For those of you who don’t know, I spent my first summer away from my hometown. Residing in the same town I attend college, during the months when classes are not in session, is weird and quiet. At the beginning of the summer, I honestly thought that the experience would be anything but great. Here I am, three months later, reflecting back on one of the best summers I’ve ever had.

God works in mysterious ways. He used this quiet season in my life to teach me some really valuable life lessons that my stubborn mind wouldn’t have grasped otherwise. If anyone reading this has fully perfected and implemented these 11 life tips, let me know (because you’ve performed a miracle & kudos to you). I, on the other hand, am still a work in progress. Some of these are deep and some are basic, but they are all points that have impacted me, so you’ll probably also see them in blog posts later.

So with the summer coming to an end, I figured why not share some of the great things God has taught me throughout this time?

1. Be more simple and balanced. 

Stop over-complicating and over-thinking every situation in life. Recently, I have realized how complicated I am and how I don’t enjoy much because I twist and turn everything into an elaborate task. This blog post was even a victim. After planning out 50 times what I was going to say, I ended up back where I started. Like every life circumstance, simply going with the flow just a little would have saved me some time and energy. Balance and simplicity go hand and hand. There is a happy medium for doing life. Though it’s a process finding it, once we achieve it, we’ll be much happier.

2. Relationships hold value.

God did not create man to be alone. Capitalize on the relationships you develop around you. Great and valuable relationships can come from anywhere. This summer, I became best friends with a sorority sister I had never had more than one conversation with, developed great friendships at my internship and work, and even mended friendships I thought were too strained to fix. While some of these friends were just a season and I will never get the chance to work/intern with them again, others are becoming bigger parts of my life with time. Either way they all have impacted my life so positively, even if it was in small ways. That’s valuable.

3. Being alone can be positive.

If you’re a social butterfly like me, take time to be alone sometimes. You realize a lot about yourself. I always knew that I did not like to be alone. This summer, when I had no choice but to be alone, I realized I was avoiding myself and some things I needed to address. Everyone interprets this differently. For me, it was taking some time away from always needing to date or talk to someone. In the relationship realm, I am now learning how to be by myself for the first time. Sounds silly, I know, but let that sink in. Since eighth grade, NEVER have I been single or alone for more than 3 weeks. Just a piece of advice, don’t do what I did and wait this long to take a break for yourself in the area God is telling you to. It is so freeing and relieving. Not just in relationships, but in everything. There is no better medicine than taking some “me” time.

4. Stop people pleasing.

It is a proven fact that people will let you down. The only thing constant is The Lord. Honestly, I used to lose sleep over the opinions of others. Everyday was the constant battle of making sure everyone liked me and approved of every decision I made. Here’s a little piece of advice: It does not work. You can’t please everyone. Let me say that just one more time. You can’t please everyone. Someone will always disapprove or disappoint you. We should stay hopeful and love people, but we are humans and busting our butt to please a human that is proven to fail at least once, is pointless. Please yourself and please The Lord. That’s it.

5. Let it go.

Let go of all the anger, bitterness, regret, brokenness, and especially the past. When you cannot let go of things, you are blocking your blessing. I don’t care who you are, age, gender, stage of life, whatever, if you’re reading this, there is probably something that we need to let go. Forgive who you need to forgive, even if it’s yourself. Once I realized that I am not the person that I used to be, but I’m not yet who I am becoming, I could move forward to what’s next. Like every item on this list, it’s a hard process, but it will come. If you choose to absorb anything I’ve typed in this post, this should be it.

6. It’s the little things.

When are we actually going to start enjoying the little things in life? We say enjoy the little things all the time, but do we really? Life is so precious. I’ve had numerous friends lose someone close to them this summer, and it has been a wake up call for me. Enjoy those cookie dough and movie nights, or the car rides with the windows down. Spend those moments with the people you love. There is always something to be happy and thankful for. Joy is a choice. Joy is so much easier when it comes from the little blessings.

7. Live it instead of posting it.

Hey Instagramers, this is why I like your pictures like 6 days after you post them. Our generation does it completely out of order. We document, then experience. Incorrect. Wrong. We should experience, then document. Nothing wrong with documenting everything on social media, I love it, but take a break every now and then. I lose my phone all the time, not just because I’m forgetful, but because sometimes it is fun to forget where you sat it in the house while you engage in life around you. I know I sound like a 90 year old granny, but it’s true.

8. It’s about the verbs, not nouns.

I’m talking about the material nouns here, not people. The older I get, the more I realize that it is about the experiences. Nothing wrong with striving for success and material things to an extent, but that’s all replaceable. Fill your life with things that are not replaceable because it makes their worth that much more. You’re going to look back and have great appreciation for the moments, not what you were wearing.

