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Photo Recap: Creating a Meaningful Life List

posted 31st August 2009 Written by: Molly Hoyne CATEGORY: All Posts, Events, Molly

This weekend’s event was a complete success!

We had a full house. Yay. 16 cool Seattlites = Sold Out Event.
Everyone showed up, which is saying a lot considering it was 9 am on a Saturday.
Amazingly enough, there were no spilled mimosas nor scissor injuries.

So what did we do? We brunched, brainstormed, shared big dreams & then broke out the scissors & glue sticks. I was blown away by this crafty bunch… Even those who claimed to have no artistic ability ended up creating a fab vision board or scrapbook, in addition to their big list. Seriously, I was inspired!

And yes, I’m all full of rah rah- but if you had gotten the chance to hear about the cool shit people are going to do in their lifetime, you’d be excited too.

“101 Things To Do” seemed daunting to some, so we broke it down to anything that was personally appealing. 35 Things to do before 35? 77 awesome things I want to accomplish? The Top 10 Big Dreams? The emphasis of the list was up to the creators themselves, as was the format.

Instead of me giving you the play-by-play– Why don’t you hear it from some of the kids themselves?! I teared up several times today watching these posts fly around Twitter because, honestly, these were unsolicited blogs. Muah girls!! I’m glad you took away some powerful insights from our morning together. It was an honor to be witness to the creation of such inspiring lists.

Lacey : Loving Local Food
Jennifer : It Pleases Me
Erin : Three Blind Moose

And as the title says, the rest of the morning I shall leave to…

A Rockin’ Photo Recap

You’d imagine this would end with a photo of each Life List, eh? Unfortunately, I was too enthralled by everyone’s presentation of their list to remember to take a pic. Oops. Only #fail of the day.

See you next time? I’m thinking November!

What I learned from my Dog

posted 31st August 2009 Written by: Robyn CATEGORY: All Posts, Life Lesson, Quarterlife Crisis, Robyn, Season 1, What I've Learned

My girlfriend, Natalie, spent a lot of time and money training her dog, Morgan (who I also consider to be my dog). Morgan can sit, stay, give paw, and she’s almost trained off leash. I’ve always been impressed with Morgan and how quickly she learns.

I’ll even admit that sometimes I’m jealous of the dog.

I mean she sits around all day, naps, gets constant attention, and is constantly spoiled! After living with her for about a year, I have learned a lot from just watching her.

Here’s a list of things I have learned from my dog:

1. Always let the people you care about know how much you love them. It’s easy to get caught up in a routine and to take the people around you for granted. Take time to appreciate the people you care about, and never hesitate to show them how much they mean to you and how happy you are to see them. I can’t remember a day when I walk home through my front door that Morgan isn’t jumping on me and showering me with kisses. Her tail wags uncontrollably like it’s the first time she has seen me in months, when really it has only been a few hours.

2. On the other hand, don’t waste time on people who don’t make you happy. Friendships and relationships are two way streets, and if you don’t feel like you are being treated how you deserve, then move on. When Morgan is outside at the dog park, surrounded by other people and other dogs, she will run around making friends, and once in a while, she will come across someone she must not be fond of. Maybe she is a good judge of character or maybe there is no reason for it, but she doesn’t waste her time around another person or another dog she doesn’t like. She will run away, cower, and move on to the next dog/person.

3. Take time to relax. Balancing work and life and everything else weighs on me, and I’m sure it weighs on you. Even if it’s just an hour each night…take time to do something relaxing. Read a book, take a walk, or watch part of your favorite movie. Morgan takes about twelve naps a day (here’s where my jealousy comes in—haha!). She does what makes her happy—chewing on a bone, laying in the sun, or digging in the sand at the dog beach. She does what she wants and always makes time for herself.

