Question: Why Did You Move To Arizona

Why did you move to Arizona? If I hear this question one more time I might start charging people for the answer, because I would possibly make next months rent if I charged. Sometimes one answer just does not seem to suffice, so I could create a two-for-one special off multiple answers.

When someone moves do not ask them why, because for a person to actually uproot themselves from the only place they called home for 28 years, more than likely the answer to this question requires a trip to Starbucks for a two hour conversation over a Skinny Vanilla Latte (or a glass of wine and some mac-a-la-truffle if a Starbucks of this class appears in your neighborhood).

Why I moved could be answered in the following ways: Live on my own, gain independence, hang with my bestie and her baby, ran away from Mr. Heartbreaker who conveniently contacted me before leaving (I say conveniently, because a giant flashing neon sign that reports “SHE IS MOVING ON FINE WITHOUT YOU”, makes him feel suddenly compelled to wonder how you are doing...typical male move), felt stuck in a rut, wanted to try something different, excited to not know what will happen next week or a month from now, complete freedom to do whatever I want, finally gaining control of my own destiny…need more, because now I might start charging.

 Along with the reasons above, moving to a completely different place requires a multitude of ways to answer, “Why did you move to Arizona?” At the beginning of the week, the millions of reasons why I did move clouded the real focus of my move to the land of the scorpions.

After attempting to register my car for Arizona license plates (that sh#$ cray…peace late Cali), I called my dad to talk about the experience. I felt homesick a little bit all week and my dad said a few short words to me about everything, “Forget about all the people and things going on out here in California. Remember you went there for a purpose to write and develop yourself. Don’t lose site of why you are there.”

Although the list of reasons I moved could fill up an entire hour interview with Oprah, I pretty quickly stopped being homesick and felt excited about the million answers to why I moved, and especially about the answer at the top of the list.

Question: Why did you move to Arizona?

Answer: So I could follow my dream to write, and not because I love 115 degree weather…just sayin’.

Overwhelming Bipolarism

The best word I would use to describe the way I felt after my new journey started this week would be, overwhelmed (For those of you just signing on I moved from California to Arizona).

All week I felt overwhelmed by my move, I remained in deep thought, full of emotions of the fear of loneliness, as I attempt to live by myself for the first time. Fear of acceptance by new coworkers, customers and people. Fear of the unknown of what tomorrow will bring. But then suddenly throughout all the fears, I started to feel extreme excitement towards the end of the week about it all. (Bipolar hormonal tendencies exist in all women).

Let me illustrate a prime example of how extremely bipolar I became this week, during my overwhelming life changing experience…

One night while conversing with my new coworkers, I discovered that a place where they house criminals resides near me. At first I didn’t think to much about it, because a place referred to as the “Farm” in Orange County practically sat in my backyard for 16 years, but since my emotions seem to be causing me to have mental issues, when I returned home from work that night I tripped harder than a hippie at Woodstock, over the fact that a police helicopter decided to hover over my apartment with its search lights on.

Being completely alone, in a completely different land equals the thing that most overwhelmed me this week. Not knowing anyone in this town scared me. Not feeling capable of completely protecting myself, if my brief thought of a jail breaker catapulting his way into my apartment became reality. I barely slept a wink that night (to feel better when I sleep at night, I might be on the road to taking part in the Arizona Law that allows me to keep a firearm next to my nightstand…just sayin’).

After a discussion with my Arizona mom, I realized towards the end of the week that I live in a safe place, I need to stop letting my mind over analyze every situation (but alas the mind of a writer takes you to some pretty craynuts places), the unknown should not be something I fear, and that I will be learning how to shoot a gun properly in the near future.

Being overwhelmed by new situations life presents, I realized happens to everyone. The key to releasing the fears and overwhelming emotions would be to stay busy and remind yourself the reasons why you chose to make the change. Also learning the art of protecting yourself when venturing into the unknown alone, just makes life a little less scary…just sayin’.

2013 Theme

Quotes, songs, people, and tricky situations all make cameos in my life for a particular purpose and this will always be something I firmly believe in. With every quote read from Marilyn Monroe, bad experience, failed attempt at love, or latest hit single by Bruno Mars or Muse, all these elements of life share a significant ability to help me learn something new about myself or take me a few steps closer to figuring out the purpose for my life.