9. Don’t let FOMO rule your life.

For any out of the loop, this means “fear of missing out.” I have very bad FOMO. Yes, some of it came from the fact that I used to hate to be alone, but I really just can’t say no. I have to be included in everything. That’s just my personality. No, I don’t have to let that character trait go, but it can’t rule my life. Bail out sometimes. Stay in when everyone goes out. Go to bed early a few days a week. Simply just accept the fact that it’s mathematically impossible for you to be everywhere at once, and that’s okay.

10. Be excited for other’s milestones.

Great people get excited for others. Simple as that. Stop envying every opportunity your friends, family, or even acquaintances receive. Get excited for those who get to go on trips or get a great job opportunity, rather than being jealous it didn’t happen to you. Trust me, your time will come. All of our times will come. Great things are worth waiting for. When that time comes, how do you want others to react for you? Golden rule here, people.

11. Make unknown outcomes fun.

One of my best friends told me it is fun to not know what’s coming next. She is so correct. Instead of being antsy like I was at the beginning of summer, have fun with it. Just like I said in my last post, enjoy your journey. That’s the whole point of this blog. We do not know the outcome just yet, but let’s just trust. God is so good and so is your future.

Hope these helped you as much as they have me. So much love for ya.

EYJ,

Macy K

 

Hey hey! In the past week of being home and really enjoying a week of summer off of all internships, jobs, and commitments, I have realized a huge piece of information that I have been missing for a long time. I’ve always said that taking some time away from everything to go home is freeing and refreshing, and once again, I proved myself right.

Yesterday, my family had a reunion for the first time in 15 years. I’m sure you all know how it is, a lot of “What are you doing with your life?” “Where are you going to school?” “Major?” “Future plans?”.  After having been antsy in my major and my current life stage all summer, it’s hard answering these questions without spilling the beans that I’m not as content as I’d like to be.

After telling every curious family member about my unsure plans and my gutsy move to pursue three minors (I know, I’m nuts), all of a sudden I questioned why I was so unsettled with my life. God spoke to my heart subtly and asked me why I wasn’t doing what I loved and enjoying the process. That hit me like a ton of bricks. Being who I am, I started to silently defend myself. “But God, I am doing what I love. I enjoy my internships, I love my job, what does that even have to do with me being unsettled?” The rest of the day went by with my heavy heart trying to sort out what God had revealed to me.

Finally, on the departure from the reunion late last night, the light bulb came on. If anyone reading this knows me even slightly, you’ll know that I am probably one of the most ambitious and hopeful people you’ll ever meet. My plans and dreams are so big that I don’t even understand them myself. Everyday, I take on another task, vow to pursue another dream, or add another major/minor. Then, I get ticked off and upset when I come to my senses and realize that I’m still a junior in college and great things take time. My whole life I’ve been impatient and spread myself too thin trying to reach a point where my soul feels satisfied in the successes I’ve reached. Never do I stop to do the little things I love in the now, nor have I ever learned how to enjoy this process.

If it isn’t obvious already, I’ve reached the point of exhaustion.

A couple weeks ago, I bought a book by Joyce Meyer (Highly recommend. She is my favorite ever, so be prepared to see her name a lot), called “Enjoy your Journey.” This whole week I’ve been home I’ve been reading this book that consequently explains how you must CHOOSE to trust God’s process, and enjoy the now, no matter where the destination you’re striving for might be.

I like to think that God has a good sense of humor and, of course, drew my interest to a book that called me out, not just in the first chapter, but on the first page. Clever. So sitting in the car last night, my mind flashed back to the lovely book I’ve been reading as God spoke deeply to my heart about trusting him and enjoying my own journey.

So here I am, realizing that working and interning is great, but my joy will wither if I don’t start to do some little things I love. I’m starting to teach myself that God was the one that created me and put those huge aspirations in my heart for a reason, but sitting back and trusting him to use my gifts and talents to get me there as I enjoy life along the way, will take that weight off of my shoulders.

I love to paint, porch sit, drink some coffee, redecorate my room, take walks, spend time with people, watch a great movie, and especially write. Why don’t I do these things more? So this is my explanation for starting a blog: because it makes me happy. So if you read my posts, cool. If you don’t read my posts, cool. I doubt they’ll always be this long, but I feel like when you have a lot on your heart you have to share. Maybe a month from now, or 10 years from now I’ll move on to something else that makes me happy, but for now, I choose this.

So with all this being said, I promise to never act like I have it all together, I promise to write anything on my heart, and I promise to be real. Lets learn how to enjoy our lives now, and find joy in the process. I’m a mess, but maybe this will speak positively to some other messes out there too. We can figure a lot out together. Welcome to Journey of Macy: A blog about enjoying my journey. I hope you stick around.

 

Enjoy your Journey

Macy K.