Have you ever heard the saying, "tell me who you hang out with and I'll tell you who you are"? Tell me what your friends are doing and where they're going and that reflects on what you're doing and where you're going as an individual. Regardless if you're doing your own thing, others see who you are through the people you spend the most time with. 

Do you want to be a successful business owner? Spend time with business owners. Do you want to be a writer? Spend time with writers. Do you want to graduate from college? Spend time with people that have the same or a similar goal. It's a way of "faking it until you make it". Gain experience from other people in the field you want to get into. Play the part, talk the talk, fake it until you become it. 

​These are some of my top people, each one of them motivates me to
be a better person and to keep growing. 

Today, I gave my first presentation of the semester and as part of the assignment... I had to let one of my peers film me during the presentation. I was very anxious. Most times I feel embarrassed when speaking in public because of my Mexican accent, my dramatic facial expressions, and my lack of "smart" words. 

After the presentation, I kept pondering about the things I forgot to mention in the presentation, the things that I shouldn't have said, the things I could've done better. I was critcizing myself and every aspect of who I am as a speaker. I was bringing myself down. 

Once class was over, I asked my instructor for feedback and he told me to take a look at my video. I insisted since I know that I am my toughest critic. He told me that I had an amazing vocal variation, good facial expression, and a strong presence. 

A lot of people have told me before that I am a good speaker and I never seem to believe it. I realized that I constantly bring myself down and question my abilities. Why do I do that? I honestly have no idea. This semester, I have to present 6 more times. Will I still get nervous? Yes. What's going to be different? My perspective. I don't want to questions my capability to give a good presentation. I want to embrance my talents and  get better as a I practice. 

Practice self-love. 
Love yourself the way you LOVE others.
Don't be so tough on yourself.
Believe in yourself.
You are TALENTED.

Recently, I found myself juggling with a lot of things in my life. I realized that I was letting go of the things that mean the most to me to prioritize other meaningless activities that don't benefit me in any way. I'm being serious, I stopped reading because I would rather watch Netflix. I gave up my morning routine at the gym just to sleep a couple of more hours. I stopped writing because I felt that I lacked creativity, energy, and the time.

I was telling myself lies. I was telling myself that I couldn't do the things that I love because "I felt tired", "I had no time", "I had no inspiration", etc. One moment I decided to no longer take ownership of my time and that only led me to waste it... As the new year approached, I had no intentions of changing my ways and I thought that I was happier without a crazy routine. Besides, I always thought the idea of "new year, new me" was weird. It was difficult for me to believe that a new year really meant change for someone.

Every year felt like the same cliche, people posting random pictures with random quotes like "365 new opportunities" or "this is my year". It never made sense to me, until now. This new year has shaken my life in crazy and amazing ways. I've been challenged, I've been surprised with good and bad news, I've changed my attitude towards some things, and I've been learning... A LOT.

Every season is different for every person and regardless of the craziness and how busy life can be at times, do not stop doing what you love. Embrace your passions and make time for yourself. Everyday is a new opportunity to learn something new and for growth, don't waste it. As for me, it means that I will kept reading and writing because it's what makes me happy. It's my center and as this new year begins to unfold my goal is to not loose sight of what's truly important to me. I hope you're with me on this "new year, new me" phase.