The Year of Me

Its March, 2021, a year after the pandemic hit. Life is starting to normalize again, I had started a new career and moved out of my mom's in January, and I was ready to focus on myself. I had so many goals I wanted to accomplish with my new found freedom and drive. First few things on the list included moving out to be alone rather than with my current roommates, focusing on my mental and physical health, and getting smarter with my finances so I could set myself up for success in the future! And now, 25 years old and almost on to a new year, I have accomplished all those things and so much more.

Now let me back up a bit; when Covid hit in 2020, I had just started working at the Edge Fitness Clubs and I was about to start at a wedding venue which was what I wanted to start a career in at the time. I was trying to get into the industry in order to kickstart the wedding planning business I started for myself. When everything shut down, that included large events, and they stayed shut, for the whole year... I was back at the gym working but I really wanted something I loved and like the rest of us, I had no idea when weddings would start up again. I felt like I had no choice but to start looking for a different job. I knew I wanted something in an office with steady hours and pay; I'm very organized, with a strong attention to detail, and the ability to problem solve. Some of the positions I applied for included: secretary, operations manager, administrative assistant, executive assistant, office manager, and SO MANY MORE (it was torture). After 4 long, patient months, I started my current job. Now, I'm an executive assistant and operations manager for a Real Estate team based out of Glastonbury and I love it! I love being in the office and helping grow the team, but I also love learning about Real Estate because there is so much opportunity. The people on my team are so motivating and we have so much fun.

I've always been a dreamer, but ever since starting this job, I have just found myself dreaming even bigger and I couldn't be more grateful. I have opened so many different doors for myself to be able to grow and make money so I can be financially free. My job in itself has so much growth and opportunity and I already got my Real Estate license to be able to take advantages of those bonuses. I help with showings and open houses, I can handle my own transactions when I get to that stage, and I am looking to refer other people in my life to the team as referrals! My team leads are also starting another business that is Real Estate related and I will be the assistant/admin for that as well so I'm excited to be a part of that new adventure. I also started working for a company called Shipt where I go to Target and shop for people and deliver it to their house. It's awesome because I can do it as much or as little as I want and the pay is great and its super easy! Recently, my sister reached out to go through old files at her job for some extra income as well so I'm truly branching out in as many areas as I can. As you can see I am also getting back into my own business and rebranding to be geared towards Weddings and Real Estate because I do love both and they are both incredible industries for me to pursue. That also comes with social media and blogging so I would love to do more content and do some partnerships with companies I believe in. (Feel free to explore my website because I've added a few new pages and services based on all my passions and branches of my business) I want to help you however you need most! I've also been designing some patterns to upload onto a few different products like planners, bags, mugs, etc. for my followers to be able to buy so look out for that announcement on my social media and here on my website for purchase! Eventually, all of this hustling will allow me to travel the amount that I want, not worry about shopping when I need some new things, and most importantly, save for the future and for investment properties to create passive income. I'm so excited for all these ventures because I have so many things I want to be able to do in life and there's no better time than now to be hustling and getting creative with your ideas. It has allowed me to get smart about the future in regards to investing, life insurance, and becoming debt free. It has made my big dreams seem more achievable and realistic because I actually have a plan as to how I'm going to get there. I never thought of myself as someone who is smart with money or who has a business mindset but I have learned so much in these last 10 months at this job and I've never been happier and more hopeful about the future.

When I became single, I had the epiphany that most people have at some point in their 20s that it's so essential to love yourself before you offer that to someone else. If I haven't already talked your ear off about this before in person, get ready... There is a comedian on Netflix who changed my perspective. His name is Daniel Sloss and the episode is called 'Jigsaw'. I'm not going to recite the whole thing, although I could because I've watched it at least 20 different times but I'll just say, go watch it now and come back to read the rest of this after. Even if its just the second half where he actually starts talking about love, it is absolutely worth your time. Combined with having seen that, I finally got to the place of loving myself and not accepting less than what I deserve and putting myself first. I started to go to the movies alone and go on walks and do things that I wanted to do and I did them even if I didn't have anyone to do them with. A partner, or even friend, shouldn't be filling a void or replacing anyone or anything in your life. A person that you have any sort of relationship with should simply be a positive addition to your life. You should share your life with them and they should support you and help you to be the best version of yourself. You shouldn't be sacrificing part of yourself in order to fit someone in your life. Every cliche you've heard about loving yourself is absolutely true and I truly hope that everyone can get to that mindset (sooner rather than later) because it is an amazing place to be in. Everything I do in my life I do for myself and to make myself happy and if someone or something doesn't move me farther towards where I want to be, then I don't waste my time or effort on it. That might sound harsh but high expectations are worth it because I never settle or accept less and therefore I'm rarely disappointed. I think most people don't truly know what they want or how much they deserve so they take the first person that comes into their life even if they clearly aren't right for them. Now, I can make myself happy and give myself what I need in every aspect of life so anyone who wants to be a part of my life has to go above and beyond the call of duty to make me feel special or for it to be worth it to me. If any of this resonates with you or you want to understand more and know how to get here, I urge you to watch the Netflix special, you won't regret it. (No this isn't a sponsored post, but it would be so awesome if it was!)