4. Let people give you attention. Don’t be shy, and never pass a chance to open and up and let yourself be heard. I’ve never enjoyed being the center of attention—so much that sometimes I will downplay my feelings or accomplishments so that it’s not such a big deal. I’ve worked on it, and I have found a better, happier balance. I enjoy sharing things with people more, and I enjoy their reactions to my sharing. Morgan will sit and stare at me until I invite her up on the couch to rest on my lap. She will nuzzle my arm and look at me with big puppy eyes until I pet her or scratch her behind the ears. She never fails to let me know when she needs me to make her feel special.

5. Take time to enjoy the little things. Find pleasure in everyday life. Take notice of things you would usually be too busy to appreciate. Morgan is ecstatic to get outside for a short walk. She is thrilled when I let her run outside with me to take the garbage out. She can hardly contain herself when I give her a small bite of whatever I am eating. A pat on the head perks her ears up and makes her tail wag.

Friends Help During a Quarterlife Crisis

posted 27th August 2009 Written by: Marisa CATEGORY: All Posts, Love/Relationships, Marisa, Quarterlife Crisis, Season 1

I’m delirious. Heat delirious. It was 107 today in Portland and it should never be that hot. ANYWHERE. It reminds me of home in Reno. It’s funny, I left home to really experience life elsewhere and the heat follows me….

This week I have one of my old college roomies from University of Oregon for a visit. And this weekend we’re heading up to Seattle to visit the rest of our old roomies for an epic weekend adventure. It will be the first time that we’ve seen and been together since our graduation in 2005.

Alexia (visiting former college roomie) and I went to Powell’s bookstore today, aka MECCA. I love that store, uncontrollably so. It’s my fantasy to be locked in there after hours and run-a-muck.

So as Alexia and I were perusing the fantastic hallways of this wonderful institution, we ended up in the career section (sooo not on purpose). Alexia wanted more information about a nursing career and I just wanted to find something comforting for my Quarterlife Crisis. Cue the Quarterlife Crisis SECTION.

Unbelievably, a section dedicated to this period in one’s life actually exists. After looking at several books and completely judging them by their cover–that’s right, I’m not ashamed to admit it–I picked “Quarterlife Crisis: The Unique Challenges of Life in Your Twenties” by Alexandra Robbins and Abby Wilner. It looked like the only book written by actual twentysomethings that would have perspective, unlike the others.

I didn’t end up buying it because a) I’m unemployed and b) I have a library card.

However, finding that book, and heck, even that section, caused a little trickle of hope to bubble inside. Others have gone through this and survived.

I’m going to tackle this weekend with the initiative to really enjoy my old friends and our memories of college, even though we have surpassed that social period of time. Luckily, my friends have embraced my new Quarterlife Crisis and even think it’s affected me positively.

They’ve been there for me in my old life and now in the new. (That’s us about to enjoy a pitcher at Norms!)

I can’t wait for this Seattle trip/College roomie reunion 2009. And it will help to have to some fun before my mother comes up next week for a “talk” about where things are going.

It’s going to be one hell of week.

Enemies, Frenemies, and Friends

posted 26th August 2009 Written by: Andrea CATEGORY: All Posts, Andrea, Love/Relationships, Quarterlife Crisis, Season 1

There have really only been 2 people in my entire life that I can honestly say I hate. Well, hated- past tense- since now I only hate 1 person. Over the years, the second person (to everyone’s surprise!) has gone from despised enemy, to frenemy, to friend.

It’s hard to describe how a person can go through such a drastic relationship change, but I’m going to try.

Usually, you hate someone or have harsh feelings toward someone who has hurt you or those close to you. The one girl I still despise has never done anything to reconcile our friendship, where as my new found friend (previous enemy) Kelly, has gained my respect and trust over the past few years.

We have both grown and changed and I think that has a lot to do with our new relationship.

I recently took a trip to Chicago and met up with fellow QLC blogger Robyn (Check out our cute picture above!!) and we ended up talking about careers, life goals and friendships. It was strange because, even though I had never met Robyn, we instantly bonded over our dramatic, chaotic, unconventional quarter-life status.

