Living Unapologetically

At first, was not planning on doing this but I want to talk about why I am doing my the 30 days to healthy living again. Last week I moved and so I was just running around not even thinking about what I was doing. I did not bring all of my Arbonne stuff at first and that was not a good idea. I wasn’t having my digestion plus on a regular basis, I wasn’t drinking my fizz, and I was absolutely exhausted but even worse I was having Crohn’s flare-ups. If you do not know what a Crohn’s flare-up is like then you are extremely lucky. Crohn’s sucks the life out of me, I am tired all the time, I have to be aware where the bathroom is at all times, when I go to the bathroom it is painful, and I had to give up some of my favorite foods. So because I didn’t have my things with me I was going back into my bad habits. I drank coffee for the first time in months and I was so incredibly nauseous and then this morning I had another flare up so I told myself I was going to do another 30 days. So here is to day 1 of the 30 days! I will try to post daily updates on how it is going!

I have been a little MIA these last few weeks. I went to Belize on a mission trip and then I went to Florida to see my grandma because she has not been doing well. I found out that she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Now I didn’t go by myself, I went with my mom. My mom has been the most influential people in my life whether she knows it or not. I am someone who has dealt with lots of medical issues, not as many as my sister, but I have been in the hospital for a period of time. I have had multiple head injuries and my mom has stayed by my side through all of it. Something that makes my mom special is the fact that she is a stay at home mom. For a while, it was something that she felt ashamed of, but she has learned to embrace it and now wouldn’t want to do anything else. When she would be in a group of women they would all talk about their jobs and how they raise so much money or what their coworkers were doing and she would just have to sit back and slowly remove herself from the conversation. We would go to the doctor and on the form to fill out it asked what her occupation was and she would put stay at home mom, and every time she dreaded that question. I never understood this when I was younger because to me my mom was the most amazing person to me (except for those middle school years, we’ve all been there) and she still is. She would drop anything to be with me when something was wrong. Over the last few years while my sister has been in and out of the hospital she finally came to the realization that she has the coolest job. Of course, she wishes that it paid (don’t we all) but she really does have the most amazing and most impactful job not only in her children’s lives but the lives around her as well. Now I want to make a point to say that moms who also have jobs are just as important if not more important, but due to my family’s health issues my mom has had the responsibility of having to be there for us 24/7. I am telling you this, because as people we don’t always embrace the role that we have been placed in, in life. I know I definitely don’t because in my eyes someone is always doing something more important than me or getting more attention due to their looks or social status. It is something that bothers me, but then I have to remind myself that there is a reason that I am in the position I am in. It could be that I am supposed to impact lives in a different way than the person who is doing the exact same thing as I am. That is exactly how my mom was and still is feeling. Of course, that feeling is never going to go away completely. I mean come on we are human, but you can reduce it by understanding that you have been placed at this moment, in this position, at this time for a very specific reason. You may not understand it until minutes, hours, weeks, months, or even years later, or even not at all. But we all have a purpose in this world and it is just a matter of how we look at our situation and those around us to truly embrace it. Live Unapologetically in the life we have been given.

Ashton is a junior Zoo and Consveration and Biology major, with a minor in sustainability. Her aspiration in life is to work in the realm of conservation education (how cool!). One of her favorite hobbies is rock climbing and she is also really good at it! When I met Ashton for the first time, I knew that she was real. The way that she presents herself is completely genuine, and I am so happy that I can call her my not only a friend but my sorority sister as well. She is a hard worker and it is a quality that is incredibly admirable. We all have a story, and I was curious as to if she would share a little bit of hers. I do not know the full story but what she shared was amazing and so unique.

“One of my hardest life experiences helped shape what I want to help protect in the world. I see the value of other organisms of this world and how we should work to help protect biodiversity. My life changing event was an animal I worked with (and stole my heart) and he opened my eyes to issues facing his species that I had not considered before. Now I actively work to share this issue and ways to solve it.”

Ashton has such an amazing personality and I also wanted to know how she feels that she lives unapologetically.

“I live unapologetically by speaking my opinion about issues that I understand and work to help solve. My methods may not always be considered the “convenient” options or many times people disagree with my morals, but I believe that people have the ability to make a positive impact in their daily lives for the natural world and I want everyone to feel empowered in that regard. Every little thing adds up!”

Not only did she say this but she truly does live this way. It is hard to live up to the words that come out of our mouths, but Ashton is a pure example of how to live out what we say. I admire her will to speak out about what she is passionate and educated about. As people we have such a hard time being vocal about things we are passionate about, or when we are vocal, we feel the need to apologize because it may offend someone. No, we should not be offending anyone, but it is important to have challenging views so that way we can grow as individuals. Do not feel the need to apologize for your opinions and your views on life, they are important. You will grow as a person when you let go the fear of judgement for being yourself.

As a new found psychology major I have been learning about the human mind and how important it is to be yourself and not be influenced by others. As cliche as that sounds, the words remain true. I started this blog a while ago to tell the story of my life and what goes on. However, I realized that is not what I should be focusing on. The new purpose of my blog is to share the wonderful people in my life and how they live unapologetically. I will be posting pictures about the accomplishments in people’s lives and how each of them are unique. If you would like updates on my post you can follow my instagram page @unapologetically45