My Born Day. 102188

So I just finished celebrating my 22nd birthday which lasted an awesome 6 days. Considering I threw all my plans out the window at the last minute because I was getting too stressed out about the whole affair.. I still want to thank all my friends and family who made this another memorable and blessed celebration of LIFE.

At the end of the day, it really isn't about how big the party is or how lavish your plans are... I was around amazing people who love me unconditionally, have supported me since the day I was put on this earth and simply allowing the universe to bless me the way I knew it would.... and it definitely blessed me.

Now that I have time, I can finally sit and reflect on what another year has added to the beauty of this life I live. With every year that passes, I truly feel myself become more and more in tune with my self, my purpose in the world, the people that I love and what this world has to offer me (and vice versa). If I could share some wisdom and traits about myself that I've accumulated over the past 22 years, it would go as follows:

1. My purpose in the world is meant to serve other people and for the betterment of other people. I find the most joy and peace when I am doing work that serves other people or in  working as a catalyst to make other people realize their true potential. I realized a long time ago that this life has nothing to do at all with me. That losing myself to a selfish thought cuts out the essence of life. I may not be perfect in practicing this but it's something I always work on.
2. Hard work will never ever fail you. I strongly believe that when you put your best effort into anything and leave nothing up to chance, results will speak for themselves. And when I talk about hard work, I mean total commitment, determination and persistence to a goal until it is reached and nothing less.
3. Quit fighting things that are meant to flow. When I started going through the phases of my parents separation, I realized one day, that I needed to quit fighting something that was meant to continue to evolve into another form. I was going against what was happening naturally because I didn't want to be mature enough to accept it. I am a much happier person embracing what is instead of trying to force something that isn't.
4. Change is the only thing constant. I am slowly accepting that at this age, things and relationships are rapidly changing. Life isn't what it used to be, but I leave a lot of things up to God to decide what is worth it for me to chase and what is not. When people will come around, they will. 
5. Love isn't ever enough. Just because you love someone, it doesn't make anything right, fix any wrongs or erase the past. It just doesn't. It takes more than just the idea of love, the saying of love and the thought of love. It's communication, respect, understanding, appreciation, selflessness, it's so much more.
6. If you're a woman and want to be respected, demand it... in your thoughts & your actions.  Nuff said.
7. Having money doesn't mean shit. It doesn't make up for your lack of character, compassion, humor or good looks. I learned a long time ago that money doesn't buy lasting happiness either or make up for wrong doing. It can be taken away faster than you could imagine and change your life forever.
8. I've lived a privileged life. I didn't grow up into a rich family or had everything handed to me, but I still have a lot more than a lot of other people.  I think its really important for people to realize their privilege and the idea that they have so much more to give to the world because they already have that much.
9. Not everything that glitters is gold. I've been fooled plenty of times by things, people and experiences that seemed like the right thing or the 'cool' thing... I'm way more cautious now about quick gratification and I'm not losing my soul to that shit. I stay true to myself and my roots and not easily impressed by the flashing lights.
10. To grow you need to keep doing what you haven't done. My best experiences in life were doing things that were completely out of my comfort zone. Whether its jobs, relationships, or joining things, I have learned the most and pushed myself the most in those situations. I realized my tolerance and strength for certain things that I will carry with me forever.
11. In everything, keep faith in God. My faith has gotten me through every rough patch in my life and in every happy moment, He is who I have given my thanks to. I don't believe in only being thankful when things are going great, but always having a presence with Christ.
12. What works for them, may not work for you... and that's OK. Just because people do things a certain way or believe things should be a certain way, doesn't mean its the right way. I've learned to be stronger in my sense to decide for myself (and if I'm wrong, at least I believe in my own choices). 
13. Forgiveness is so powerful, for yourself and who you are forgiving. I've had my share of drama... family drama, friendship drama, relationship drama... but the most freeing thing is getting yourself to finally forgive yourself for what happened and forgive that person, even if its just in your heart. 
14. Everyday is meant to evolve and grow. I'm a different person than I was before I even wrote this, and I'm not gonna stop learning. ever.
15. Enjoy your solitude. I've learned to truly truly enjoy my own company. It's liberating.

That's all I can think of now.

Now I'm going to clean up the aftermath in my room of this crazy weekend.
Peace & blessings.