Late last fall, I began feeling considerably less joyful about my work – what once brought me so much excitement became a significant source of stress, to the point of causing health problems. The realization I came to was that, as much as I love fashion, beauty & exploring my personal style, it began consuming too much of my time – time that I wanted to be spending on more worthwhile things. I love this site and am so thankful for everyone who comes to visit…but if I’m being honest, I began to feel like I was losing myself a bit. Part of that had to do with taking on more sponsorships than I wanted to, due to an unexpected need in our family. But part of it also had to do with the fact that I was working more and actually living life less. In an effort to restore some balance, I decided to sit down & make a list of the areas where I wanted to be more invested + activities that I was interested in being involved in outside of my work. The very first thing that I wrote on my list was GIVING BACK.
So, in December, I decided to dive in with both feet & embark on an adventure of what I call “bold giving”. I anonymously paid off someone’s layaway Christmas gifts at KMart, I partnered with POND’S to supply toiletries to a local women’s shelter and we donated my husband’s car to a single mother in our area who needed transportation to get to and from her job. In truth, there is nothing extraordinary about these random acts of kindness – plenty of people display generosity greater than this every day. But, what made it such a significant change for me was that instead of going about my day focused on things I wanted & needed, I was actively looking for ways to help others. It had a lasting & profound impact and truly changed the way I viewed my circumstances. It prompted me to think: why wasn’t I doing this before? And what if we all reached out when we saw a need…without questioning, without hesitating, without doubting? How different would our world look today?
I realize that my site is primarily focused on beauty and fashion, but my heart is to do so much more than that. So, in 2016, I have decided to begin incorporating posts that are focused on giving back. I will be sharing ideas for ways you can serve in your local community, how you can get your kids involved in service projects with you (if you’re a parent), introducing you to organizations that are making a difference & providing you with small simple steps you can take in your daily life to help those around you. My greatest reluctance in launching this new content is that it will be mistakenly viewed as me boasting about doing good. As much as I hate dealing with criticism, I also don’t want to be someone who is held back by fears; I want to be motivated by love. I hope it’s clear that my goal is simply to share in the hopes that it encourages others to see how easy it can be to make a difference. You can do it right where you are and with whatever you have.
So, in December, I decided to dive in with both feet & embark on an adventure of what I call “bold giving”. I anonymously paid off someone’s layaway Christmas gifts at KMart, I partnered with POND’S to supply toiletries to a local women’s shelter and we donated my husband’s car to a single mother in our area who needed transportation to get to and from her job. In truth, there is nothing extraordinary about these random acts of kindness – plenty of people display generosity greater than this every day. But, what made it such a significant change for me was that instead of going about my day focused on things I wanted & needed, I was actively looking for ways to help others. It had a lasting & profound impact and truly changed the way I viewed my circumstances. It prompted me to think: why wasn’t I doing this before? And what if we all reached out when we saw a need…without questioning, without hesitating, without doubting? How different would our world look today?
I realize that my site is primarily focused on beauty and fashion, but my heart is to do so much more than that. So, in 2016, I have decided to begin incorporating posts that are focused on giving back. I will be sharing ideas for ways you can serve in your local community, how you can get your kids involved in service projects with you (if you’re a parent), introducing you to organizations that are making a difference & providing you with small simple steps you can take in your daily life to help those around you. My greatest reluctance in launching this new content is that it will be mistakenly viewed as me boasting about doing good. As much as I hate dealing with criticism, I also don’t want to be someone who is held back by fears; I want to be motivated by love. I hope it’s clear that my goal is simply to share in the hopes that it encourages others to see how easy it can be to make a difference. You can do it right where you are and with whatever you have.
I’ll be including the hashtag #boldgiving on each social platform & I hope you will join with me in this. If you have ideas, suggestions or want to share what you’re doing where you live, I’d love to hear from you! My wildest dream is that we can create a community of people who are reaching out & showing kindness when others choose to look away. Let’s help spur each other on to display greater compassion & selflessness. I don’t know about you, but I want to be the kind of woman who doesn’t just talk about helping others, but who puts those words into actions. I want to be the kind of mother who models generosity & openhandedness to her children. And, most of all, I don’t want to look back on my years of blogging and realize that I missed a huge opportunity to use this platform for good.
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