job (Money aside). I couldn't STAND my most recent job which was at Target a few months back. From the get-go all I really wanted was to make some money. I woke up every morning dreading to go to work, and the only thing that really motivated me was the fact that i was getting paid. The job was horrible and all of the team members were under paid. Even though i was getting a pay check from Target, it was never enough for me. I lasted a few months at the company and ended up quitting. I hope to find something i can truly relate to and enjoy in the future.

My Success

My own definition of success may be different from others.
Success for me isn't just about making money. To me it's more like being happy and being content with the way your life is. That is true success to me!

    This first picture is obviously really old… And well that's because this is my mom at exactly my age. 18! She was really involved with 4H throughout high school, and this is a picture of her showing her horse "Black Beauty" at some event. The second more vibrant picture is a picture of me riding at also the age of 18. So anyways, success to me is being able to do what you love. My mom is who got me following in her footsteps. I too have a passion for horses and riding especially, and i owe it to her. I've always been super close to my mom and i cherish our relationship. To share something like this has always felt special to me.

This might sound silly, but success for me is also being able to accomplish something you thought you never could. This right here is the Hollywood Tower of Terror ride in Disneyland, California. I was here last summer with one of my closest friends and her family when i took this picture. Unfortunately for me though i have a terrible fear of heights after a bad experience once on Drop Zone. (A ride at a different theme park). My friend was begging me to go on the ride with the rest of them and i refused. After much consideration though and a few hours later when we came back to the ride, i agreed to ride it once. It was an experience for me, and the best part was that i had convinced myself upon leaving for Disneyland that i was not going to ride it. This was a personal success.

Another important part of success, is being able to make your own decisions and be happy with them. Know inside that they mean something and you did them for the right reasons. This is not a real tattoo.. but it is a Henna tattoo of a real life tattoo that i hope to get in a couple months. For me the bird is the most important part of this image. For me it signifies freedom and the idea that i don't need anyone else to keep me up. I can fly on my own and support myself. I've always been drawn to this sparrow bird and i've gotten a henna tattoo of it every year. Getting a tattoo like this would be huge for me. This would be me asserting my independence, making a statement for myself.

Last but not least, success is about appreciating what we have in life. Enjoying our surroundings and taking in every moment. This picture is of Stinson Beach, right outside my great grandmothers backyard. My parents and my grandparents grew up here, and i've enjoyed spending some of my summers here in the past. I took this picture a few years ago, but it's just as beautiful as the last time i remember it. My success is allowing myself to let go and live life to the fullest.

Good ol' Advertising

The harder you look at ads, the more you realize just how much they affect our choices and decisions. Everywhere i look i see the same thing. Advertising targets us to buy into what they think we should be doing with our lives. How to dress, what cellphones to have, and most importantly how to stay relevant and "in" with the crowd. Most of us don't know how to avoid this temptation. We figure that it isn't affecting us because we don't necessarily invest our time and money into everything that is available to us out there. We don't realize that advertising exists almost every which way we look, and sometimes we find ourselves indulging in the hype without even knowing it.