Oh Lord. Where do I start?
It’s been 6 months already?? Looking back, it seems like time flew by. But actually going through it, it’s like “it’s ONLY BEEN 6 months!??” Haha. I guess it depends on which way you choose to look at the coin.
It’s been 6 months of freedom, of joy, of staying up all night, staying in bed all day, crying to sleep, laughing to tears, suffering in silence and opening up to people, you may know or may not know! You name it.
In all seriousness, i can’t believe I made it this far. Likeeeee? Me? "Bougie" ole Ash?? Lol jk.. But fr.
I’ve always known I was a strong person spiritually, physically and emotionally but I never knew how I much of something like this I could take. And i've always known I had alot of depth to myself just as a person... but Peace Corps has been a different level. It definitely feels good knowing I’ve lasted through the “hardest” part of service. There are many lessons I’ve learned. I’ll outline them here
- Hard times/hardship do not last forever. Everyday you choose to get up and do something, you’re that much closer to victory. You may not even realize it at first. One day, you’ll just get up in a different place, realize how far you've come then realize that feeling is way beyond you and you feel so much more encouraged. Why? Because you keep going despite the odds and you became your biggest cheerleader.
- Good friendship is food for the soul and those you find that are solid will 1. Surprise you. 2. No matter the distance, the love would always be there. Those are the people you hold onto. As you get get older, your idea of friendship changes so much and you won’t get to see/talk to your friends often, but none of this will matter. Once reunited, it feels like a day hasn’t even went by.
- CHERISH YOUR FAMILY. You only get ONE. And no matter where you go, they will always have your back. No matter the wrongs or the difficulty in situations, family is important and a bond not to take lightly at all. God is extremely intentional and He placed you in this bloodline for a very specific reason. Don’t ever go days or weeks without checking in on your loved ones. Seriously. (This should’ve been number 1)
- Life is all about change. If you’re never uncomfortable, you aren’t doing this life thing correctly. Comfort breeds complacency and complacency is mediocre. How comfortable you get when things aren’t going your way or when things don’t feel/look all the way right, defines you. It’s the start of a new you. And this new you.. ain’t nothing to play with!!
- Cutting off social media and/or not looking at your phone for a day or two feels GREATTT!!! Omg.. so empowering.
- God is literally ALWAYS looking out. THE biggest HOMIE. No matter where you are and no matter how “petty” your prayer may be in the moment.. He delivers! He’s the greatest friend you’ll ever need
- Living in a foreign country.. everyday is pretty exciting in a sense. You just never know what could happen. You could adopt a new sense of self, try out new hairstyles, new dressing patterns, whatever it is you want to do and felt like you couldn’t before... it’s time! Create a whole new you if that’s your thing 🤷🏽♀️ WHY? Because you CAN. People may look at you crazy, buutt you'll probably never see them again so does it matter? NOPE!
- I really love kids. Pouring out to them and giving them the needed tools to succeed is legit our future! Kids are just ‘young adults’... read that again.. literally. Kids are just smaller versions of you. Treat and talk to them that way. It pays off. They’re so much wiser than you think! Spend some time with the youth. You’ll be surprised what you learn about yourself
- You don't have to have LIFE FIGURED OUT!!! If you’re in your 20s and you know exactly how your 30s is gonna look mid way to your 40s.. THATS AN ISSUE! That doesn't leave room for ANY LIVING! Don’t waste this precious time being a super planner. Go out, have fun, explore, travel and figure out what’s important to you, what makes you cry tears of joy, what makes you wanna yell or makes you angry.. focus on that. And everything else will come. You will not be a bum unless you try really hard to be. Relax and ease up! All is well, millennial.
- TREAT yourself in a healthy manner ONCE (or more, who's counting) a week. Don’t be so bent on trying to earn a living that you forget to LIVE! Life isn’t all about checking off tasks, competing with the next person, blah blah. Go out and do things only you like! Get a massage, go for a swim, rent out an Airbnb for the day, go to an ice cream shop then another one, you can treat yourself for free too...no excuses. Whatever it may be. Just love on yourself. You deserve it. All the love i know you put out in the world, you DESERVE it! How do i know? Because you just spent the last 3-5 minutes reading my blog when you could’ve been doing ANYTHING else, it shows that you are caring one way or the another. And i appreciate that. I appreciate you.
These are some of things that jumped up in my mind! The list could go on and on. And if you know me well, you know I can type or write alllll day! Especially things that I really care about. I hope you learned something or Atleast got a refresher. These things aren't just true for me. I believe this could help all of us.
ALSOOO, I WENT HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!!
Being home for the holidays was JUST what I needed. It was nice being surrounded by so much love and genuine happiness. I got to see my parents, my growing niece, my brothers, sisters, my loving friends, eat what I've been cravingggg, go to my church, ugh so much! All the facetime in the world couldn't amount to that face to face interaction! Here's some pictures of my time in Atlanta. Look how I happy I was lol.