My beginning to 2013 involved catching this awful FLU virus that plagues our nation, working full time, packing for my life change move to the desert, and spending time with people I will dearly miss, while I take my life in a new direction.  My emotions about the physical act of leaving my hometown for the past 29 years and the first few weeks of 2013 would be described as, bitter sweet.

Today on my lunch break the quote above appeared on my Facebook “News Feed” (I use quotations, because most Facebook status’s would not be described as “newsworthy” in any of my journalism classes during college…we should probably call it a Life Feed…just sayin).  For the past two weeks I shared my move with my dear customers at work, who I will miss as well, each one asked me why I decided to move, my answer now to everyone will be the quote above (most people think I might possibly be insane for leaving the beautiful land of Southern California).

As I started growing older and closer to my 30’s, I began to realize life might be a lot shorter than I anticipated. As a child I couldn’t wait to be 16 so I could drive, I wanted to be 18 so people would see me as an adult (LOL 18 shouldn’t even be close to the legal adult age in this country), or 21 so I could legally buy alcohol, but around 25 the reality of true adulthood hit after college and sh@# got real pretty fast. No one hands things to you as easily as my dad handed me his ATM card for mini-shopping sprees at Target during high school, and now I realize that constant change becomes necessary to achieve things I dreamed of providing for myself as a child (You know…the ideas we all daydream about for our adult selves).

The beginning of my 2013 enlightened me to the reasons why I decided to move, because the songs, quotes, people and situations I experienced in 2012 helped me recognize what I desired for my future (my parents provided a lot for me growing up, but they do not hold the key to my own personal success and happiness).  I no longer want to wait for other people to see my potential, and as every year passes, I no longer feel time remains on my side.

The world will continue without me one day, but as I enter the last year of my 20’s, (which excites me since I now believe I rock at life and I’m finally moving closer towards my goal of cutting my umbilical cord from my parents) I feel compelled to start my own change and spend more time working towards reaching the highest potential I am capable of achieving during my time spent on this beautiful Earth.

P.S. I look forward to 2013 and the path it holds for me, what quote or realization inspired you at the beginning of this year? 

HappyNewYear Y'all

Another year draws to a close and I once again sit alone on New Years Eve, which seems to be a tragic reoccurrence these past few years. Working in retail never allows me to thoroughly enjoy the holidays at the level I would normally wish to (if it were up to me I would be sipping bubbly with some friends right now…just sayin). Also the element of being totally single makes this holiday, like Valentines Day, a day that I actually avoid going out on, since I would be the only one among my friends kiss-less at midnight.

My 60 year old something parents even decided to spend the night out on this joyous day everyone celebrates. They invited me to attend dinner at my grandparent’s retirement home, but I thought cooking frozen chicken nuggets, drinking two beers, and watching a movie with my dog sounded like the less depressing option for my end to 2012.

On this day people tend to reflect on the year that just passed. People post novels about their year on Facebook and generally talk about how this year sucked the big one and hopefully next year will remain less tragic. I read about 20 New Years resolutions, which most included losing 10-20 pounds that more than likely were added to people’s waistlines during the holidays.

My year in a nutshell involved heartbreak, stress, working, spending good times and bad times with friends, being forced out of my childhood home, dealing with family drama that generally remained secretly concealed from the public, the start of a blog (which suffered due to some of these travesties on my life), and the crazy notion of deciding to move to another state to gain independence and start living life for myself.

Throughout my hectic emotional year though, I learned a lot about the characteristics of my family and friends, love, dreams, reality and most of all the importance of change. Most of all, I learned a lot about myself and I am proud that even when I face defeat, I am able to wake up the next day, find humor in every experience, and create strength with in myself to eventually turn each situation into a positive lesson learned.

My new years resolution does not involve losing weight, I am chubby and enjoy food too much for any of that nonsense, but it involves a cheers to change and a cheers to myself. I look forward to my new journey that’s about to take place, I welcome all the change that it entails, I hope to become even stronger at the end of next year, and I openly welcome all the wisdom and insight I will gain while exploring my dreams. I also plan to blog daily for a year straight. Happy New Year to all and to all a good night... literally I am about to fall asleep at 8 o’clock.

P.S. What change will you embrace next year? I hope you decide on a change that is not superficial and rather one that includes an impact on yourself that helps inspire others.