As I mentioned, my health is also something I really wanted to focus on. It can also be a very sensitive topic for people because everyone is different and therefore everyone's approach and journey should be different. But somehow, I figured out how to have a healthy relationship with food, love myself and my body even if there are still some things I want to improve or work on, and workout to achieve strength goals, health goals, and physical goals. I never imagined I would get to this point and I'm so happy I did so I would love to share some tips with you.

As far as food goes, two things stand out the most as to what helped me. For one, eat more. Eat until you're full. Even if you're trying to lose fat. Your body is telling you you're hungry for a reason. I was eating 1200-1400 calories for years. I swallowed the pill that made me think I would gain so much weight if I ate more than that and now I eat 1700 calories a day. Ish. I am not jacked yet, my metabolism is still low, but I am full, therefore my cravings have plummeted. I don't want the less nutritious food anymore. I have no problem sticking to my meal plan for weeks on end. If I want pizza, I have pizza, if I want candy I have candy. Maybe one week I switch it up 4 times and maybe one week is exactly what I planned and both are okay and both are GOOD because I gave my body what it wanted. With all that being said, you do have to workout on top of this because otherwise you probably won't be in a calorie deficit. You might be at maintenance or a bit above. That is good though because guess what?! We're supposed to be active beings! Go on walks, stand up, take the stairs, or at the minimum go workout for 30 minutes: swim, dance, lift, run, anything! I choose to lift because I can see the progress in the weights I can lift and I want to build muscle in order to raise my metabolism and continue to lose fat and I enjoy it. But do what works for you. The second thing was finding delicious alternatives to the things we all love to eat but that aren't good for us to eat too often. I have found amazing substitute brands and products for Mac and Cheese, pizza, Nutella, peanut butter, candy, cookies, donuts, cake, and so much more! I also just try to choose brands that are protein focused so for example, the bread that I eat is lower carb and higher protein. Carbs aren't bad, I still eat bread and pasta and fruit, I just know how many grams I generally want to have in a day and find things that fit that so I can also be full at the end of every meal. I do eat the same thing most days because I don't get bored for a while and it's much easier to buy and cook like that for 1 person, but it can be done no matter your preferences!

The gym for me has now become a place for me to focus on staying healthy internally, long term and to get stronger physically. And my goals for my body are more realistic than wanting to be a stick like Kendall Jenner because genetically that's not in the cards for me. Now I look forward to building a body that shows muscle and my curves. I created a workout program for myself that includes the exercises I enjoy most for each muscle group and increase slightly in reps or weight each week. The amount of time I spend in the gym varies each week depending on my energy, plans, and motivation but I try to go between 3 and 6 times. I have started going in the morning before work instead of after because I find I feel much more energetic, productive, and make better choices throughout my day. I am naturally a night owl so it is extremely difficult for me to force myself to wake up every morning and even more so, fall asleep early enough but once I do it, I love it. However, as a reminder: every body is different and you shouldn't eat the same as me or workout the same as me. It's called a journey for a reason so it will take (maybe) a lot of trial and error before you get it right for yourself, but trust me though, when you do, it'll be life changing!

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I love sharing my stories here and updating you on where I am in life. Look out for my posts every Saturday going forward and follow me on social media to stay up to date with all my business ventures and how I can help you!

I hope you feel fully updated on my life with more information than you ever asked for but I hope this inspires you to go after a happier you!

Making your day with a place to live and a person to love...

Gabriella