Don't you just love New Years? You get to start all over. Everybody gets a second chance. -Forrest Gump script
It is 2013. How are you going to make this your best year yet? How are you going to use your second chance to live the life of your dreams? I think the best place to start is to evaluate how you feel about your life. I started by evaluating where I was last year, where I am today, and then meditating on what the future could hold.
In 2012 I resolved to:
BE HAPPY, LOVE FULLY, LET GO OF FEAR, GIVE BACK, MAKE MY DREAMS COME TRUE (Under the "make my dreams come true" section I included such things as book 6 national commercials, shoot for Victoria's Secret, get a commercial agent, get a theatrical agent, book awesome stuff.)
Did I accomplish every resolution I set out for myself? Not necessarily. Did I make all my dreams come true? No, I do not yet model for Victoria's Secret nor have I booked 6 national commercials...But I did reach for my dreams in a way I never knew possible and I accomplished things I never dreamed possible.
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| Miss Beverly Hills headshot for Miss CA USA |
In 2012 I:
Got a commercial agent
Was booked on an all expense paid trip to Tokyo
Bought my very own house (didn't see that one coming)
Got a theatrical agent
Got a manager
Hired an entertainment lawyer
Broke my first entertainment contract legally
Got a NEW modeling agency that I LOVE!!!
Left an acting studio I felt ok about
Found an acting studio I know has the power to help me transform and launch my career
Shot for Sketchers, Splendid, Ella Moss, BCBG, Marshall's, Zappos and more amazing companies
Shot with incredibly talented photographers
Won the title of Miss Beverly Hills USA (also didn't see that one coming)
Helped Children of the Night raise over $20,000 in speaking on their cause
I am proud and blessed by my accomplishments of last year. The outcome I feel was greater in many ways than what I had set out to do. This year I am reframing my resolutions to where it is not about the outcome of my goals. I do not have to make my dreams come true today. I just have to CONTINUE TO DREAM. I am okay with being a work in progress. I am okay with being wrong sometimes, and taking those opportunities to LEARN AND GROW. I am okay with knowing that the road to life is long and winding and my vision of the ultimate goal now may not be the same vision I have 10 years from now or even one year from now. I didn't know that I would buy a house in 2012 and I didn't know that I would ever compete in pageants, yet the timing was right and in this past year those two experiences shaped my year more than accomplishing any other goal or commitment I set forward to do.
With the Miss California USA pageant just around the corner, I know what I would resolve to do on last year's list, but this year I'm looking at the bigger picture. The final outcome of most situations is out of our hands- whether we book national commercials this year, shoot for Victoria's Secret, get our dream position at our dream job, win the lottery, win the title of Miss USA, etc... What is in our control is how we approach our life. We do not have to wait to accomplish our goals to live the life of our dreams. Why do I want to be Miss California? Because I think it would give me an opportunity to make a difference, to give me visibility in the community to spread the message of Children of the Night, to be a role model for young people to follow their dreams, to have a presence in the community to boost my own career and relationships in the entertainment field (in order to serve in all the aforementioned areas). Therefore, my 2013 resolution is to live as Miss California, whether I take home the title next weekend or not, I can choose to live as Miss California and embody all of the qualities that I attribute to being that title holder. I am NOT saying I do not want to win...I am just saying that in 2013 I have decided nothing can stop me from living the way I choose. Each time I walk into a room this year I will carry myself as the successful model, actress and title holder I aspire to be. I will LIVE CONFIDENTLY. And in 2013, I will have my BEST YEAR YET! I wish the same for you all!
