Tea Time Thursday: Happiness Vs. Money

Almost one year ago exactly, one of my best friends packed up her whole life and moved from Philly to LA. She didn’t have a job, a car, or anything lined up. All she had was a couch to crash on and ambition in her heart. With the anniversary of her moving coming up we have been speaking often about some reflections over the past year. Did she accomplish everything that she set out to accomplish? No. Not even half way. But what she did do is make it to her dream city and begin taking steps to live out her dreams. 

Why am I telling you about a mysterious friend that I have? Because, she left a good job where she had security and a steady income to take a risk. Sometimes that’s what life is all about. 

So often we think to ourselves “I wish I could…but I have to (excuse)”. Then we tell ourselves “Well maybe once I…then I will be able to."

NO. 

Truth is, there is never truly a “perfect time” to do anything. There will always be something holding you back and a little nagging voice saying “what if I leave my security and go after my dreams and fail?” What if you do? You pick yourself up and start over, right? 

Now, I’m not saying that you should just go to work tomorrow and tell off your boss. Nothing like that. If anything, you just never want to burn those professional bridges. But there are a few things that you can do if you truly want to bring about a change, soon, so that you can live out your dreams. 

1. Make a plan

• Having a plan is so important. It’s one thing to say “I want to become a doctor” but you have to educate yourself on the steps that it takes to become one before you just quit and decide to go back to school. Having a plan makes you aware of the time and possible financial commitment that it will take in order to fulfill dreams so you can be prepared now versus trying to prepare while you are in the midst of chaos.

2. SAVE! SAVE! SAVE!

• Once you know how much going after your dream is going to cost, give yourself a deadline to save up at least an 8 month emergency fund (Thanks Suzy Orman). Sometimes leaving one job means taking a pay cut so that you can pursue other avenues.  You want to make sure that you can still support yourself while you are chasing your dreams. 

3. Give yourself a deadline. 

• If you give yourself a set time, once you’ve left your current situation, to fulfill your dreams/take certain steps that will create a sense of urgency. If you know you only have 3 years to make your old salary in your new field then that will make you work that much harder. If at the end of the 3 years you still haven’t gotten there, it’s time to reevaluate. Maybe doing that full time isn’t as lucrative as you thought. But perhaps you can still do it part time and get another job to offset the cost. 

Ultimately, you never want to look back and think “what if”. We only have one life to live so at some point, even if just for 6 months or 3 months, going after your dream and doing what you truly love will be something you never forget. If you’re one of the lucky ones already living out your dream then kudos to you. For the rest of us, never give up, never stop trying, and never lose sight of your happiness. 

-Tea

Sunday Scribbles: A Winter Nightmare

** This was written either my freshman or sophomore year of college. I believe the prompt was to write a brief scenario about waking up and being cold and finding out that there is no heat. Enjoy! **

Waking up was nearly impossible. My Eyelashes were dusted with individual icicles, my breath frozen in my lungs, and my blood chilled in my veins. I struggled to sit up. I attempted to open my car door and it wouldn’t move. Apparently the temperature had dropped so drastically after the storm last night that my car had frozen solid. Shivering did no good. A cold body trapped in a makeshift igloo, moving swiftly in the freezing air was a fail. I brought my knees to my chest under my shirt and hugged them with my arms that were awaiting them, hoping this might help me preserve any body heat I had left. I covered myself with my jacket, which felt more like a blanket of snow. Even my nose hairs had ice on them. I closed my eyes and imagined this must be how Eskimos who went streaking felt.

My internal body temperature was still around ice cube status. I closed my eyes and waited for the sun to rise and hopefully thaw out my day. Until then I sat in fetal position trying not to fall back asleep for fear of my life freezing away on this harsh February morning.

**Sorry so short, the prompt was to be brief and we only had 15 minutes or so. Everybody reading from the Northeast stay warm!  These snow storms are no joke. Don't forget about my Poetry Challenge . Let me know if you're joining along. Talk to y'all real soon :) **

~Tea

Sunday Scribbles: Operation Write Every Day

Welcome to my first entry for my Sunday Scribbles. As some of you may know, I have been writing poetry ever since I could hold a crayon in my hand and make letters on paper (or the walls...sorry Mom.) So for my entry into my Sunday posts, I have decided to do a writing challenge.

