“What are you most proud of?”
“How do you relax?”
“How do you want to be remembered in life?”
These are just a few questions I’m asking myself this month as part of my Blogtober challenge, so I’m dedicating a couple of {more personal} posts about my own personal growth . In doing so, I found a personal growth exercise featuring 25 questions, which I hope you will try to answer. And in a way, I also want this to serve as an {informal} introduction that lets you get to know a little bit about me, the person behind “Green Acres Meets Paris.”
As the title of my blog says, this is “part 1.” Since there are 25 questions, I wanted to break it down into manageable reading material. So I’m answering the first 12 questions today and will answer the rest next Sunday.
So let’s begin, shall we?
- What does your ideal day look like?
My ideal day would start off with a relaxing massage, followed by a mani-pedi. Then I would meet up with my husband and we would go for a ride on our bikes {him on his Harley and me on my Vespa}. The day would include lots of good food, a good movie, and then end with some private time with my husband {wink, wink}. - What did you want to be when you were younger?
I have always wanted to be a writer. That or a princess. I mean, I still have time to be a princess, but writing is my passion. I definitely never thought I’d be a medical assistant, assisting the doctors and PAs in office procedures, but I really love what I do. A writer is who I am. A medical assistant is what I do to help me afford to be who I am. - Who are you most inspired by? Why?
I am inspired by other {fashion and lifestyle} bloggers, like Jacey Dupree of Damsel in Dior, Courtney Kerr of KERRently, Kat Tanita of With Love from Kat, as well as a dozen other beautiful women. They inspire my own sense of style, and they challenge me to look at fashion, beauty, and life in a new and exciting way. I also love to read their blogs and see their photos on Instagram. - Who would you love to meet? What would you ask?
I’ve thought about this one several times over the years. It’s one reason why I started my “Dinner Party” series, where I throw an imaginary dinner to get to know people who I admire or who I would love to meet IRL one day. I would love to meet the bloggers who inspire me, the magazine editors who edit some of my favorite magazines, the designers behind some of my favorite brands. I know that’s a lot of people, but if I had to narrow it down to just one person, I guess that would be Princess Diana. I would ask her about her likes and dislikes, her favorite foods, her favorite book, her hopes and dreams for her children and grandchildren. And I would ask her for a hug. - What habit would you most like to break? What habit would you most like to start?
Break – not really listening when someone is speaking to me; Start – exercising on a regular basis. - Think of a person you truly admire. What qualities do you like about that person?
The person I truly admire has loyalty, kindness, a sense of humor, is humble yet proud of their accomplishments, is a leaders as well as a team player, knows when to listen and when to speak up, and knows when to fight and when to love. - How do you like to relax?
I watch movies. Some people may say that’s a form of escapism, but I just find it relaxing as well as entertaining. On weekends, I like to make a cup of hot chocolate and go sit out on the front porch and just listen to the sounds of the country. Or I like to sit on the couch and hold my dog, Daisy. Lately, I’ll go out to our garage where our two small kittens play for hours on end. I could sit out there for hours and it feel like just a few minutes. - When was the last time you did something you were afraid of?
That would have to be a Thanksgiving last year, when my husband bought me a Vespa. The only two-wheeled thing I rode by myself was a bicycle and that was about ten years ago. We rode the Vespa to the Harley Davidson in Daytona and he ended up buying himself a motorcycle. In order to get the motorcycle and the Vespa back to the hotel, I had to ride the Vespa by myself. I don’t have a motorcycle license yet, and driving in that traffic alone and having that much power {it has a 250cc engine} in the palms of my hands was terrifying. What if I crash? I came close once, but I ended up riding my Vespa behind him on his Harley several times during that trip. Since we’ve been home, I have only ridden it by myself a handful of times. Next year will be different. I’ll have my license and I’ll try to drive it to work more often, which is about 40 miles round trip. - What are you most proud of?
My blog. It is my baby and I fret and worry about it. I get excited by the progress I’ve made over the past five years, but I also know I still have a long ways to go to be on the level of those bloggers I admire. But I’m willing to put in the work and know that the rewards will come in time. Just this past year, I actually made $150 {total, so far} by writing three separate blog posts. It may may not seem like a lot to some people, but I was just excited at the opportunity to do this. I have also written some unpaid blog posts for several other brands who approached me, like Warby Parker and AURate. And who knows? Those unpaid posts may one day turn into a paid post. I’ll just keep plugging away at my blog and see where it takes me! - What are you most afraid of?
Dying. - If life stopped today, what would you regret not doing?
I would regret not traveling more. I have never been outside the continental United States and there are so many beautiful places I’ve never seen. I would also regret not telling my husband that I loved him one last time. I would regret not hugging my friends and family more. I would regret not stepping out of my comfort zone more often, engaging in groups and/or activities that I felt would be embarrassing or a good use of my time. - Who would you like to connect {or reconnect} with? Why?
I would like to connect with Trisha Yearwood. I know that’s a random answer because I probably should want to connect another blogger in my niche. I just love her cooking show and think that she’s funny and genuine, kind of like “what you see is what you get”. I’d love to connect with her and do some cooking together. The other person I’d love to connect with is Maria Menounos. I just think she’s an inspiration and I love her books. I have literally changed the way I do some things because she recommended a new way to do something in her book, “The Everygirl’s Guide to Life”.
What do you do to challenge your personal growth? Are their questions you ask yourself to help yourself grow?
Come back next Sunday to see how I answer the rest of the questions.
Yours Truly,
Vanessa
{Images borrowed from LifeHack and Misty Sansom, via and Pinterest}
