I love the idea of Throwback Thursday and have been participating off and on via my Instagram (@SincerelyPete) for a few months. I enjoy looking back on where I was a year ago or 5 years ago. I love looking at the pictures (and asking myself what was I thinking with that outfit?!), but even more so, it's interesting to reflect on who I was, where I was and what my mindset was at that time compared to where I am now.
I recently celebrated my 30th Birthday (a post about that party will happen soon!) and was doing quite a bit of reflecting on the path my life has taken, where I thought I'd be at 30 years old and how happy I am that my experiences have made me the person I am today. I've had some serious struggles to overcome in my life made some "bad' decisions. But who hasn't?
Here's the best thing about your past: it's brought you to where you are today and from here, you can go anywhere! I think it's important to take time to reflect on all my life experiences, the good and the bad, to see what the lesson is moving forward. Sometimes it's simple. For example, I want to lose weight so I start a diet and see some great results... then I eat a box a petit fours for my birthday and gain several pounds. The lesson? Simple. Moderation in all things, especially petit fours.
Sometimes it's not so easy. Relationships (of all kinds) tend to be real thought provokers for me. Honest reflections on behaviors can be difficult, but truly powerful. Because relationships are basically emotional entities, and we never want to blame ourselves for their failure, they can be especially hard to find the lesson behind. Take your time! Sometimes a lesson can't be revealed immediately. I have an ex-husband and a couple ex-boyfriends that I have sat and thought on the lessons they were supposed to teach me for years! Slowly I find those lessons revealed in new relationships and my ability to see how I want to be treated or how I want to act. (During this process I've also realized I've learned a lot about patience).
What are your thoughts on #tbt? Share below!
My first passion in life, that I can remember, was music. I could be found playing pots and pans as drums and singing at the top of my lungs from a very young age. I carried a cassette tape recorder around and would record myself singing along to my dad's Beatles records. Piano lessons started when I was 4 or 5, viola when I was in 4th grade and in high school I discovered that I was a singer.
When the time came for college, I knew that music was my path. I would study music and singing and then I would get a job in music, probably singing. See that solid game plan I had in place? I actually ended up dropping out of college and started working in hospitality. Music and singing were quietly filed away in a subconscious "hobbies folder".
Today, I do not in fact have a "job in music". I do still sing- karaoke mostly but also at home among binders of sheet music downloaded from the internet, on my parents piano, the same one I played when I was 5. I've been privileged to sing at some of my best friends' weddings and to hum lullabies to my newborn nephews. I realize in these moments that when I filed my music away into that "hobbies folder", other passions were also filed away. I took things that I felt true passion for- helping others (I was a missionary in Honduras), being part of a well-rounded community and bringing people together (I was always the kid running between her music friends, church friends, school friends and lifelong friends and inviting each to be a part of the other)- and subconsciously told myself that these things are "hobbies", not life pursuits or the way to make a career. My life's path wasn't going to be one of passion but a life of hard work, that I was good at, though may not ever love.
As some point in the last couple years, I recognized that being good at something that I wasn't passionate about just wasn't going to cut it. Happiness meant more to me. Doing something meaningful was important to me.
Now, I didn't make this decision in one overwhelming emotional moment of self-discovery (how awesome and less time consuming would that have been?!). I did however, put a plan in place to get myself moving in a different direction and to find those passions that I had pushed to the back of my mind's filing cabinet. I went back to school to finish my degree, choosing to study something business oriented in order to create a more well-rounded resume and background and to give me a springboard for future endeavors. While in school, I took the opportunity to work at a non-profit, which reignited the fire I had for working with people who are making life better for others. I developed a strong passion for my local community, for networking with local businesses and for bringing people together from different walks of life, simply to share a drink & a laugh together.
I am lucky to be able to pursue my passions via various career endeavors (which I fondly call "hustles") and I now recognize that the passions of my childhood are my calling in life.