me telling you how I spend some days, and a small request

Since I had all those guest bloggers last month (seriously appreciate y'all), I never got a chance to tell you guys about what exactly I'm up to here in DC.

Currently, I have two jobs, and I work six days a week. Some days, I do basic intern work at a non-profit (picture me collating paper, calling eleventy billion people, and making coffee), and some days I work as a fundraiser for another non-profit.

It's a glamorous life guys.

The reason it's so glamorous is because as a fundraiser I stand outside all day -- rain, snow, or shine -- and try to talk to hundreds of people every day. If people are nice, they'll actually stop and at least say hi, but for the most part, people aren't nice.

In the few weeks I've worked there, I've been ignored a lot. That's not terrible, but it kind of sucks having people's eyes slide right over you like you don't exist. The worst has been the people that are downright mean.

I've been told to fuck off a lot. I've been told to get a real job, and to go back to my home country and stop bothering hard working Americans (I was born here, I AM a hard working American). Someone once asked my name and then said, "Valorie, your job makes you human filth. Do something actually worthwhile with your time." I've been spat at, one woman almost hit me, and I've got the combinations of "go to hell," "shut up," and all that more times than I can count.

I'm not saying this to complain and I'm not looking for pity. But I will say this: I'm human, and even though I'm not supposed to take these comments personally, I have feelings and hearing that I'm a piece of shit does hurt.

So I'm begging you: Please, next time you see a fundraiser on the street, be nice to them. You don't have to stop, but please smile, say hi, wave, acknowledge his or her existence in some way. Because fundraisers are people too. They bleed just like you do, and they hate to be ignored just like you do. And if you see or hear someone tell a fundraiser to fuck off, be nice to that kid. Because nine times out of ten, they're people who have fallen on hard times - they need to pay rent, or pay student loans. They probably believe in the cause they represent, but they don't want to stand out in the rain for seven hours as much as the next person doesn't.

Be nice to the fundraisers.

You and I? We deserve to be happy. Yes, really.

 {via}

Happy Monday, everyone! I have the day off of my day job today (totally unexpectedly, I got a text at 7:30 am!), so I've been spending my morning eating, cleaning, and now I'm stopping by here before I'm off to the gym.

Since I have a Monday off, I'm in a good mood and feel like the universe likes me, so I wanted to take a moment to tell you guys about the best investment I've ever made. Spoiler alert: It was in myself.

Good spoiler, huh?

I did this back in April. And I'm just now telling you? I know. I'm sorry. I actually grappled with the decision for a while. I'd discovered Stratejoy, a positive corner of the internet for gutsy girls that want to live their best lives, several months before and had devoured every blog post, every tweet, every piece of advice, every thing Molly and her tribe of brave women had to say. But since I was a broke college student, I wasn't sure if I could actually afford to really invest in one of her coaching sessions or group training calls.

Then, Molly released Joy Juice.

Joy Juice is for the ladies out their who think their life is fine. Their job is fine. School is fine. Relationships are fine. Maybe dreams are on the back burner to "reality" but basically, everything is fine.

That was me. That was where I was in this post, in this post, and in this post (and in a few other posts). Everything was fine, but I wasn't happy. It's not that anything was wrong, exactly. I was just so busy doing college and getting where I was going, that I had forgotten where I was going and why. I had lost the passion, the motivation, the happiness. Things weren't great. And I wanted things to be not just great, but amazing! I wanted to be wildly, unabashedly happy with the life I was living. But I just wasn't.

So, I took the leap. I invested in myself through Joy Juice. I wanted a life that was more than "fine." I wanted a life that I think we all genuinely deserve: a happy, healthy, life in which we get to run after our dreams. Molly's Joy Juice is helping me get there.