I told her the short version of my history with my new found friend Kelly, because she was going to be joining me in Chicago for BlogHer Business, a social media conference for business. This conference is the number one, must-go-to event for females in the blogging and social media industry and I was very excited to have someone there I knew. Sometimes in large groups I can be shy.

After our lunch, Robyn wished me luck with Kelly, since this was going to be the first time we would actually spend time together. I was pretty nervous!

Amazingly, we ended up having a blast together running around Chicago for a few days and it is safe to say we’ve put our past behind us. Kelly has done so much since graduating and I am so proud and jealous of her accomplishments in the social media realm!

This little trip taught me that deep down, we are really all the same. Women our age all over the place have goals, dreams, challenges, struggles, boy issues, family problems, friendship dramas and we (those going through a Quarterlife Crisis) are not the only ones. I learned throughout the years of knowing Kelly, it is much easier to be friends with someone than to fight them. It’s just not worth the time and effort.

Our new friendship looks odd to anyone who knows my personality and our history. But, I’m learning I can’t keep living my life worrying about what other people think of me. If I feel she is no longer an enemy or frenemy, then that is all that should really matter.

It just sucks that my other friends and family will never understand the transformation our relationship has taken.

I’ve noticed as women, we have a hard time getting over things and offering forgiveness. My tip for those of you struggling with women enemies would be to take a step back, think of all the time and energy spent being evil or having angry thought, and try to gauge if it is really worth it.

Life is short and not worth wasting time on past grudges.

On the topic of frenemies, why bother being nice to someone’s face if deep down you know you don’t get along? Be real, be upfront and just be yourself. Take the time to talk out your issues and if they can’t be resolved, then a friendship was not meant to be.

Take a minute to really think about the people in your life you “hate.” You may be surprised that deep down, you are much more similar than you originally thought.

Give it All Away

posted 25th August 2009 Written by: Kendra CATEGORY: All Posts, Family, Kendra, Quarterlife Crisis, Season 1

I have been back in New York City for a full week now and once again I’m trying to find a rhythm.

Towards the end of my stay in Montreal I had made peace with my unemployment. I had developed a rhythm, based around hanging with friends (located an easy walk away), searching for jobs, doing some freelance work, and chilling with my roommates. It was a hard won peace and one which I’m struggling to regain here in New York…

What is totally driving me crazy (more than being unemployed, more than my endless commuting) is not having my own space.

My childhood home feels familiar, but not like mine anymore. I haven’t lived here in years and the spaces that were mine were long taken over by other people (hello kid sister) and things, lots of things. My parents are consummate pack rats who haven’t found a nook or cranny that they can’t fill.

I can’t do much with my parents stuff, but I have turned my eye to my own possessions. A lot of “new age” literature suggests that when your life needs a makeover, an excellent place to start is to give things away.

So that’s what I’ve been doing; is giving my stuff away.

I’ve parted with an extra comforter, pillows, a too-big wool coat, a designer leather skirt that never ‘felt’ like me, a variety of nicks and knacks that always required more dusting than I could provide, a beautiful traditional chi pao dress I’d worn as a bridesmaid for a friend who no longer is a friend. I got rid of the old duffel bag I’d been toting around since undergrad, a reminder of a time and an era best left in the past. I got rid of plenty of clothing that never fit right, which I promised to have altered but by not doing so were just drains on my mental energy.

The result?

I have a lot less stuff. But it also means I have a lot less stuff to worry about cleaning or otherwise maintaining. And right now, that’s enough to make me feel, if not good, better, freer somehow and more certain that everything is going to be alright.

I’ll take it.

Archive

Photo Recap: Creating a Meaningful Life List

A Rockin’ Photo Recap

What I learned from my Dog

Here’s a list of things I have learned from my dog:

Friends Help During a Quarterlife Crisis

Enemies, Frenemies, and Friends

Give it All Away

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