On Labor Day weekend, I took my first solo trip. Some were taken aback asking, “Wait why, why would you go by yourself?!” and others, “You’ll LOVE the freedom, Go! Go! Go!!” My personal reasoning of making the decision to travel alone was to feed my innate independence and curiosity for site-seeing on my own clock. In one week’s time, I made new friends, drove around Beverly Cleary’s neighborhood in Portland, OR, and walked off multiple brunch indulgences in Seattle. This year taught me I have a love/hate relationship with uncertainty and looking back, that was the theme in most areas of my life. I’ve found new things I enjoy career-wise, discovered a whole new world in my mom’s ancestry (that’s another article for another time) and learned a lot about myself through the normal, every-day grind. With healthy doses of fear and gumption, I made it through by the grace of God and these 6 quotes. All of them I came across while reading and being in the right place at the right time. And all came my way in 2016. Here’s to hoping these words will carry you through the years ahead.
High Road to Taos, January 2016
Out of all the advice I’ve heard about navigating life, this one took the cake. In January I had just come back from a trip with my mom to New Mexico and was taking a day at home to recharge. I happened to turn on the news to hear about Hoda Kotb’s book signing that was scheduled that same day. Not sure if registration was full, I rushed to a local bookstore to pick up Where We Belong, which was part of the admission to Kotb’s appearance. Long story short, I got the chance to ask Hoda during her Q&A about advice she had for a young person finding their way through career and personal life. She answered with the below, a reminder that competing with or triumphing over others isn’t the key to becoming a better person-it’s about not letting others make you doubt your own path.
“If you can withstand people, you will make it.” - Hoda Kotb, 2016 Nashville book signing for Where We Belong: Journeys That Show Us the Way
with Hoda at her book signing hosted at the Nashville Public Library, January 2016
I’m not one to watch cinematic award shows but the night the OSCARS was on, I was lucky to catch Pete Docter, the director of Pixar’s, Inside Out, sum up the life of a creator. Those who aren’t ashamed to turn their emotions into art are truly powerful.
“There are days you're going to feel sad. You're going to feel angry. You're going to feel scared. That's nothing you can choose. But you can make stuff. Make films. Draw. Write. It will make a world of difference." - Pete Docter, OSCARS 2016
I‘m not an early Gilmore Girls fan but I grew a liking to the Stars Hollow cast when they came to Netflix (as did most people). On the way back to Nashville from holiday break, I need something to last me most of the 6 hour drive. I chose Lauren Graham’s audiobook version of her latest autobiography. Her story embraces the unplanned plan and giving yourself pep talks through the highs and lows in true Gilmore Girls fast-talking way!
"But life doesn’t often spell things out for you or give you what you want exactly when you want it, otherwise it wouldn’t be called life, it would be called vending machine. It’s hard to say exactly when it will happen, and it’s true that whatever you’re after may not drop down the moment you spend all your quarters, but someday soon a train is coming. In fact, it may already be on the way. You just don’t know it yet." - Lauren Graham, Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls, and Everything in Between
Amy Poehler is fun even when she’s talking about the things that make us feel uneasy! Every time I’m feeling stubborn or frustrated I read this. “Yes Please!” to more Amy and Leslie Knope!
“Your ability to navigate and tolerate change and its painful uncomfortableness directly correlates to your happiness and general well-being. See what I just did there? I saved you thousands of dollars on self-help books. If you can surf your life rather than plant your feet, you will be happier.” - Amy Poehler, Yes Please
Dating in the 21st century might as well be an episode of Wheel of Fortune - pick a letter and hope it leads you to something that makes sense! Ansari highlights all corners of the dating world in the past and present and how it differs among cultures and generations. I laughed through the whole novel and learned some eye-opening research about why people do what they do to find love.
“Like most fedora wearers, he had a lot of inexplicable confidence.” - Aziz Ansari, Modern Romance
If you’re looking for a book to give you realistic motivation - this is it. Megyn Kelly tells her story minus the cliché steps to success or any quick-fix answers. We all deserve to shoot for the best in our lives, even if that means stepping into uncharted waters along the way.
"The hard times remind you to do better. To be better. To settle for more.” - Megyn Kelly, Settle For More
And finally, here’s to hoping we’ll all be able to shift the right gears in 2017 and trust the steering wheel we’re given. Thank you Harper Lee.
“Well, what if everything shuts off and you don’t have any gears to shift. You’d be in trouble then, wouldn’t you?” “But everything won’t shut off.” “How do you know?” “That’s what faith is.” - Harper Lee, Go Set A Watchman