My Buried Life List

Aloha friends, family and followers!
Hope you are all doing well. I think I am. And you know what? For once in my life, I don't care how "well" I am doing. Lately, I have been feeling a lot of pressure. Pressure that has accumulated over the past two years since graduating university...the pressure to succeed, the pressure to be somebody, the pressure to have my life figured out in one simple paragraph or less. This 1/4 life crisis has yet to cease, but I have decided to embrace it as opposed to fight it. Yes, the twenties are a stressful time in life because there are no guidelines or strict paths to follow in order to be "successful". I have come to realize that being successful is not determined by your title, your assets or your status in society. No, I truly believe that being successful is determined by how happy you are and by how much you get out of life.

I am sure you are all familiar with the MTV show, The Buried Life. A show about a group of guy friends who create a list of crazy things they want to accomplish before they die. Together they travel the country in a tour bus trying to accomplish the most craziest things ever known to man. It's quite hysterical and definately worth a watch.

Anyways, these boys have inspired me to reach beyond my limits! Sometimes I feel like I am so old and that my life needs to be figured out in every which way....I never feel totally fulfilled. While some aspects of my life seem to be figured out, there are huge gaps in others and then I begin to stress and dwell on them. This is NOT healthy. It's time for me to realize that having everything figured out doesn't make you more successful than someone who does. And figuring things out is part of the magical path that is life. In other words, it's not about the destination, it's about the journey. It's time for me to enjoy the journey of life and stop trying to rush through it.

So in reference to the Buried Life show, I have decided to make my own Buried Life List of things to do!! And I have already started a few!!!

1) Travel More (Vegas and Chicago trips lined up this spring/summer)
2) Learn to paint (I have started a few, but nothing too fancy. Want to sign up for lessons)
3) Get into acting (Joined an agency and am currently taking acting lessons)
4) Dance more
5) Get my own place (Eric and I are hoping to move in September)
6) Venture into new hair colours besides blonde!
7) Learn to cook
8) Have kids (not quite yet though!)
9) Swim with dolphins
10) Take more pictures and learn more about photography
11) Write a screenplay
12) Volunteer more with kids and the less fortunate
13) Get Married
14) Go to Europe

Those are just a few. But seriously this list gives me hope for the future. I hope I have maybe inspired you to get out of your shell and do something for YOU!!!!!!!!!! The best investment you will ever make will always be in yourself!!!

A picture is worth a thousand words

Pictures. This post is dedicated to pictures.

Lately I have been yearning to do something creative and fun that would allow me to learn something new. I've always been curious about painting and how to actually work a canvas! Today I decided to drive my bike to the dollar store and just for fun I purchased a few canvas boards, some acrylic paint and some brushes. Now, I am sitting here just admiring my new materials but I have no idea where to start with this whole painting thing. I tried viewing some videos on Youtube which weren't very helpful. I think I might just sketch something first in pencil and see where that takes me. Looking for inspiration is tough, as I am not sure entirely what I want to paint. I would prefer something easy that doesn't have too many details or colours. Perhaps I should have signed up for some type of art class before buying all these things, but where's the sense of fun in that?! Haha.

I was also thinking of taking a photography course. Taking pictures is so much fun, it would be great to learn how to take really neat ones! I am so used to being the story teller through words, that now I want to jump sides and tell stories via photographs.

I feel like all these types of classes are so expensive though and that I could probably teach myself through a book or youtube. It would be nice if there were more classes offered, but it seems there are very few. Art is such a wonderful thing that deserves to be shared amongst the rest of the world, it bothers me when classes are so limited. I remember when I was in grade school art class was only done once a week (usually Friday afternoons) and the teachers treated it as a "fun" class. So if a child was misbheaving, they were not allowed to participate! Can you believe that nonsense? I also remember art being pushed back or cancelled for the week if something else "more important" came about. The shame of it all!

In other news....this week I am going to meet with a Modelling/Acting agency. I have decided that I really want to get into commercials. I remember enrolling with an agency when I was younger with my sister and cousins and it was fun going to the auditions. I don't think my mom liked us doing it very much so we just stopped going. It's always been my dream to be a star, and while this won't get me famous or anything, it will be a nice outlet where I can at least try my luck at getting some TV time :)

That's all for now. Hope you are all enjoying this beautiful Sunny Sunday :)

Ride Your Heart Out

Hello Friends,
Can you believe it's already April? Where has the time gone? That's a question I always seem to ask myself, but the answer is always the same in that I just don't know!
I would like to bring to your attention some exciting news about a fundraising event I will be participating in this June. It's the annual Becel Ride For Heart happening in downtown Toronto on June 6th. I will be riding my bike all across Toronto with my coworkers for a grand total of 50km! Sounds crazy right? But I think this is something I can do if I really try. It's for a good cause and I have been kind of bored with my life lately and feel like a real challenge.
All I need is a little training, a little motivation and $100 to raise! This is where you pretty people come in :)
If you could help spread the word to help me raise my goal of $100 that would be awesome!! Every little bit helps and it's going to a great cause! I am sure everyone knows at least one person who has been affected by heart disease in some way or another. It's pretty scary to think about but it is one of the leading causes of death in Canada. With all this processed food we eat, and unhealthy busy, stressful lifestyles, it isn't that hard to believe.

So come on and be a sport, make a donation today :) Put your HEART into it!!

http://www.rideforheart.ca/faf/login/partMenu.asp?ievent=334877&lis=1&kntae334877=8C168FBD44D74D30833254571008E479

Thanks for all the support!
xox