Tag Archives: thinking

What I Learned

Hi everyone! I hope everyone in the Chicago-land area is staying warm and safe on the roads today!

SO! It has officially been one year since I launched TheBestSings! & what a journey it has been! I never thought writing my thoughts, likes, and dislikes on the internet would be so fulfilling, but it has truly been life-changing. I wanted to share a couple things that blogging and sharing on social media has taught me. For all of you out there that are scared to start something new in your lives because of fear of judgement (not just blogging, literally anything), keep reading!!

This is also for the people that have contemplated starting a blog or are thinking about becoming a social influencer! Do it! it’s amazing! Here’s your proof:

  • Your thoughts, words, and actions are so much more powerful than you can even imagine.

    • People need a positive light in their lives. Whether that is me, you, or someone else, positivity can be hard to accept in such a negative world, but people need it. & as much as they don’t want to admit it, they also love it. They also need people that are unapoligetically themselves. People that are who they are without apologizing are the kind of people others need in their lives.

  • Not everyone will support you.

    • Throughout this year, I have realized who my true supporters are. Blogging, Instagram, etc. isn’t for everyone. Not everyone in my life wants to know what freaking shade of lipstick I’m wearing, BUT those that want to see me succeed have been there every step of the way, liking every picture, and telling me how amazing I am. The right people will stick by you no matter what journey you choose to take.

  • Making people feel good makes me feel good.

    • I never thought I would feel so much joy trying to make other people feel good. I am 100% the person that appreciates a compliment or words of affirmation. I have realized that giving those words make me feel just as good, if not better. Uplifing others and showing them how much potential they have is such a gift. When I get a message along the lines of “I needed this today”, it truly does warm my heart. The world needs more light. Choose to be one.

  • You are the only thing that can make you happy.

    • The less I cared what people thought, the happier I became. Throughout most of my life, I searched for validation of others. When I started this blog, I did it for me. I did it as an outlet to express what I feel, what I like, and what I dislike. From there it became a platform that I wanted to use for good (because surprisingly, people like what I have to say) . All of these aspects combined made me so so happy. That’s why I keep doing it. Becuase I am so fulfilled with what this platform does for my life and even better, for the lives of others.

  • I have literally the best family and friends int he world.

    • I am literally tearing up writing this part because my friends and family are the biggest and best supporters I could ask for. My family barely understands what a blog and Instagram are, but they ask how they can help. My friends don’t really follow blogs or influencers, but every chance they get, they take a picture or give me ideas or tell me how amazing it is that I am doing it. I have the best friends and family in the world.

  • I have become SO self-aware

    • When you publicise even some of your thoughts and actions into the world for other people to see, you start to think about those thoughts and actions a lot more than not. I have realized what I stand for, what I want out of certain experiences ande even life! I have realized how much goodness I have that I never realized I had. I have realized negatives too. Like how I need to work on self-confidence more, how I need to stop comparing, etc. Overall, it has been very eye-opening internally!

  • I have started to live with more intention.

    • With everything that I do, I feel myself asking “Why am I doing this?” “How will this benefit me?” “Will this make me happy?”. I look at this as a positive because it helps me decide to do things that I ENJOY and not things that I feel like I HAVE to do. In effect, I find myself happier and I enjoy myself so much more.

  • I LOVE my job.

    • Music has always been my hobby. When I started teaching, it became my career and, in affect, something that I surrounded myself with SO MUCH. I found myself starting to feel like it was a burden and I NEVER wanted that to happen. I chose this career because of how much joy it brought me. When I started blogging, it added another hobby in my life. I started discovering new parts of my interests and my job became fun again since I wasn’t putting all of my attention on it. I feel like I have a good balance because of this blog.

Overall, this year I have grown more than I ever have. I hope this inspires you to start something that you were scared of before. Start taking baby-steps towards that goal. I promise it’ll be worth it!

Current favorites:

Drink: Honey Oat Milk Latte, Pinot Noir

Song: anything Jess Glynn

Food: anything peanut butter

Book: The Help

Movie: Midnight in Paris

Makeup Product: L’oreal Age Rewind Concealer

 

Stay curious & kind,

–TheBestSings

Reflecting on a Resolution

I personally love reflection. Whether it’s on an action, an experience, a day, or in this case, a year. & I think this is a perfect excuse to talk about reflection and how I personally review my years. I usually sit down and really think about it. & I 100% believe that doing this helps me become much more self-aware and kind. (not saying I’m an angel or perfect, it’s just something that I have realized helps me.)

Reflection throughout the year is very healthy, but as the year comes to a close soon, I am taking the opportunity to start really reflecting upon the last 12 months.

I usually start about my experiences with others.

What experiences and encounters with others could I have done better with?

Could I have been more outgoing, nicer, more open-minded? Even writing this, experiences rush through my head. Could I have helped someone but instead chose to ignore it or walk away? Did I judge? Did I talk badly about someone? How did I handle going through a difficult break-up? Could I have spoken to a students and understood why they were misbehaving? Could I have been more patient? etc.

You might think these are elementary thoughts, but just because they are simple thoughts does not make them invalid. These are actual things that shape who you are, and if you can’t sit down and think about how you could do better, all I have to say to that is “Sit down, be humble”.

 

What experiences and encounters with others am I proud of? 

For some reason, this one is always more difficult for me to think of. Maybe because everyone is their worst critic. I ask myself things like: When did I make someone’s day? When did I open a student’s mind to music more? When did I impact a student? When did someone tell me they appreciate me and why did they say it? What did I do when I faced hard situations and tried to handle them with grace? When did I stand up for someone? When did I choose to look at the best in a person? When did I tell the people I love that I appreciate them? When did I reach out to an old friend?

These lists can go on and on.

Now onto one that I’m sure is difficult for some to endure. Even me on some days. But bare with me, this is where the real growth and self-acceptance happens.

How did I treat myself?

How did I view myself? When I looked int here mirror, what did I tell myself? What did I consume to either help my body or harm it? Did I exercise? What did I tell myself when I wanted to stop doing something or give up? When someone spoke badly of me, did I beleive them? When someone spoke highly of me, did I believe them? Did I have the confidence to stand up for myself? Was I comfortable with being alone? Did I take time for myself? Was I kind to myself? Etc.

All of these questions can be uncomfortable to ask yourself, but we are human. We have good days and bad days, and to be able to acknowledge both makes us stronger and better people. It makes you own who you are. Every part of you. Becuase once you are aware, then there is opportunity to grow.

Now comes the resolution part

Before I say anything, a resolution can start at any minute of any day! YOU have the power to create your own reality! Remember that!

Everyone’s journey is different. Everyone’s story is raw, truthful, and beautifully unique. So everyone will have different resolutions. Now that you are aware of everything that you have gone through and everything you have been, you have the opportunity to grow from that. I write a list of 5-10 things that I want to grow and be better at and I also write 5 things that I am proud of for and want to continue doing. That’s just what I do, so don’t think you have to!

I have said this before and I will say it again. I am not perfect, I am so far from it. I can only speak from what I know, which are my expriences. But if this post helps ONE person, I believe that I have made an impact.

 

Let me know your thoughts, questions, or suggestions! If you have a different way of reflecting or choosing your new years resolutions, tell me! I would LOVE to know them!

 

Also, let me know if you enjoy these posts! I love feedback!

 

Have a great week everyone!

Stay curious and kind,

–TheBestSings