Let Yourself

Let yourself be 

inspired 

to create, 

to express, 

to be.

Show Me Your Friends...

Surround yourself with people who will 

uplift you, 

encourage you 

and 

motivate you. 

It's so easy for us to get bogged down with comfortable people. I'm talking those people we've known for ages, or we've just grown accustom to having in our close proximity. 

Sometimes we need to take a step back and look critically at these people - are they still (or ever did) serve their purpose in our lives? Are we holding on to relationships that hinder our progress? 

Everyone comes into your life for a good reason. Not everyone deserves to stay in your life. Ultimately you make the choice as to who stays and who goes. It doesn't make sense for you to chase someone down and that person constantly hurts you. Let them go. It doesn't make sense for you to keep that person around yet still as soon as they're gone you're relieved and relaxed, able to be yourself and be happy. Get rid of them. It doesn't make sense to keep that person who you keep giving your all to but won't give you a thought. Leave them down. No space on your minivan of life for that!!

Instead find people who uplift, encourage and motivate you. I've come to learn that this does not mean surround yourself with people who enable you. Having friends that enable you are just as detrimental if not worse than those that are just dead, useless weight. Have friends that are critical, smart, and look out for your best interest. Friends who aren't afraid to tell you "hey you're forming the ass now" or "No...you're not doing that because it's a stupid idea and in the end you're gonna regret you did it." Surround yourself with people who have a great vision for themselves and want to surround themselves with equally or more greatness.

In the words of the great Tess M J. "...and with that I resign."

-V

Let The Reading Continue!

After much wait, or at least what seemed like FOREVER!! I finally got my Kobo Mini (e-reader). I am thoroughly impressed and excited to have it. I have purchased a few e-books and have been reading once again on the bus and even in bed. I would recommend an e-reader whether it be a Nook, Kobo, Kindle, or whatever to someone who loves reading or wants to get into reading. They are slim enough to slip into almost any bag (depending on the size) and are easy to use. The only thing is the version I have doesn't have a back light and so I would need a separate light source if I were reading in the dark or on a late night bus from Toronto or something. But apart from that, I LOVE IT!!

I posted the following question on my Facebook wall - WANTED: Suggestions for books to read. I got a few replies, some of which I don't think are along the lines of the books I want to read, others definitely captured my interest. Here is a list of some of the books suggested (including those I probably won't read):

• The Skin I'm In by Sharon G. Flake
• The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom by Jonathan Haidt
• The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
• The Other Boleyn Girl
• The Hunger Games Series
• Earth's Children (a series of books) by Jean Auel
• Eva Luna
• A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
• So Long A Letter by Mariama Ba
• The Lion and The Jewel by Wole Soyinka
• Girl With A Pearl Earring
• Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom.

Have you read any of these books or have a suggestion for a book I should read? Let me know by leaving a comment below! Also feel free to look up and start reading any of these books yourself!

Happy Reading

-V

What's The Plan

This is something I have been struggling with for many years - what do you want to be when you grow up? True some would say I am already grown, but I don't feel like it.

I was reading Steve Harvey's book "Act Like A Lady - Think Like A Man" and in the book he says there are 5 questions a woman should ask a man to know if he's a keeper or if she should grab her purse and run. The first question is where do you see yourself in 5 years (i.e. what are your short term goals)? True I was reading the book to understand how to interact with males and get one to be mine - mwhahaha!! But the book made me question myself as well. I mean how terrible would it be for me to sit grilling a guy about where he wants to be in 5 or 10 years time and I have no idea where I want to be?! He'll get the red flag and head straight for the door.

Another minor event happened to encourage the thought process on what my short and long term goals are. My friend Bee and I were having a conversation about work and we discussed where I currently work and how much I make. I don't make minimum wage - and that is a blessing. Anything about $11 is wonderful in my mind, if you get enough hours. Anyway, in the conversation Bee says she can't wait to be making $30/hr or more. The gong went off in my mind. I had never thought about making so much money despite what job I thought I would be doing. Another part of Steve's book came to mind. I'm not going to quote what part, go read it for yourself and figure it out. But on a serious note, it was another part of the book that could have been applied to myself. What am I worth? How much do I think I should be making in my desired job? This I think helps to hone in on exactly what you want to do, how you want to do it and how much you want to get for your hard work.

So of course, I sat with my pen and paper (diary in this case) and thought long, deep and hard about what I want to do, where I see myself and how long it's going to take me. Two weeks ago, if you asked me what is my dream job I would tell you I want to be an Environmental Educator and that's it. Today I am able to sift through that fluff of a title and break it down further, pin pointing exactly what I want to do.