I have been having a horrible case of writers block lately. I don't actually think I have written a complete poem since 2015 began. While scrolling Instagram I came across this page @mads.words where she writes in a little notebook, numbers them, and then posts pictures online. I thought it was a great idea so I decided to do the same and challenge myself to write something everyday. I may not post what I write everyday, but as long as I'm writing, it's a start.

I'm sharing this with you so if you want to join along you can. All you will need is a simple notebook (I got mine from Forever 21) and whatever your chosen writing utensil is (I fancy Pentel RSVP in medium).

Once you have that, simply open to the first page, number it and start writing. The beautiful thing about this challenge is that you can write whatever you want to. It can be a quote, a sentence that is stuck in your head, part of a poem, random thoughts, whatever you want as long as you are writing something. Write from your heart. You can never go wrong doing that. If you mess up (as you will see I did below) just scratch it out and keep going. Nobody is perfect, I don't even try to be.

The Challenge will run from now, Feb 15th, through March 31st. Share this with all of your friends and writing buddies. I want to get as many people's creative juices flowing as possible and hopefully together we can all create something beautiful. If you want to share your entries with me on Instagram or Twitter use the hashtag #TeasPoetryChallenge so I can read them and follow you. I'll be back next Sunday with some more of my writing. In the mean time, follow my twitter or instagram (linked above) to see some of my daily writings and to share motivation tips and keep each other going.

Here is my first post that was written literally 20 minutes ago.

Remember, if you join me and share your posts, use the hashtag #TeasPoetryChallenge so I can read your work as well. Comment below if you're excited for the challenge! I'll talk to you all soon. 

~Tea

Wednesday Wisdom: Use the Storm to Prepare for the Sun

In The midst of a Storm

How in the world did it become February already? January completely flew by and this being a short month I’m sure will go by even faster. That being said, let me get right into my Wednesday Wisdom post.

I had planned a bunch of posts for last week but then life through me a curve ball. Then it through another, and another, and eventually I felt like I had completely struck out all in a matter of 24 hours. Normally I keep it all together but a person can only handle so much.

I have a two-part philosophy for times like this. Whenever something happens in your life you should first allow yourself to feel whatever emotions you have and then figure out what to do next. There is a time and place for those emotions to come out but holding them in will only make matters worse. I journal, exercise, do yoga, talk to friends, family, my girlfriend, gorge out on food, whatever I have to productively get my emotions out, I do it.

So after calling my parents and talking to them and talking to V and my friends I felt like a weight was lifted off of my shoulders and was ready for the next part of my philosophy, which is “What’s next?”

Now this part is tricky because usually the “What’s Next?” phase happens a day or two after life falls apart and a lot of emotions are still fresh. But, you have to think about all the things you can be accomplishing in the time that you are essentially in the “eye of the storm”. What lessons can be learned from your situation and how can you take those lessons and channel them in a positive and productive way?

My first ever tattoo was a symbol for “Fate”. I strongly believe that everything happens for a reason and we don’t always know what that reason is when it’s happening. However, using that time when all you want to do is lay on the couch for a week and eat strawberry cheesecake ice cream and watch musicals and Broadway plays to instead make a change and make plans for what’s coming next is essential.

Being in the eye of a storm means you know there is more to potentially come your way. But by preparing for what is to come next and then preparing for what is to come once the storm passes (and it always passes), you have not only helped get yourself out of a rut but also now you are two steps ahead of the game.

There are 4 questions I ask myself to help prepare for sun when I’m still in the midst of a storm:

1.      What exactly is happening/has happened?
2.      What lesson(s) can I take from this?
3.      How can I apply those lessons to my life going forward?
4.      What do I WANT to do next?

It’s usual to feel down and drained after any storm in your life. It’s important, however, to make sure that whatever comes next is something you want to happen and something that will make you happy. It’s never a good idea to leave one negative situation and put yourself right back into another. But by sitting down and thinking about those four questions and answering them honestly and truthfully for yourself, I promise that when the sun comes out you will be ready to go and better than ever.

Let me know how you all overcome bumps in the road, hardships, or just unexpected bad news in your life and what you do to make yourself feel better. (Does anyone else like musicals and Broadway plays? If so tell me your faves below so I can check them out)

Talk to yall soon,

Literally an hour later

~Tea