Jennifer’s sweet lil beauty blog: Love: the selfish kind

Growing up, many of us are repeatedly told that “college will be the best 4 years of your life, so you better enjoy every minute of it!” Unfortunately for me, this couldn’t have been further from the truth! I entered college with great expectations… of meeting my future husband, creating a solid group of 10+ best girlfriends that I would remain close to for the rest of my life… knowing exactly what I wanted to do or become as soon as I graduated…etc…etc.. Well, none of those things happened and I couldn’t be happier about that.

I believe that my failure to achieve both society and my own expectation of the “college experience” can wholeheartedly be attributed to my lack of self-love. It wasn’t the fact that I went to a state school. It wasn’t the fact that I was an 8 hour drive away, separated from family and hometown friends. It wasn’t even the fact that I had such an amazing high school experience that nothing could top it. It all boils down to my own self-neglect, lack of self-love and err… perpetual negative thoughts. As embarrassed as I am to admit it – my mind had the on switch turned to non-stop negativity and it was so very difficult to flip these feelings around. My junior year I even went out and got a tattoo on the top of my foot that reads “LOVE” as a daily reminder to always practice self-love. At the time, I thought that taking this permanent step would somehow miraculously change my life. As you could easily guess… the negative feelings still remained, so really, nothing had changed other than a brand new piece of ink sketched into my skin. It wasn’t until I was physically out of school, graduated and with an excellent job in New York City that I had an opportunity to look back at what I had been through and question why it had all gone so wrong.

Turning point pinpointed: A colleague at the time, had given me a book as a ‘just because’ gift during my first year in the corporate world. I didn’t realize how impactful this ‘just because’ gift would end up being to me. The introduction to it was truly life-changing. I’ve mentioned this little gem in a past post, but am happy to share with you little nuggets again since I just love it so, so much – “You Can Heal Your Life” by Louise Hay. If you are going through a time of self-doubt, lack of self-love or just really need a reminder to always think & practice thoughts of positivity, then this is the right book for you!

I have gained much of my strength & deep rooted belief in positive thinking directly from this 4 year long experience, coupled with the help of Louise’s book & way of thinking. The biggest & most positive changes in my life are directly connected to the promise I made to myself 5+ years ago to always think positively and look at life with a glass half-full mentality. This outlook has awarded me many wonderful career opportunities, ever lasting friendships, a closer relationship to my family and most of all, meeting the love of my life. I finally see how all of that negative noise was really just me getting in the way of myself & ultimately my own happiness. I am stronger for having gone through all of it years ago and I wouldn’t change a thing, if given the opportunity to do it all over again. Because of the hardships, I am even more appreciative & thankful for what I have now. I love my life and I love all of you.

And if you’re curious if I love my “LOVE” tattoo – I really do LOVE it & don’t regret it one bit!

Thank you, my little nuggets for your continued support. This blog is my own little slice of life and I am just happy you enjoy reading it. Kisses & hugs xo

Link to Blog: www.sweetlittlenugget.com