Being a Leader

Hello Lovelies!

As I have stated before, I am in a position of leadership at my school as the Battalion Commander of  Junior ROTC program of 250 cadets.  This past year has taught me so much about being in charge of a large group of people and being held accountable for everything that happens concerning the group. Leadership is so much more than just delegating and commanding people, it is so much more than just telling others what to do while you sit back and take the credit.  I am held responsible for all the good and bad that happens in the Gator Battalion.  So, stemming from this experience that is about to end in less than a month (wow, that's actually crazy) I wanted to let you all know some of the lessons I have learned this past school year!

~ 1 ~

Always be part of the process, but learn to delegate.

So, the majority of the time people that are placed in high authority have type A personalities.  From a psychological perspective dealing with stress, type A personalities are more competitive and self-critical.  It is important to know, you cannot control every little detail.  But that does not mean you must delegate every single task to someone else and just watch them do all the work.  Have a balance between delegating and doing thing yourself.

~ 2 ~

Be passionate about what you do.

People around you, particularly those underneath your leadership, will notice any changes in your enthusiasm and will mimic whatever you do.  If you are having a bad day, they will have a bad day as well.  If you lose passion for what you do, everyone around you will feel the same way.  I have watched projects fail because the participants lose passion due to bad/lack of leadership.  Remember, you are the foundation of whatever your in charge of.

~ 3 ~

Comparison is the thief of joy.

Whatever you do, never compare yourself to other leaders.  There is a stigma that you must be better than the last and you must be the best in your group, but that is not necessarily always the most optimal viewpoint.  You are not in a competition with anyone but yourself.  So focus on what you have to do and do the best within your own capabilities and everything will turn out fine.

~ 4 ~

Learn from those around you.

Despite being chosen for the position of Battalion Commander, I take the time every day to speak to the freshman in the program and converse with them as I would with a friend.  This is something that so many leaders overlook, the power of the smaller majority.  Everyone underneath you is dependent on you and it is important to know who they are and to learn from them.  They have ideas and concerns and they can bring a new perspective to the table. Do not underestimate anyone.

~ 5 ~

Trust yourself. Only yourself.

I once said, "Loneliness is an easy thing to come by on the road to success." That is true.  Being in charge and accountable for everything that occurs to a group of people forces you to make certain sacrifices.  My best advice is to keep things to yourself concerning the leadership role you are in because many people will want to see you fail.  Obviously do not hold things in and speak to trusted advisers but be careful about who you choose and acknowledge that you are in a position others want and may envy.

~ 6 ~

There is more to life than what you are leading.

As much as people tend to make their entire lives about work or about something very important to them, it is essential to maintain a balance among all aspects of life.  There is still family, religion, friends, and simple daily tasks that can be put on the back-burner.  Do not feel bad or selfish for occasionally saying no or taking a day off.

Leadership is such an important skill to have in life and I think everyone should have the basics of leading a group of people.  I hope this post will help some of you out in any upcoming leadership roles you may encounter.  If you have any questions or need some advice, I am always available so do not hesitate to ask.

Have a blessed day!

xoxo, Ana

Cardinal Preview Day 2017

Hello Lovelies!

As you are all now aware of, I will be attending the Catholic University of America in the upcoming semester.  This past weekend I attended Cardinal Preview Day in which I got to explore the campus, speak to prospective students, and check out the Biomedical Engineering program.  I absolutely loved the experience and it really confirmed my choice in attending that institution.

I will be getting back into blogging as I've truly been missing writing and want to share the college experience with all of you.  Lots of things will be changing as I enter university, obviously I will be moving from Florida to Washington D.C. which is a completely different world.  This is incredibly exciting and I am honestly really happy.

Here are some pictures from the trip:

I really hope that I will be given the opportunity to remain consistent on my blog and hope that all goes well throughout the next four years.

xoxo, Ana

P.S. - Not sure if you noticed, but I did cut and color my hair.  I still have mixed feelings but I may go blonder next time!!

Happy 2017: I'm Back and I'm Better

Hello Lovelies!

It has been so long since my last actual post.  I honestly feel as if I have abandoned one of my favorite aspects of my life.  I have been extremely busy.  There has been many events that have occurred since we last spoke.  I want to quickly fill you guys in on some of the things that have occurred since I last wrote before I let you all know about the future, especially concerning my senior year of high school! :D

Well, I have participated in countless events such as the Freedoms Foundation Valley Forge trip as well as an awesome program called H2O to Go at Florida Atlantic University.  Those were more educational trips concerning history and marine biology, respectively.  I also went to Washington DC for Academic Team and made 16th in the United States.  Then, as a senior in high school so much has happened.  I am the Battalion Commander of my JROTC program so that's been so much work but I have also done Raiders (we made it to states! :) and other events throughout the year.  It has been very stressful but rewarding.  In my personal life, I had a boyfriend and then realized that neither was prepared for that kind of commitment and broke up with him shortly after.  Now I am spending time with my closest friends.