Here's how it works: It's 120 journal prompts that inspire you, that make you really think about what you want, what your dreams are, and where you're going. They help you get unstuck, find your dreams again, and rediscover your amazing. I'm currently a little behind on my prompts (I answered prompt 65 this morning, but 76 is already waiting in my inbox - oops!), but I can say that these prompts have given me the motivation and the accountability to really examine my life and realize what I want, and are continuing to help me do so. Because of these prompts, I realized that law school is probably not the answer for me, but photography? Oh yeah. Photography definitely is. And now? I just opened an Etsy shop where I sell artistic prints from around the world, and am close to booking my first wedding. So, thanks, Joy Juice. Thanks, Molly.

Your life might be just fine, like mine was. You may even feel guilty wanting more of anything. I know I did - I'm an only child, I had a car, my parents were paying for me to go to college -- what more did I really deserve to ask for? But you can't look at it like that, because we all deserve to be happy and to own that happiness. You (and I!) deserve our amazing.  Drink up, ladies!

In the interest of full disclosure: I am an affiliate with Stratejoy and Joy Juice. That just means that I didn't get paid to write this post, but that if you do order Joy Juice by clicking on one of my links, Molly thanks me with a small percentage. And hey, maybe if you love Joy Juice as much as I do, you can be an affiliate too some day! It's nice to make money doing something you love, right? Life is good.

Fill in the _____ Friday - 3.2.2012

1.  The highlight of my week was    finding THE CUTEST Starbucks in all of DC.

2.   If I had to classify my interior design aesthetic it would be    simple. Lots of basics (grey couch, black furniture) with pops of bright color (yellow blanket, giant red painting on the wall) .

3.  My first vehicle was    a silver Mazda 3 that was destroyed in a crash this past November. :(

4. An item I need to have in my day in order to function is   (I hate to be *that person*, but...) my iPhone. I use it as my alarm, to write myself notes, send reminders to myself, and generally keep in touch with everyone.

5. My favorite way to waste time is   reading. But, "time you enjoy wasting is not wasted." - Marthe Troly-Curtin.

6. Right now I could really go for    some biscuits with honey. It's all I want to eat these days. GIVE ME ALL THE HONEY!

7.  This weekend I will be   working on Saturday, then finishing up all the unpacking and settling in and getting organized on Sunday. My furniture was finally delivered last Saturday and our apartment is still a wreck.

 

How are you guys spending your weekend? Doing something more fun than me I hope? Whatever you do, I hope it's great.

 

Also, if you want to fill in some blanks, link up with Lauren - she's awesome, right?  And if you filled in some blanks, let me know in the comments! :)

March: Kicking It Into High Gear

 {mine}

What is the "It" that I'm kicking into high gear, you ask? Uh, life! For those of you that aren't new to the blog, you've probably seen that I try at the beginning of every month to set out some goals to achieve that month. It holds me accountable, which I need! Sometimes I meet all of them, sometimes I don't meet a single one. That's life, right?

Last month, I did okay! About 50% achievement rate, which yes, would have been failing back in college, except I'm going to grade myself on a curve. I get to do that because I'm the professor of my life.

That sounds so stupid. Even in my head. Anyway. In February, I:

Joined a gym, but not a yoga studio, I got an apartment, I set up a handwriting template, but I still bite my lips (possibly even more now!). I didn't do the staged bridal shoot or be a second shooter for a wedding, but I did set up an Etsy shop to sell my prints AND I scheduled both a staged bridal shoot and when I CAN be a second shooter for a wedding, so those are points in my favor! I hit 100 followers here (hi, guys!), I now have sponsorship spots available (interested? super reasonable prices, promise), and I found a place to go skydiving nearby DC (!!!). A good month, all in all.

Now, in March, here's what I'm planning on:

The Exercise Bucket

Work out three times a week

Become a yoga studio member

Lose 1 pound (I want to lose 12 pounds over all this year, so 1 pound a month)

The Friendship Bucket

Make all my Skype dates with KJ and Cyndi (I miss you guys so much!)

