Tag: my thoughts

A Reflective Moment

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I got some sad news this week about the passing of a high school classmate. The whole thing just hit me in such a weird way. I wasn’t particularly close to this classmate, but I went to such a small school in a small town so everyone in my school knew everyone in some way. Even as a grown-up 25 years after graduation, if you hear a name, you immediately remember the classes you had, or how you went on a class trip, or how you crushed on so-and-so’s older brother, or how you used to play kickball in the cul-de-sac.

So I heard about this classmate, I saw a recent picture of her, and though I could see remnants of the person I remembered, her face in the picture carried the weight of the mental illness that she lived with throughout her adult life. I had no idea. She was a popular girl. A cheerleader. Cute as a button and sweet as can be. Her life was supposed to turn out perfectly. She was supposed to be the one we admired at the reunion because everything turned out as perfectly as you’d expect for the adorable, smart, bubbly cheerleader from high school. She rode on floats and got lifted to the top of pyramids. She was kind. Seeing that picture, with the wrinkles and dark circles, yet with the slight glimmer of the cheerleader from days past that I remember…and reading the family tributes about how things were for her later in life, it all just settled on me so heavily.

Of course your life is more than a picture, and there’s no telling what twists and turns life can throw at anyone over the course of 25 years. You never know what people are dealing with and what demons they battle. You don’t know what trauma they encountered or how that trauma impacted their life. She wasn’t someone I’d keep in touch with but she’s definitely someone I assumed would go on to great things and someone I thought would live well. It threw me for such a complete loop.

It’s all just a weird and sad reminder to be grateful for my health, to not make assumptions about what someone is going through, to live while I can, that life is short and that tomorrow is never promised.

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I guess I’m a microblogger

Truth of the matter is…I have a short attention span. I realized I am slack-ass with my blog because I feel like every post should be this long, well-researched post containing everything from a hypothesis all the way to a conclusion. I feel like every post should be lengthy and should solve a problem, however, I know that’s not necessarily why I read blog posts, and I assume there are others who also don’t read blogs for the length.

Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I am looking for a specific solution to a specific problem, and blogs help me with that. In that case, the more thorough, the better. But sometimes I just want to be nosey, or I just want to see a picture and two sentences…or even better…a couple of bullet points. I just want to get a sneak peek inside someone’s life, see what they’ve been up to, what they wore, and how they felt. I normally skim long posts, search out the key words or the pieces of interest. You know–like when you find a recipe and the author drolls on and on about how her grandmother used to churn her own butter just to make her special biscuits. Skip, skip, skip…

So WHY do I feel like my posts should be long?

Well…as of this moment, I don’t feel that way. Some, if not all, of my posts will be short and sweet. I’m not sure if microblogging is the right term, but that’s what I will be doing. Short posts and pics…unless there’s a topic I feel like I want to expound on.

How do you approach blogging? What is it you enjoy when you are reading other blogs?

justamarylandgirl2 Comments

My Labor Day Thoughts

Labor Day Thoughts, black woman at desk
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Another Labor Day weekend has come and gone. I never really give much thought to Labor Day and what it means. I typically just bid farewell to the summer and enjoy the long weekend. But today I decided to at least reflect on the day a little, and what it means.

Labor Day, in summary, is a day that honors the labor force in the U.S. And of course labor means work, and work means jobs. Even though there’s some historical background to the day, overall it’s pretty cut and dry. People work, and this day shows appreciation for that.

But nowdays, we are in this time and space where mindsets are shifting. People are looking beyond the traditional 9 to 5 to seek fulfillment and they are setting up multiple revenue streams. People are using their talents to make money in ways that weren’t even thought of 10 or 20 years ago…and honey, I. LOVE. IT.

The world has more entrepreneurs, creatives, influencers, life coaches, financial coaches, bloggers, app developers, and first-generation business owners than any time before. People are using their genuine interests, their personal experiences, their education, and their God-given talents to start businesses, supplement income, and change their lives in dramatic ways. It’s inspiring. It’s motivating.

It’s also the reason for a lot of pressure.

Everyone’s doing it, and if they aren’t, they feel like they should be. People feel like they, too, should be blogging, influencing, working day, night and weekends for a side hustle…and the truth is, it just isn’t everyone’s idea of happiness. But the internet, the gram, and the blogs…have people feeling like if they aren’t “leveling up”, if they aren’t creating multiple streams of income, if they aren’t constantly on their grind, creating content, developing branding, doing product research…working towards independence and entrepreneurship, they are somehow lacking.

Personally, I have a lot of varied interests, and my day job just doesn’t fulfill all of my needs. For that reason, I have hobbies, and I have things that I’ve turned to as a way to make additional income. My side interests have turned into side businesses, and I do hope that they continue to grow and prosper.

But I do them because I love doing them. I’m not relying on it to put a roof over my head or to put food in my fridge. I do them because, whether I make money or not, I truly actually enjoy the things I do outside of my traditional job. They fill a void that my 9 to 5 doesn’t fill. They serve as an outlet for me. But maybe someday, that will change. Maybe my side hustles will pan out for me one day, and I’ll be able to live completely off the money generated from my businesses. That would be great. But I am also really into my “regular job” and I think that’s ok as well.

Let’s face it–everyone is not meant to, nor desires to be, an entrepreneur. Not everyone wants a side hustle. Not everyone has that hatred for the establishment. Some people truly and genuinely enjoy their 9 to 5.

Not every “regular job” is terrible. Everyone doesn’t view working for an employer as working for “the man”. Some people truly like their colleagues and they like whatever security they have in their 9 to 5. They like having a paycheck that hits their account reliably and predictably, a benefits package that suits their lifestyle, job expectations that are communicated, a mission that they want to be a part of…being able to feed their families, secure a mortgage, and take vacations without stressing about making payroll, covering expenses, and creating social media content. Millions of people live and love this life. And that is ok.

I think it is time we stop shaming people for not desiring the life of an entrepreneur. Or rather, stop shaming people who like their life, whatever it is, just because it’s not the life that YOU want for yourself. This world needs all kinds to make it go-round. And we need to get out of the habit of shaming people for playing the role that they want to play in the world.

I think we need to all agree that everyone makes their own decisions for their own personal reasons, and we need to focus on our own decisions and why we make them. Make the best decision for your life, be it an entrepreneur, a part of the labor force, or a combination of both. And let’s not worry about putting our work expectations on other people.

What are your thoughts on Labor Day? Or do you not even think about it? Lol. No shame here!

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