Blowing Out the Birthday Candles

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You guys may or may not have noticed lately that I’ve been on a bit of a style blogging hiatus. It’s not because I don’t love a strong fall fashion game, it’s because I’m not loving Vancouver’s intense fall weather. And, also because I’ve been so enamoured with filming for my new youtube channel! Speaking of which, I have a new video up there on a super easy and pretty crown braid tutorial which you should definitely check out.

Anyways, while October has been a dreary month – it’s also been a great month for me. This passed weekend was my birthday (and I turned 26 – scary!), I invested in new filming equipment, and I found my wedding dress. While that may not sound like a lot, it was 3 big things that happened and it was super exciting.

There’s something about turning a year old that makes you think about the year as a whole – or maybe that’s just how it always is for me. For me, it forces a moment of reflection on the things I learnt and experienced. So, today I wanted to share a bit of that with you – the things I learned this year.

Forgive easily, and love wholeheartedly

I’m not a forgiving person. Anyone who knows me knows that when I am hurt by someone, I tend to hold on to some level of anger forever. This year though, something happened that erased every angry feeling I had towards anyone who had ever hurt me. It shocked me into the reality of – if something happened to them, would I be okay holding that this feeling held back our friendship or relationship? I realized, no – I never want the people I love to not know how much I love them.

The fact is, if you’re feeling hurt by someone it’s likely because you care about them, so never let your hurt outweigh your care. I’ve come to the conclusion that in my life, I would rather just love and care about people foolishly and fearlessly – to feel hurt, and forgive instantly – than to harbour anger.

Take risks

Learning to abandon reservation in relationships also helped me realize that I don’t want to hold myself back from adventure, and taking risks. For me that’s meant booking a dream trip, starting a Youtube channel, and jumping into a new job. They are all risks I was scared to take, but they have felt so rewarding since. So, if there is something you’ve always wanted to do but have felt scared to take the plunge – do it. That saying “You’ll only regret what you didn’t do” truly makes sense to me now.

Never say “someday”

I am probably the biggest offender of this one. I talk about my dreams, goals, and reaching out to people in a “someday” context all the time. This year though, one of those “somedays” was taken away, and it made me realize that I need to turn those somedays into todays. Don’t let yourself make excuses to push things off – make the time, send the message, and take the risk. In the end, what’s the worst that can happen?

Don’t let lessons pass you by

This year has been full of lessons. Some of them, incredibly painful. And, I’ve promised myself to not just let these lessons pass me by without really teaching me something and changing me in some way. I don’t know if this will make sense, but how I’ve felt is that if I let these moments pass me by without having them really change something than they’re even more senseless. Through painful experiences, we realize the things we really wish to be  – maybe that’s more forgiving, more outgoing, or more adventurous – and we need to listen to those things, and make the changes in ourselves so we can really become them.

Stepping into November, I am excited to see what’s ahead – and to share with you a few things I have planned! The first thing is next Saturday I’ll be taking over Clearlyca Instagram to share how I style my four Clearly frames. A few weeks ago I had taken part in Clearly’s Signature Style Series and shared a bit on my new frames and how I style them, but now I’ll be taking you behind the scenes on how I create my everyday geek-chic looks!

outfit details: american eagle jean vest (similar), grey t-shirt (similar), american eagle distressed jeans (similar), sole society heels, Clearly Derek Cardigan 7040 glasses