The biggest news has to be my acceptance into The Catholic University of America in Washington DC.  I have placed my enrollment fee in and will officially be attending in August 2017 in the school of Engineering to study Biomedical Engineering with a focus on pre-med.  I am super excited for the opportunity to study at such an amazing and religiously fulfilling institution.

The year 2016 was really difficult for me and very enlightening.  I am ready to go into 2017 with a new perspective and insight into what life is really about.

I hope you all had an amazing new years and holiday season and are prepared for another year of new experiences and obstacles.

xoxo, Ana

Long Time No See

Hello Lovelies!

It's been almost two months since my last post and I feel horrible.  Life has honestly been such a whirlwind of events and studying and working that I haven't had much time to do anything.

I hope you all will forgive my lack of posts recently.  I will be working hard to post new content as soon as I can. Right now, I am in the midst of AP season and I am taking three exams so please bear with me.  I plan on getting a new camera soon so that I can bring you all quality, unique content.  This summer is going to be an interesting one, so you all should be able to come on this journey with me.

Hope you're all doing well and can have patience with me.

xoxo, Ana

Big Things Coming

Hello Lovelies!

As those of you know who read my second to last post, I have kind of been dealing with a lot lately and life has kind of been a whirlpool of new experiences, both good and bad.  For a minute I felt very hopeless and like things were never going to get better.  God, as always, has proved me very wrong.

Sometimes, God has an unconventional way of showing us that life has it's difficult moments but it always gets better.  He will never put us through anything that He feels we cannot endure.  And as a teenager in today's society, those hardships become a lot more public.  He is always pushing us, testing our limits, helping us to go in his path.  If you are as stubborn as I am, sometimes that requires a little push.

The last couple of weeks served as a BIG push.  God most definitely tested my limits and although I failed in some aspects, I got back up on my saddle and pushed myself toward God's path.  Now, I am reaping the rewards.  My life is taking a very busy turn for the better.  {As if I wasn't busy enough...}

I am finally going to Philadelphia on Thursday and I couldn't be more excited !!!

My academic team made it to Washington DC !!!

I might be getting a job.... or I at least applied !!!

In a few months I start college applications !!!

So basically, my life got really exciting, really fast.  I am super pleased at how everything is turning out, although I am exhausted and stressed {good stress guys :D}.  New opportunities are so important to take advantage of and make the most.  You can always learn something new from even the simplest of moments.

Hopefully my new job means a better wardrobe which means more fashion posts.  And hopefully I will take lots of pictures in Philly and Washington and life will be great because you all have new content and I get new experience!

I hope you all are having a great February and ill talk to you in a few.

xoxo, Ana

Relative Happiness.

Hey Lovelies!

Today I have a post for you all that is a bit more intimate.  I want to talk about happiness, specifically "relative happiness."

Most of us live in a place where no real poverty exists, only relative poverty.  We compare ourselves to other people and we compare what we have to what others have.  But we have a choice to live a happy and fulfilled life, and yet many of us are not proud or glad at their current position in life.  We are never content, we always want more, seeking perfection.

Happiness is a choice, a feeling.  Not always is happiness available for us, sometimes we have to feel sad, upset, even depressed.  What we cease to realize is that joy and great pleasure is a lifestyle that you can commit to.  Life does not always hand you lemons, life will have hardships and you will suffer.  But that does not mean that you can never be happy again.

You can choose to go about living your life dwelling on the things that did not happen and on the things that you did not have.  Or you can choose to dwell on the people that love you and the happiness you gained from simple things, like a lovely sunset.  Focus on the fact that there are people out there with so much less, who are living in real poverty, spending days hungry and alone.

Did you know that generosity releases hormones that make you feel better, happier?

Give back to those who have less.  Give back to those who have helped you.  Give back to those who have hurt you.

Live a life of joy!  Live a life worth living.  You only have one chance, you only have this moment to make it count.  So choose happiness!

We all have someone who cares for us, even when you feel as if you don't!  If you are reading this, know that I love you and I appreciate you.

xoxo, Ana

Where have I been?

Hello Lovelies!

As per usual, I took an unexpected break.  Life has been really odd lately, been dealing with so much at one time I kind of lost track of myself and really couldn't get my head together until recently.  Sometimes, you just have to remind yourself of who you want to be and not get sidetracked by other people.  It's so easy to become disengaged in your own goals because of other people who are simply jealous of everything you have accomplished thus far.

From that lesson, I took a very hard hit.  I didn't pay attention to my grades or my religion or anything that ever mattered to me before.  Although I realize that this is all part of the process of life and growing up and I don't regret anything that happened because I did grow and mature, it hurt me and I had to take time to re-center myself.  Even though I'm not completely recalibrated, I'm a much better point in my life now.

Basically this means that I will be back to blogging! Yay, finally!

I have some new ideas about posts and I have a little bit more artistic freedom now. Hopefully I will be getting a job soon and that will give me more opportunities to invest in my blog.  There are so many things I want to do in the near future and it makes me really happy to know they are so near into the future!