I want to be something similar to a curriculum officer but not on the Ministry of Education side. I want to work with businesses and organisations such as a water company, energy company, landfill, etc. in connection with schools, youth groups, churches, community organisations to develop programming/activities/curriculum for the businesses and organisations that I work with to get their environmentally friendly message out there and into the community. For example, let's say I work with a water company and the country, city, whatever (depending on where I am in the world) celebrates October as the month of Water, I would create a month long programme of activities that would help persons know more about the water in the community, how to use water efficiently, how the water gets from the source to the user. The same would apply if I worked for a recycling plant and the month of June was recycling month. A month long series of activities would be created not only for students (although focusing more on the youth) to get persons involved and aware of what really happens when we recycle, don't recycle properly, what to look for in materials before buying them, etc. The title I want is Community Environmental Outreach Manager.

So that is my long term goal. I'm still working on fine tuning the short term goals to help me get that direction. That will be another post possibly.

What are some of your short and long term goals? Feel free to share with me in the comments below!

Thanks for reading!
-V

Words of Encouragement

Don't give up on a dream. If you want it bad enough it will scare you but you will need to be brave and press on. Obstacles will get in your way and the easiest thing may be to give up; but you are more than that. You have more strength within you to keep on fighting and keep on pushing to achieve that dream; to make it a reality. Whenever you feel unmotivated or restless or frustrated, remember the dream. Picture the joy of achieving it and thinking I finally did it!

Who Inspires You? Part Three

There are people that come into your life for a purpose. When their time is done, they leave. You remember the lessons they taught you and live a better life.

There are other people that are in your life for years. From the day you meet them til the day you die, they remain in your life and are a good source of inspiration among other things to you.

This next inspiration to me has been in and out of my life, due to distance, for some years now. I met her in my first year of high school and ever since we've been friends. Sometimes I really wonder how she deals with me, my mood swings, impulsive behaviour and randomness. A few weeks back I sat with her and a few other people and listened to her speak. When she spoke it was like deja vu. It was so eloquent it reminded me of the our "good ole days."

My friend Gemma Edwin inspires me to be educated, knowledgeable, well versed and open minded. It's amazing the way a conversation between the two of us unfolds. A simple topic such as grocery shopping turns into a three hour conversation on capitalism, organic food, ethics and globalization. It truly is wonderful to have a friend who encourages your own growth and curiosity.

So to Gemma I raise my green bottle and say FIRE ONE!

Thanks for being such an inspiration to me!

-The Empress

Who Inspires You? Part Two

I recently tweeted "I wish I could give awards to my friends because they are just so amazing."

I have been fortunate enough to surround myself with amazing people. Many of my friends are not just support through trying times, or shoulders for me to lean on. Many of my friends are motivators, inspiration, [good] competition, a source of great knowledge and even wisdom. My friends are people who uplift my spirit in one way or another.

Abdulai Mohamed inspires me. The truth is I have not had a significant number of deep conversations with him (although I am working on that), however, the few that I have had, have left me inspired and motivated to not only dream big and make those dreams a reality.

I love teaching and almost every conversation with Abdulai leaves me wishing I had stayed in the profession. I can't say that I will drop what I'm doing now and return to teaching, but I will say that I will make decisions that change lives for the better. Abdulai continues to remind me that there are good people in the world.

So I raise my glass to you Abdulai and say FIRE ONE! Thanks for being such an inspiration to me!

-The Empress

Cheers To The Resolutions!

In case you actually don't know, I am a HUGE fan of Those Girls Are Wild! I believe I found out about them from one of my best friends here in Canada and ever since that first video I've been hooked. I follow their blog, subscribe to their YouTube channel and of course I follow them on Twitter as well. These two young women are such wonderful, positive role models for not just women younger than them but even older.

We know how every year people make resolutions saying this year I'll go to the gym, or I'll get in shape or I'll take care of my body and we know that by February more than half those people fall off the band wagon. Don't make large commitments that are difficult to keep. Or if you do, make sure you have it well planned out. Start small and work your way up. Shannon Boodram from Those Girls Are Wild has created a video to help you get in shape! It's simple. I can't say it's easy because then you probably wouldn't see results hahaha, but it's something you can do, everyday even twice a day if you so desire, to get a body that looks amazing. Watch the video, try it out and let me know how it goes.




Happy Exercising!

-The Empress

Let the planning begin

My exams ended on Monday December 19th and I said I would give myself one week to relax and the next week I will begin my school work to get ahead and plan for my future (as I normally do). Well today is Friday and I'm tired of "relaxing" which happens to be doing nothing or just cleaning in one way or the other.

