I can’t believe this year is so close to being over, what a year it has been. I had a lot of changes happen within this past year. Last year was a difficult chapter from losing my uncle to ALS and getting out of a long term relationship. I decided to make the move to beautiful Los Angeles December 23, 2016. As this time approaches closer a lot of reflecting of this past year has been going on in my head. I can’t say changing my life has been easy, but nothing in life worth changing ever is. Sometimes while things are happening it’s easy to be negative and wonder why they are happening to you, but if you just wait patiently enough God will unveil his reasoning for these changes. I can honestly say that I am a different person than I was a year ago. I have changed so much over the past year and really found what is important in life and what matters most to me. I wasn’t very happy this time last year; I was watching my uncle who was like a father to me struggle to live and do everyday tasks.
It was a big wake up call as far as being grateful for my health and the life I have. I promised myself last year that I would really try to take care of myself and live a healthier life and just enjoy life and not take anything for granted. My uncle was healthy and full of life and he didn’t deserve to get ALS, no one does, it is a horrible, horrible disease. I am, however, so grateful that I got to spend the most time with my uncle in a while the last couple of months he was alive. He taught me to be kind to people and to love and just enjoy life and not worry about the little things. I have always admired him and he has been such an influence on my life and my career. September has always been a happy month for me since it’s my birthday month, however God wanted my uncle to come home so he took him to Heaven September 2nd 2016. Last September wasn’t the same and this year I wanted to make the most of this month and the rest of the year to follow.
I decided to add to my blog a lifestyle section to share with you guys the changes I have made in my life and why. I want to be able to connect with you and help you to understand me a little better and why I am who I am. As we grow older life changes and people change and they come and go, but how we react to these changes can make us a better person and a happier one. I try to stay positive in everyday situations and when things are just going bad it can be hard to stay smiling. Life is too short ultimately and we only have one life to live, so why not make it the best life you could have?
I know I said I got out of a long term relationship well that was my longest relationship I ever had. We dated for 6 years that wasn’t easy and one of the hardest bumps in life I had to go through. I was on and off with my ex-boyfriend in that time span and he was in fact my only real relationship I’ve ever had with a guy. We started dating when I was only 19 such a baby… Well as time goes on like I said before people change and the things we want in life change. I had a lot of great times in my relationship and I am happy that he was a part of my life and I learned a lot about myself during that time. I also lost parts of myself in that time and didn’t even realize it until now. When you are with someone for periods of time you start to adapt to what they like and their ways of life. I was changing things about myself without knowing it. I wanted to make things work with someone who ideally didn’t want the same things as me.
Love can blind us sometimes and we don’t see as clearly it’s something we would rather fight for than lose. I had a good fight, but the battle wasn’t something I needed to win. It was something I needed to surrender to and had to find the strength to give up on. You see sometimes things aren’t what they seem at that time I realized that my relationship wasn’t something I could just fix, instead I needed to just walk away.
I made the decision to move to California to start fresh and focus on what I thought mattered to me. My family, my career, and my happiness. I never would have thought a year ago that I would be sitting in my room writing this and living in California. I had dreams and aspirations living in Las Vegas that I no longer have living here in California. You see my dreams changed because my life did. I wanted to get married and start a family and buy a house and just live the American dream and be a cute little house wife. That sounds great still, but it’s not my focus anymore at this time in my life. If you would have asked me a year ago where I saw myself in 5 years that would have been my answer.
Now where do I see myself in 5 years? Well I hope I live to see 5 years first of all life is so unexpected and you can’t plan life and that is something I have always tried to do and learned you can’t. I wrote this post in September and had to re-write it because my goals started to become my reality and changes kept happening. I wanted to get my own place and I finally did in the heart of Los Angeles. I never thought I would be making these changes so fast, but then again I can’t predict how my life will pan out. I still have dreams of my career in photography and my blog becoming my full time career.
I plan to be the healthiest version of myself and just live with fulfillment and joy, rather than questioning my life or the mistakes I may make along that 5 year journey. For these are all just lessons to grow and learn from. I hope that you lovelies are along for this ride with me and this new chapter on my blog helps you understand me a little better. I don’t want to sugar coat life because “Even salt looks like sugar” so I plan to keep it real with you lovelies and I am excited to see where this life takes me! Thank you for taking the time to read the newest section on my blog! Until next time have a wonderful day!
Xoxo Shaunté