Styna Just Sayin'...#Change

 

The decision to move to a completely different state did not come easy. Along the way many emotions confronted my soul and tried to stop me from making this major step towards change. Fear, anger, sadness, WTF am I doing, and holy hell I’m going to be broke, topped the list of reasons why a change for my life of this magnitude made me feel uneasy. As the time to moving draws closer though, I know deep in my soul that this extreme catapult into the unknown will most definitely be worth it in the long run.

As I drove down Pacific Coast Highway today, I felt sad that the beach would no longer be a quick drive from my house. Driving down PCH in Orange County and listening to music became something that soothed my soul on a bad day throughout my 13 years of driving. I grew up hitting the beach for field trips and roasting marshmallows at bonfires on a Friday night in high school. Moving away from the ocean and my bubble for the past 29 years did not equal an easy decision.

I always wanted to write for a living and ideas for books continue to pile up inside my little brain. I never thought a year ago that I would become a cliché. Uproot myself, like most writers, to the middle of no where Phoenix, and seclude myself from the people I love, so that I finally start making my dream a reality (which with my writing I hope to inspire others to do so as well… “Dreams won’t always take you on a straight path to destiny, but they’re related to what your soul wants for you. They’ll force you to ask yourself hard questions, they’ll kick you’re a@#, and more importantly they’ll turn you on.” #KellyCutron).

The only thing I’m hoping that separates me from a total writers cliché (knock on wood), would be the killer at the end of the 27 bad scary movies I've viewed about writers that go to the woods to write a novel and wind up murdered (this would be an example of fear and uneasiness, I’m a writer, I think of all scenarios bad and good). I feel that my ideas and talent make this crazy move to the desert worth the thousands of emotions that make this decision not easy, but like the quote above I know for my soul’s sake, this pursuit of my dream will be worth attempting and it definitely won’t lack delicious ambiguity… I’m just sayin’.

P.S. What dream does your soul keep asking you to follow?

Sharing Is Caring...#KellyCutrone

Just a few of my favorite quotes from the books of Kelly Cutrone. Love how she, like me, wants to help inspire people to follow their dreams and to leave an impression on society and the people around them. Good stuff...just sayin'.

"Believe that your inner voice is the voice of your soul...and it knows and wants what's best for you and will lead you to your individual purpose and destiny."

"It's important that no matter what your position, you savor and make the best of it- that you take from each reality what it has to offer you (and they all have something, trust me)."

"Life is like a bank account. Random acts of kindness, telling the truth, being loving, showing up for yourself and others - these are all deposits. Getting f@#$ed up, f@#$ing other people over, letting your ego lead your choices - the things we think are fun after eleven at night but don't seem so entertaining at eleven in the morning - are withdrawals. If we give more than we take, we progress. If we take more than we give, we regress."

"All of us are sparks and the whole global universe is a fireworks show. How does your spark manifest in the world? Is it progressive or effective? And what will it leave on this earth when it has moved on?"

DaBomb.com List...#Instagram

Instagram belongs on my dabomb.com list. My love for this amazing app for my phone grows stronger everyday. I love pictures and so do most people. I frequent Instagram more than Facebook nowadays, because I feel this website exudes positivity. Facebook at times allows people to share negative thoughts, but will always hold a place in my heart for connecting with friends.

Now my favorite app for my i-Phone went live as a website and I could not be more thrilled about this situation that the peeps of Instagram delivered to me yesterday when I opened the new love of my social networking life. This seriously became the most exciting news of my day yesterday! The website appears to be pretty legit. My favorite part of my Instagram page would be the top of the page, which flashes past photos I shared with people.

The past week, I unfortunately became MIA on my blog, because our old friends from Florida payed us a visit and I truly enjoyed the time I spent with them. The beautiful thing about Instagram is its resemblance to a moble photo album of our everyday lives. I posted pictures of the good times and great places I experienced with my life long friends. Wine tasting, eating at fabulous restaurants, and even the experience of witnessing one of the most beautiful sunsets in Huntington Beach with them.

Not only am I "just sayin'" things on my blog, I welcome people to follow me on Instagram and experience what Styna's "just sayin" through photography. I share quotes, food and my life experiences on my favorite thing on earth, Instagram. Follow this link, instagram.com/styna_just_sayin, and add me on one of the best things since sliced bread...just sayin'.