I'm here more or less alone for the holidays and although I appreciate the time alone I feel like I have nothing to do. I'm sure I can catch up on major reading or watching shows I haven't been able to follow during the semester but it's not the same. I think I'm always under so much pressure that it doesn't feel normal to not be. Anyway, so apart from cleaning and getting ahead in my studies I'm also going to look at the "Where do I see myself in x years." I'm scheduled, correction: I am going to graduate in June 2012 and receive my Honours degree in August 2012 and hence I need to have some sort of an idea as to what I want to do and how I'm going to do it.

I do know that I honestly am not ready to do my Masters just yet. I know there are a number of people who are disappointed in this. Truth be told I'd like to work for about 10 years and then get my Masters. By then everyone I know would have had 2 Ph.D's but I honestly don't care. I can't make decisions for my life based on what other people are doing. I need to make decisions that I feel are best for me and that I can handle. In 5 years time I would like to enter my field of interest with a secure foot. And that is what I am going to do.

I often say there's method to my madness, and I truly believe it. Whether others can see it or believe it is another question, but that doesn't bother me. I know me and what I want well enough. I feel grounded and focused. Now is the time to apply these emotions and secure my dreams. I should have a back up plan, but not just yet. I believe this will work out.

This is just the begin of the my rise to achieve my goal. 2012 is the year when the slingshot will be stretched and released, and I shall be propelled in the right direction to live my dreams. Let nothing stop me, let nothing stop you. We're both going to achieve our dreams.

Don't wish me luck. Help me along my journey.

Best wishes
-The Empress

Mind Over Matter

I am not big on New Years celebrations. I'm one of those persons that wants to crawl into a dark hole for about two months - December and January and not think about a new year dawning and all that jazz. The primary reason for it is because twice a year it hits me, another year is dawning and another year of my life is gone, and I have nothing to show for it. I have nothing to say hey this is what I've accomplished. It weighs me down and makes me sad to know that I'm not truly happy, but happy at moments, and that I'm still not living my life, but living to please others. It bothers me that I don't feel like I'm going somewhere and I have something to do, that I'm merely floating around in this crazy world.

I usually try to hide from New Years.

But somehow, this year I don't want the stroke of midnight to catch me at home, or in my current town. No. I want to be a different place to ring in a different year. 2012 is my Champagne Year and I have dubbed it "The Year of The Empress." In 2012 it will be difficult but I will be happy. I will have a goal and I will work towards it. I will explore life and myself, and push myself to become a great woman. I will retrain myself to be mentally powerful, self motivated, hard working and fun loving. I will culture myself to not be ignorant, temperamental or short tempered. I will culture myself to be graceful, sophisticated, educated and wise. From 2012 onward I shall be responsible and build on that responsibility a kingdom of comfort for my family.

Yes, 2012 is MY year.

Words of Advice

By far the best profile picture I have ever seen on Facebook EVER!

I'm off...

The Times Are Changing

Another school year has started and I believe I have been blessed to be granted the opportunity to take a course with my favourite Indigenous Studies professor - Dan Longboat. Dan is amazing, and extremely inspirational to me, and many other students. This course that I'm taking is entitled Sustainable Indigenous Communities and the idea behind it, or rather the way the class is structured is that we (the students) are part of this community. Right now at the beginning of the academic year is land, water and air. We have no hardware. We have no software. We have no jellyware (I'll explain jellyware soon). Throughout the course of one year/8 months we will develop our community using the indigenous knowledge and concepts we learn in class to make our community sustainable. Each student has to develop one concept, whether hardware or software that contains that element of jellyware that will make everything work well together.

I sat in the front row of class today and listened intently to every word that escaped Dan's mouth; each word carrying an important message not only about how I can pass this course, but also how I can use what I have learnt in this course to make myself and my country a better place. It's rather interesting that at the beginning of class Dan spoke about doing post graduate studies...i.e. getting a Masters or Second Degree. For quite some time I have been disheartened by the option of acquiring a second degree, and have said that I will not do it. Then recently I did say to my close friends Gemma and Tessa (possible Chanel and Christal as well, but I don't remember) that I would eventually do my Masters, and I'd do it at Trent. Why Trent? Why again? Because of the Masters programme in Sustainability that is offered at Trent. Having listened to Dan's schpeel today about the difference between a first and second degree, and the importance of doing one, I have become even more inclined to do one, although not directly after I graduate. So may this post act as a declamation (or is it proclamation?) of my desire to pursue and attain my Masters in Sustainability. Listening to Dan's introduction to the course and also merely introducing myself to the class I was reminded of why I came to Trent and given hope that I can make my dreams and goals a reality in Saint Lucia regardless of the times.