I  hope you've all had a wonderful last couple of weeks, can't wait for what the future holds.

xoxo, Ana

MAMBI 2016 Planner

Hello Lovelies!

For Christmas this year my older sister decided to get me a Me and My Big Ideas Happy Planner.  I am so grateful and appreciative of this gift, definitely one of my favorite gifts ever.  To start decorating, I simply printed out some of my own designs and I created everything using others ideas, but my own creations.  Most of it was done, super simple, on PowerPoint.

I wanted to share with you all since I know it is a popular topic at the moment.  I love creative things such as this planner, its another way to let creativity flow while in conjunction with functionality.

Here are some pictures of the weeks I have done and what the inside of the planner looks like.  I will be using it a lot more once school begins, although it is a stay at home planner.

Planner Cover

January Divider

Last Week of December

January Monthly View

First Week of January

My favorite so far of the three weeks I have decorated is the one featured in the last picture.  The spread looks very cheery and put together, but at the same time it has functionality in the way it is formatted.  I gave myself enough room for a to do list for all my school needs, a section for any appointments or extra things I have to do, and planning for my bog posts.  Hopefully this will help me remain consistent with my posts, although I don't plan on posting every other day I want to work on my blog at least a little bit every other day.

If you guys have a planner let me know how you decorite it in the comments below!  I don't plan on using etsy stickers because I don't feel a need to spend any more money on this, but those are always a good idea.

xoxo, Ana

How I Improved My Running

Hello Lovelies!

It's been a while since I made a fitness post even though it's probably one of the biggest parts of my life.  I wanted to make a post about something I know very well: running. My next fitness post will probably be about something new I'm starting this year: weightlifting.

To give you all a little background about my running I started running about two years ago.  The first year I was very on-and-off, I was not at all consistent and I didn't run far for long.  My running began more of a walking/jog.  I was out of shape and my doctor told me to start exercising to help my scoliosis and to help my overall health.  So for a long time I did tons of research: what to eat, how to sleep, how running improves health, when to start running, how to start running.

To be honest, the majority of what I found on the internet was complete BS.  To start running, you just have to start.  There is no magic trick.  There is no perfect solution.  Even if you start by walking and jogging, thats a start.

Running is all about endurance.  The more your muscles can endure, the longer you can run.

Okay, so at the start of 2015 I was running a 14 minute mile and I could only run one mile.  Today is the first day of 2016 and I ran three miles at a 9 minute pace.

How did I do this?

Well first, it's all about being consistent.  No matter how hard it is, no matter how much you don't feel like it, you have to run at least three times a week.

Next, you must push yourself.  Part of the reason I was able to reduce my time so drastically and go so much further was because I pushed myself.  It's going to hurt.  You're muscles are going to ache.  Your body will tell you not to.  Do like Nike and just do it.

Finally don't just run.  As much as people enjoy running once they feel the running high, your body will literally yearn to run.  Your body will beg you to run.  Sounds crazy now, but once you start you can never stop.  But as amazing as the feeling is, to be a better runner you have to accompany it with strength and flexibility training.

I hope this helps all of you that plan to start running in the upcoming year.  Running is an amazing hobby and sport.  I love the feeling of being connected to nature, I love the feeling of getting runners high, it is absolutely indescribable.

Happy Running!

xoxo, Ana

New Year, New Me

Hello Lovelies!

As my first post of 2016 I decided to be quite cliche and tell you all my goals for the year.  The past two years I have shared my resolutions and how I want to tackle the year.  Last year I was extremely vague with my goal and made it simple for myself as I didn't know what I wanted to accomplish.  The year prior I made clear cut goals and focused solely on reaching those specific goals but I bashed myself for not meeting them at the end of the year.

This year I have decided to go in between. Set vague but centered goals.  Something that is reachable and won't discourage me yet has an end goal.  So here are my goals for 2016:

1. Become as close to God as possible.

2. Love the people around me, show them my love, and appreciate them for all they're worth.

3. Learn as much as possible.  Never miss an opportunity to learn something new.

4. Experience more and be open to new opportunities.

5. Take care of my body. This year don't lose sight of the end goal: a long, healthy life.

6. Practice gratitude, patience, kindness, forgiveness, and tolerance.

I hope you all can gain a little from my personal goals.  Every day we take the things around us for granted, the people, the opportunities, the experiences, the environment.  I'm the type of person that will go outside just to smell the fresh air, to hear the birds chirp, to see the beauty of nature, to feel the wind blowing in my hair; I encourage all of you to do the same.

Try putting yourself out there.  Don't be afraid to do something new and see what happens.  Most of the time, things turn out better than you ever imagined.

The one lesson I hope to take with me from 2015 is that success can only be reached through failure.  Approach new opportunities with an open, positive mind.  If they don't come out as anticipated try again, make different mistakes, learn something new.

Take the time you have and make the most of it.  Don't take this life for granted.

xoxo, Ana