Becoming

Fun fact about me: I'm OBSESSED with butterflies. I love everything about them, from their beauty to everything they represent! 

Many people pay close attention to the butterfly without paying much attention to the process of it becoming that beautiful creature. A butterfly goes through a not so pretty journey. The butterfly starts out as an egg, then it turns into a caterpillar that overloads itself on leaves in preparation for its new life of growing. Next, it pushes it own body, while slitting the skin open. This sheds "the former self" and rebuilds itself as a cocoon. Finally, it stretches new wings as a beautiful butterfly :)

To me, they represent a journey. Similarly, three years ago, I made the decision to dig deep! I will be the first to tell you that growing is NOT for the weak! It gets really, really ugly. That process is probably the ugliest thing I've gone through (and currently still going through - remember it’s a journey, not a destination!), but that reward on the other side of the ugliness is so rewarding! The reward for me is the beautiful woman I'm becoming. (Physically, mentally, and emotionally)

This showed me that my time as a caterpillar expired! It was time to get my "wings." Since my journey of becoming was soooooo similar, I thought it would be perfect to wear something to remind me of how far I've come with my journey. 

Dress - Amazon | Earrings - TJ Maxx | Shoes Sophia Webster 

"How does one become a butterfly?" she asked. "You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar." ~Trina Paulus 

Xoxo, 

Courtney 

Champions

 Happy Saturday!  

I hope all of you are having a great start to your new year! Looking on the surface, 2020 was a horrible, unpredictable year for the majority of us! However, when you take a moment to look back at everything, most of us really came out like a "champion!" I say this because although times were hard, we had no choice but to push through like a champion. 

One of my cousin's favorite Harry Potter quotes is, "What is the definition of a victory? It's a measure of progress, not a celebration of wins." This made me take some time to reflect on my goals from last year and decide how I wanted to intentionally move forward in 2021. I made practical goals that were attainable and measurable. I think it's important to set your goals this way so that you are able to measure progress and celebrate yourself. For example, I cut my hair due to impatience, but a goal I set for myself was to grow healthy hair. Today, my hair is in the best condition that its been in since the beginning of my 20s! I felt like I came out like a champion in the end :)

So I know you're probably wondering, how can you feel like a champion with the world we are living in? My solution is to focus on SMART goals for yourself. (Make sure you write them down too!)

S- Specific. So maybe you want to set a goal for yourself to grow healthy hair. How are you going to go about this?? For example, maybe you will deep condition weekly or maybe you will do protective styles consistently.

M- Measurable. This is so important! Sometimes we don't always focus on how far we've come and we aren't able to see our own growth. Be sure you have a way to reward yourself or acknowledge your accomplishment so that you can confidently crush the rest of your goals. Seeing progress is so rewarding! For example, I took picture of my hair at the beginning of my hair cut so that I could see the condition of the before vs after. 

A- Attainable. Make sure your goal is challenging, yet reasonable for you to obtain. Having patience with hair is very challenging to me, but doable. 

R- Relevant. So you've set your goal, but does it align with your other long term goals or other areas of helping you grow?

T- Time-Based. Lastly, can you reach this goal within a reasonable timeframe?

What better way to remind yourself than to wear something to support you thinking like a champion. Lately I’ve been choosing comfort over everything for me these days (well outside of work)! 

What I Wore:

Top: Champion | Leggings: Alo Yoga | Shoes: Aldo 

"Everyone falls, only difference is champions get up!" ~ Matshona Dhliwayo 

Xoxo, 

Courtney 💕