The idea behind the course is that we all are members of a community. And at this current point in the semester, in the academic year, our community is only land, air and water. By the end of the course we would have used indigenous concepts along with our own knowledge of our various communities to create a truly sustainable community. Each student is responsible for one topic/aspect of the community whether hardware or software and they are to be innovative and creative in developing it to be sustainable for the community. I am a bit of a scatterbrain and also lack the drive to finish a task completely, hence this is where I am having a little bit of a problem. I can't figure out what am I most passionate about that I can develop through this assignment, that I can use maybe to do my Masters on and to evoke necessary change in my country. There are a few things I am interested in, but which one of these interests is really a passion; something that will carry me throughout this semester and beyond to be what I want to be and do what I want to do. My choices right now are economics, education, urban housing and energy. The more I type, and the more I think about it, the more I feel like education is my calling. Maybe I can investigate that a bit more in terms of my own development, but for the class I will look at what aspects of education and sustainability I can bring to the table. That is not to say that I cannot investigate the other aspects which interest me, to help me be more well rounded. It's just that my primary focus would be education.

I need to remind myself that even though things don't work out the way we want them to, or the way we think they should in hindsight, it doesn't mean that we cannot make it work in the future, or that it isn't the path we were suppose to take altogether. Maybe this actually is my calling. That I am to have all this detailing to my shield and heart which is deeply rooted in education. Maybe my eyes only let me see the option to teach or to be a teacher, whereas the universe, God and everything have me listed to be an educator. The future is looking brighter. The times are changing. I need not limit myself to what I could have done, instead I need to focus on what I can do and should do.

SOS 30 Day Challenge

One of the blogs I follow is having a 30 Day Challenge and I think I'm going to attempt to do it. I don't think I will share my posts with everyone, but instead do it just for me. If you want, and I suggest you do, you can join along and do the challenge. Her blog is Struggles of the Strong. Have fun! Feel free to leave a comment on her blog under any of her posts as well! Heck, just follow her blog as well!

Love ya peoples

Day Twenty One! - 30 Day Challenge

How you hope your future will be like

The not too distant future I hope to be working, doing something I enjoy/am interested in, living on my own in a lovely high rise apartment building on the 12th floor or so in Whitby or Ajax or Pickering. Probably still not knowing how to drive and hence not having a car lol.

In the distant future I see myself living in my solar powered house, with wonderful sustainable and environmentally sound elements like bamboo flooring, the use of recycled glass, rain collectors, and things of that sort. I will be married, can't see children right now...who knows, they may just be in their rooms lol. I will be driving and I will own a car. A cute one, like a Mini Coop or a Beetle lol.

In the super distant future, I see myself on a porch swing, rocking back and forth with my husband. Still looking good for my age, healthy, watching my grandchildren (so I guess the children were in their rooms lol), having a cute puppy, a fluffly one, we would have had a chocolate or black lab already, still enjoying my property.

That's what I see, what about you? Where do you see yourself in the future?


The Empress

Day Sixteen! - 30 Day Challenge

Something you always think "what if" about


If you know me well enough you should know the answer to this...what if I pursued my dream of being a performer on stage.

If you know me and not even well enough, but if you've seen me on stage you can tell that I love it! I love being on stage whether it be performing or hosting, I was born to be on stage! Sadly the culture back home is not one that heavily promotes The Arts as a livelihood and hence my dreams of being a performer, being an artist, were not supported as much as being an environmentalist. I've never considered myself the best dancer out there. Truth be told in my ballet classes I always thought of myself as the worst of the best. The best because I made it so far, but still in comparison to the other lovely ladies I danced with, I always thought I was the worst. The thing I know I have is stage presence and energy. Many persons have told me that I'm a natural born performer and when on stage it's hard to take your eyes off me. Oh well.

This summer I met someone who is living my dream. He works as a dancer. Gets paid and pays his bill from dancing...and I'm not talking go go dancer, I'm talking legit performer. Meeting him has given me hope that I can persue some sort of my dream of being on stage. I think I'm going to looking to being a part of a musical or something. I'm not the best singer out there, I don't think I'm the worst (I'm not tone deaf), but maybe I can give it a shot and see what will happen. Who knows, my what if may become an I did.


What is a "what if" that's been on your mind for some time?