Send cards to friends back home

Send flowers to someone for no reason except to do it

The Self-Improvement Bucket

Stop biting my lips!

Practice calligraphy

Do Rosetta Stone for Spanish five times a week

The Photography Bucket

Do the staged bridal shoot

Schedule a wedding to shoot. (Getting married or want some portraits done? Check out my work here.)

Sell ten prints on Etsy.

The Internet Everything Bucket

Hit 130 followers on this blog

Start saving up to move my blog to it's own domain

Post 3 times a week

The Creativity Bucket

Write every day

Do one DIY project (I'm thinking of making this painting - my kitchen needs some color!)

Read Uncle Tom's Cabin

The Do Uncomfortable Things Bucket

Find a blog conference to go to

Only use heat on my hair ten times (I'm planning to donate it in May)

(In case you're wondering what the heck these "buckets" are, I explain this whole thing here.)

What are your goals for March 2012? Tell me - maybe we can help each other out toward achieving them! 

job requirements, magical universe shenanigans, and how I'm probably turning into Phoebe Buffay

{via}

I don't eat my hair or sing songs about malodorous cats, but the older I get, the more I identify with Phoebe Buffay (from Friends? Come on, guys). That is to say that now more than ever, I have a strong belief in putting things out there in the universe. It's more than what you give is what you get (though that's a good start). Instead I've started to notice the value of picturing what you want and making it come to life by just believing that it will.

An example: When the boyfriend and I were looking for a place to live here in DC, I immediately fell in love with the third one I saw: A reasonably priced basement apartment with a backyard, great indoor lighting, and a lot of space. He was afraid we wouldn't get it, but I was so sick of looking at apartments and wanted this one so badly that I just decided it was already ours and I stuck to that story, even when it wasn't looking to be the truth.

Spoiler alert: We live in that apartment now.

When people would ask me, "Oh, are you looking at more places?" I would say we weren't because I "knew" we were moving into this one. I had no effing way of knowing that, but I was trying to put it out there in the universe and see if it worked out.

I'm not trying to say I have magical powers (though that would be cool). It's more that once I decided that this was the apartment, I started treating everything like that. I talked with the landlords like we were already friends, establishing a good rapport with them. Other apartments I saw? I told them that I'd seen a better one that I'd probably move into, and would only consider others if they could give me a better price.

And I think that whenever you really want something, that's an important step to take. You're not just going to be handed whatever you want because you want it. I think we've all learned that by now. But really making decisions about what we want (as opposed to "yeah...I guess I want that..." thoughts) are the first step in a good action plan. Decide you want it. Picture it clearly. Tell other people you want it. All that will help you get to the last step: Make it happen. Talking about it helps you figure out what you need to do next to make it happen. And then all that's left is to do and to have.

I talked the talk, and now I walk the walk. Or, you know, something slightly less gangster sounding. And now that I have the apartment and I'm settled in, I'm talking other talks.

One is that I'm a wedding, portrait, and travel photographer. I mean, I am; I have a photography website, now I sell prints from photos I've taken around the world, and I've taken photos of people for their engagements, for their senior portraits, etc. But I haven't done a wedding *yet.* But I will soon, and I know that because I know it, just like I knew with the apartment. A bride will hire me, soon. And soon, I'll start making enough money through photography to quit my day jobs.

Until that day? I'm going to quickly find a job that can replace my current part time job (which I'll talk about in a whole other post). It will be a job that gives me some flexibility with my hours, and that will incorporate my natural creative talents. It may not be THE BEST JOB EVER, but I won't go home crying or feeling dejected most days I work. I will like the people I work with, and I will feel at least a little useful.

Are you listening, Universe? As Phoebe said, I'm putting good vibes out right now. You do your half, I'll do mine.

What are you guys asking for from the universe? Tell me about it in the comments and we can all put out good vibes for each other, and take that next step toward making it happen. *cue acoustic guitar*