2022 - Just For You
Why is doing something fun so hard? And I mean innocent fun. Activities on your own where it’s solely for yourself. When you get older, there seems to always be a hang up.
Some of mine?
I’m not going to be good at.
I don’t have the time.
I don’t have what I need.
It’s not going to look good.
People will think I’m an idiot for wasting my time.
Honestly. It’s bullshit.
During New Year’s I had a party to ring in 2022 and outside I had set out this cork board I’ve had that my college roommate gave me. I just got a Cricut for Christmas and I wanted to make it all fancy and cute so people could pin their resolutions on something aesthetically pleasing to take cute Instagram pictures with.
But instead, I decided to have a breakdown about my hair, and if you’re one of my curly-headed girls, then you’ll know that the time to fix my hair took precedence over a damn cork board.
So after half blow drying, half straightening, and finally re-wetting it all and settling on a curly half-do I took a piece of pink card stock and wrote:
PIN what you want to take with you into 2022
&
BURN what you want to die in 2022
and stuck it at the top of the board with a tack.
It was a hit. Even without all the frills. Three glasses of wine in and I got myself and some friends to write down something to burn.
On my card I write “negative self talk” and I burn it in our fire pit.
Now, we all know it didn’t really die. I’m not magically super confident. We’re not even through a complete week of the new year.
But I will tell you, I’ve taken a little extra time each day to do something I love. I’ve made sure it’s not something I feel like I have to do like go to the gym, or wake up at a certain time each morning, or anything like that.
I’ve started reading again. A fun book. Not a self-help book, but something for me to escape into.
I’m crocheting.
I’m writing.
And the words still slip into my mind.
Quietly they whisper, “You could be doing something more productive… What do you think everyone will think of you when they read this?… This doesn’t look like hers does!”
And I listen.
But I listen so that they don’t keep trying to barge in, mad from getting cut off.
I listen. I feel. I let them know that this is productive.
Taking time to enjoy hobbies and things that light your soul don’t have to be perfect.
They can just be fun.
So, I hope this year you find something you love to do.
Not for work.
Not for your friends or family.
Just for you.
I’m Back!
I fell off the wagon.
It seems like I just launched my blog and then the whirlwind of life whisked me away. Mike (my fiance who I’ll be marrying in October… YAY!) and I just bought our first house! For anyone else conducting the house hunt at the moment, you know the struggle. Our lease for our apartment is up at the end of this month, so we were really trying to make sure we had somewhere else to go. We could have extended our lease, but after 3 years in a one bedroom apartment, we were ready to stretch out into some more space. Especially after a year of working from home together.
We also welcomed a new member to our family, Ms. Kelly. (As I’m typing this she’s actually zooming around the living room and isn’t used to the hardwood floors so she just keeps sliding into the walls whenever she hits the brakes!) We were missing a little piece of our hearts without some paw prints in our home and adopted her. She was actually brought here from the Bahama’s. A lot of dogs were displaced due to the hurricanes and their shelters were overcrowded. Kelly was flown over here with a group of dogs and was the last dog left from her group who had yet to find a home. She was heartworm positive and actually just finished with her treatment a couple of weeks ago! It took her a little while to warm up, but if you saw her now, you’d think she’d been living with us forever. Her favorite time is cuddle couch time and she loves to chew a bone with her parents at an outside bar.
With all of that we’ve also been preparing for our beach wedding in October! I share this all with you to say… I know these are all excuses. And since we’ve moved and have had some time to settle into the transition, I’m going to make sure I keep my blog a priority, because I really do love sharing all of this with you and am super excited to share some of the things that I have lined up!
Thank you for taking a peek into my life today and thank you for being patient with me!
Leave a comment below and share with me what you want to start making a priority! I’m excited to hear from you and I love you all!
~Akayla
Welcome To My Blog!
So I’ve been sitting on this for a couple of months now. If I’m being honest with you, I’ve owned the website for close to half a year. I’ve been telling myself that it hasn’t been the right time.
That I didn’t have anything to say.
But I was just being scared. If you know me, I have a lot to say. All the time.
So I want to start off by saying thank you. If you’ve taken the time to click my link or to type in my website address and read my first post, thank you so much. It means a lot to me and I really hope you take as much away from reading it as I do writing it up for you. This idea for a website is one I am very passionate about. Small businesses and art are two aspects of my life that I have grown up with and hold close to my heart.
My parents instilled in me the understanding of how important art is in life. I grew up with my dad being an artist so our homes were always filled with art that him and his friends had created. My ma also grew up a dancer and in every house we lived in, her ballet shoes would be on display.
This love for art didn’t stop with them. They made sure to teach us how to love and be open to all forms of expression. We were enrolled in orchestra, the creative writing club, after school art classes, and the list goes on. I soon came to realize that finding a passion is easy.
The hard part is pursuing it.
Growing up, my dad owned many of his own tattoo shops with my ma by his side. I’ve seen first hand the hard work that goes into growing your own business. The love and passion that is created by not only the product that is made but the community that comes with it. Our family has grown with others who were a part of this journey. Who have been there during the ecstatic feelings of accomplishment as well as the moments that were not so high. And even in those low moments there is still so much strength that comes from picking up all the pieces that seem to have fallen apart and recreating your vision.
These hurtles create such character; and not only are you creating your own community, but you are adding so much into the lives and already existing community around you. You are creating connections that probably would never have happened and building out your dreams and that in itself is dazzling.
I want to open the window of this world to those who understand it and to those who have never seen the underbelly of business. I want to introduce you to the faces and hearts of some of your local businesses and artists that showcase the amazing community that is Tampa Bay. I’ll also sprinkle in some of my own experiences but I want to open the floor up to you as well. If you or someone you know has a business or passion that you want to showcase, please reach out to me through my email or social media.
I’m so excited to start this journey and am so glad I kicked my own butt into finally starting something that I am passionate about. Thank you so much for taking the time to start this journey with me.
***Akayla***