Visual Motivation

When setting a goal it's good to have a model to work towards. Right now I'm working on my figure (yes I know so many people now want to beat me up for saying that, but!! in my defense, I don't care what you think of my figure. My view is all that matters. It's not like I'm going to become anorexic or anything...I love food too much and hate regurgitating way too much), so I have sourced some photos to help me remember this is what I'm working towards. And knowing me...I won't get there lol. I'll get half way and be satisfied and work to maintain the half way mark hahahaha.

But in any case, what makes you happy right? The next post will be on exercises and general things you can do to help you get a figure like that, or like mine if you think mine is amazing already.

from http://www.workoutplansforwomen.com/ab-workouts-for-women/

from http://www.nowloss.com/how-to-get-a-flat-stomach-abs-like-jessica-alba.htm

from http://www.thetruthaboutcorestrength.com/pilates-ants/

from http://www.healblog.net/body/stomach-crunches-for-a-flatter-stomach/

I visited all these sites to see what information they have on ab workouts and truth be told, only the first link seemed to have given me something I would put my name on. You can check out the others and see how you feel about them, but I'm gonna stick with the good old fashion exercises suggested in the first link.

Words From Drake

Who would have thought that I'd be quoting the rapper/singer/actor Drake in a post.

"Everybody dies, but not everybody lives."

The reason why so many people love this phrase is because there is so much power in it. We (myself included) go through our day to day activities barely living. It's a routine that we must endure, we must succumb to, a road we must travel. We often sit and dream about all the adventurous and exciting things that we could be doing if. If this were that way, if that were that way, if we had this, this, that, that, that and those two over there as well. We let the ifs of life bog us down into boring, and unsatisfying.

I've picked up my glue gun, needle and thread and began creating and experimenting. I may not become famous or get rich off of these little crafty things I let my fingers do, but it's something that keeps me entertained and not bored and frustrated with life. I turned 24 of Saturday and the Tuesday before my birthday I went to the club and had an epiphany, yes I know, an epiphany at the club? I wondered if it was just me getting older, but I no longer enjoy going to club. It's not exciting, nor is it entertaining, nor invigorating or stimulating. I go and I subconsciously force myself to have fun or rather not feel bored at that very real moment in time. Should I have to entertain myself or be silly for me to enjoy myself at the club? I'm not too convinced of that. Someone can easily say oh you're going to the wrong club and they're playing the wrong music, which very well may be true but still...maybe I need to take a break from the club scene and get into other mentally stimulating things.

Thankfully I've had a few conversations with friends about various topics that truly were mentally stimulating and it was refreshing and invigorating to experience those things. I shall challenge myself to have more of those discussions and not only on controversial topics like religion or the development of my country, but on simple topics like energy and remaining motivated. I shall challenge myself to speak to more people about important topics and not about frivolous things like what shall I wear to work tomorrow. I challenge you as well to step outside your comfort zone and having those difficult conversations that help you understand the people around you better. Don't just talk, listen. Listen to what the other person is saying and don't be so quick to judge them. 


Today we are beginning a challenge of growth, exploration and stimulation. Let the journey begin!

When There Is No Path

After my bout of being unmotivated I am re-energized and ready to continue on that path to greatness.

But what do you do when you want to achieve something big, something fabulous, something great and there are no directions, no guidance no nothing to lead you in the right way? You create your own path to success! It may be a difficult challenge but when you receive that victory, that success, nothing else will matter. All the struggles and hard work will make that victory taste even sweeter.

This is my motivation for my dreams. I understand fully that what I want to do is to venture into unknown waters, but that doesn't stop me. The end product is more important to me than anything else. I'm a bit tired of people telling me don't come back to Saint Lucia because there's nothing there for me. Why do people always have a one-sided view? Yes things look dismal in Saint Lucia but by encouraging everyone to stay away how can development and progress be made? It may take me years to return to Saint Lucia, but I want to know that I have made a significant contribution to my country. That's why I want to go back. I want to make a positive and significant contribution to my country. I feel like I owe it to my home to give back. I don't doubt that it's gonna be difficult, but this difficulty does not deter me, and I hope it never gets the better of me.

What dreams lead you into uncharted waters? How do you find motivation to keep going? Let me know. 

Motivation

Consider the following:

When God gives you a gift what should you do with it? You should use it; you should cherish it; you should show your gratitude and appreciation for it. Your body is a gift from God, so why are you not cherishing it? Why are you not taking care of it? Your body is the temple of the Lord, so why are you not maintaining the integrity and structure of the temple? Why are you letting it become derelict and battered?

If this isn't enough to get you motivated and moving in a direction that will help you take care of yourself, what will? This is my motivation to keep moving, to not pass by my mirror, look at what I don't like and do nothing about it. This is my motivation to maintain my temple, my gift from God in the best shape possible.