Things I'm Coveting: My Birthday Wish List

My birthday (i.e. the BEST DAY OF THE YEAR) is in nine days. I've been so focused on campaigning, flying, and organizing the I actually forgot it was so close until Martin reminded me last night. 
I'm not hard to shop for... as long as you have excellent taste and buying experience for Monelle. 
For everyone else, here are a few things that would make excellent birthday gifts this year, in plenty of time to order them for June 24th arrival. You're welcome. 



I legitimately don't know if these are a "want" or a "need". I'm pretty sure I need at least five pairs of these to get me through future elections too. 

Y'all know I love working international flights. I figure this baby will draw some Crew Scheduling karma my way so that I'll end up in Europe more frequently. 

A beautiful and practical gift. I've been coveting this case for about 18 months now. 

HOW PERFECT ARE THESE???

I'm in love with Jetset Candy. This is the JFK charm, but ideally mine would be PHL or one of their other adorable destination charms. They have this USA Passport stamp one that is adorable. 

I'm not usually this whimsical, but this travel wallet has SO much organization at such a great price. 

I'm turning 26. It's time for a really adult investment handbag (that can be monogrammed).

This smells like fresh French elegance. #goals

Easy and fun. 

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7:11 AM

Fear Means Go: Take the Leap

I don't know about you, dear reader, but I am very consistently scared. 
Beyond my actual phobias (heights, blood, and needles, FYI), I'm primarily afraid of failure.

Trying new things can be really scary because you're opening the door to failure and all of the negative emotions that come with it: embarrassment, shame, disappointment, and heartbreak all come to mind. 

Two things are really important here.

1. "Failure" isn't actually a negative thing.

2. Life truly begins at the edge of your comfort zone. 

#1
In my quarter century here on Earth, one of the most important lessons I have learned is that failing at something can often be the best thing that can happen to you. 
We have a lot of ways of talking about this idea. Maybe you've heard someone say "When God closes a door he opens a window." or something like "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need." 
Having faith that if you do fail, it's because something better is coming can be one of the best ways to plow ahead towards your goal or your dream, no matter how much it scares you. I can point to countless incidents in my own life that illustrate this idea. If I hadn't "failed" the first time I ran for office, I never would have found the job I love so much now. If I hadn't "failed" at being married, I wouldn't have found the wonderful man I'm currently in a relationship with. 

Failure is always going to hurt, but it doesn't have to be a negative. 
You can learn from it, grow from it, and achieve more and better things because of it.


#2
Speaking of growth, to really live you've got to grow, no matter how uncomfortable it is. Your comfort zone might keep you safe, but if you stay inside of it your life will stagnate. At best, you'll be a very boring person...probably one with a boring life. You'll go to work, go home, see the same people, do the same things, and you might not ever understand the underlying feeling that something isn't quite right. 
When something scares you, it's a good indicator that you should try it at least once so that you have the chance to see who you might become.  



When you're afraid, it means that something is big enough and important enough that it deserves your very best effort. Fear means it's time to take the leap because something matters. 

If you have a dream, go all in. Try. Dare greatly, and grow. 

I'll leave you with one of my favorite Garfunkel and Oates songs, "Loser". 
There's a little bit of strong language involved, so don't watch it around the kiddos, but it's awesome. 

"You are such a loser, good for you.
It's something that a lot of people can't do.
Trying is hard, that's why people don't do it.
Losing is hard, they can't make it through it.
But not you." 





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1:52 PM
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