Happy New Year Lovebugs!

A new year has been ushered in and with it that I have left behind the wounds and transgressions of 2014. Life dealt me a really rough hand in 2014, between stress, work, my health taking more dips and flips than the most stomach dropping, heart pounding of roller coasters. I was on the verge of and had a mental breakdown. I took a leave of absence from my Ph.D Clinical Psychology program to focus on my health and wellbeing; it was one of the best decisions I’ve made in a very long time.  I nearly died the week before Thanksgiving and though I have faced death before on multiple occasions, this time was different and a change happened in me.  So with that, I have had a change in my outlook, a change in my approach to my life and even though I was laid off from my corporate job a week after getting out of the hospital, I am in a great place; both mentally and spiritually.

The day after I was laid off I delved headfirst into those things that I have a passion for and never looked back.  I am working on building my HR Consulting business, Graham HR Consultancy and my jewelry business, T. Nicole Designs.  I start dance classes on Jan 5th, I’m gong back to the basics of what gives me joy and contentment. I have taken a step out on faith, listened to God’s voice and leading and every step has been easier than the first.  It is amazing how simple things are when you align your will with His!!

2015 brings forth a new year, and the same me but with a few tweaks here and there.  I can’t change people, the things they say or do or make them into the person I wish they were; nor will I change myself into who will make them comfortable.  I can only change and control how I react.  So this isn’t a New Year’s Resolution, it is simply a promise that I’m making to myself.  I am aspiring to not be a new person but a rather I am aspiring to work towards being a better version of who I already am.

I resolve to let go of what others think of me and how I live my life, especially those who mean me absolutely no good… I resolve to continue to surround myself with those who are smarter and more driven then I am; I can learn from them and them from me… I resolve to cultivate those relationships that may have fallen to the wayside… I resolve to me a better me for me and no one else.  I’ve found that as I have made changes to myself over the years, there have been those around me who are uncomfortable with my growth and haven’t accepted it well. It is doubtful that those people are reading this blog post because I had no choice but to leave them where they were and push forward.  But for those who may read this and feel that you fall into the aforementioned category, Kendrick Lamar put into words what I feel internally…

And I love myself
(The world is a ghetto with big guns and picket signs)
I love myself
(But it can do what it want whenever it wants and I don’t mind)
I love myself
(He said I gotta get up, life is more than suicide)
I love myself
(One day at the time, sun gone shine)

“I” Kendrick Lamar

Blessings and Happiness Now & ALWAYS

T. Nicole