Category: THE JOURNEY

“The Journey” is where I will talk about my overall health, both mental and physical. I’ll share tidbits on my check-ups with my primary care and my therapist, and share my progress in controlling my A1C and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I’ll also talk about my experiences with practicing self-care and self-love by sharing different challenges that I’m interested in.

MENTAL HEALTH UPDATE

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Good morning. ☀️

It is a peaceful Sunday morning here in the apartment. For today’s post, and since I’m talking about my mental health, I thought it would be a good idea to start this post off with a quote:

“Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” -Martin Luther King Jr.

Source: Five Mental Health Lessons We Can Learn From Martin Luther King Jr.

I know I’ve been away for a couple of days, but a lot has been happening over here. Let me update you all on my mental health.

Let’s go back to my last post. I decided that I would give God a year, a year of attention, a year of learning and discipline, a year of singleness, a year to be with Him and allow Him to change my life. If you haven’t read the post, click here to check it out. But, I’ve been dealing with some things for the past few weeks that finally made me say that I’m feeling overwhelmed.

Since March, my mental health has been going up and down, not severe, but I could tell when I had moments where my depression kicked in, and I didn’t do much about it until it was too late. For instance, I realize that when I get bored, and I feel lonely, that’s when I start to browse on Amazon, or UberEats and order myself something. Only problem is that with Amazon, I’ve accumulated too much stuff. Today revealed that to me, and I’m thankful for my Mom and my brother, Terrell coming over to help me out. I probably got rid of 50% of the items that were cluttering my bathroom, my kitchen, and my living room closet combined. And to top it off, my sink had a leak that I didn’t know about until I went searching for the glass cleaner, only to find two bowls filled with dirty water underneath the pipe. Don’t worry, they’re getting fixed, so I’ll be able to wash dishes normally in no time.

Mom could tell after we finished cleaning, that I was relieved and was able to function a little easier. I explained to her that I’ve been trying to clean the apartment room by room on my own today, but due to a migraine and upset stomach, my morning was off to, yet again, another rocky start so I rested for most of the morning. But thanks to everyone, I only need to focus on my room tomorrow, and I will take care of that after I finish my homework for classes tomorrow. I start my new class this week, and I end this class on Monday. Only a few months closer to graduation, I’m almost there.

Well, time for me to get into my GYST routine before I start the decluttering process again. I’ll check in with you all later on. Have a blessed Sunday you all.

Until next time…

❤️

START LIVING YOUR LIFE

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Good morning.


We’re halfway through the work week.


Today’s post is inspired by a friend of mines.


After I got off of work yesterday, I had plans of working on one of my passion projects (be on the lookout for another blog post). Unfortunately, after working and brainstorming for half an hour, my stomach yet again had other plans for me, and I took things easy for the rest of the evening. Around seven, I left the front room after hearing the sound of my phone ringing. My friend Jared was calling me, so I grabbed my headphones, and resided in my bedroom. We talked about how things in our lives were going, and I mentioned how I wanted to work on transforming my other bedroom into my dream home office. But that I was waiting for the right time to work on it.


He told me that I could start working on it now. We talked for hours, with me leaving the conversation taking away the message that I needed to start living in the now. Jared helped me realize that night that I was playing things safe. If I continue to play things safe with my dream life, I’m never going to get where I want to be. I laid down in bed last night, smiling, because I felt like God was using Jared to talk to me. God sees that I’m trying, but maybe He’s showing me that I was wasting my life and playing it safe in everything, instead of taking a leap of faith and starting to live the life that I want.


This is where prayer comes in…


In my post yesterday (click here to read), I said I was giving God a year. That’s one way I’m giving Him a year. My prayer life hasn’t been great, I don’t pray every day like I should, and that’s why my stress flares up, I worry too much, I complain too much, I filled myself with so much negativity, that I wasn’t allowing positivity to come and override the negativity. It goes back to my other post, I’M ONLY A STUDENT, if I’m going to talk the talk, and I have to walk the walk. Yeah, I can read the Bible, but if I don’t take time to study it, and pray to God and ask Him to help me understand it so that I can receive guidance and apply those teachings to my life, how can I move forward in my spiritual walk? How can I move forward in my life?


Jared said that he had faith in God, and that he trusted in the process that everything will continue to fall into place in his life. If he can do that, and things are working out in his favor for his good, why can’t it do the same for me? If I put more faith and trust in God, than I do in the books I read or the podcasts I listen to, I know that everything in my life will fall into place, I have to stay consistent with it. If I’m consistent in blogging, I can be consistent in my faith walk. If I’m consistent in working out and eating right, I can be consistent in my faith walk. If I’m consistent in school, I can be consistent in my faith walk. I need to stop wasting my life, step out on faith, trust in God, and start living!
From now on, I’m giving God a year through:


• My Happiness
• My Quiet Time
• My Prayer Life

So, I thank God for placing friends like Jared in my life, friends that call you out when they see you off you’re A-game. But, they do it because they care. Thank you, Jared! I needed that. I’ll keep you all updated through this journey, and let me know your thoughts on this. I’d love to hear!
Ok you all, I have to go for now. Time to get the day started, but I will return with an excited blog post for you.


Until next time…

❤️

I’M GIVING GOD A YEAR

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Good morning.


It’s another start to the work week.
I know some of your are looking at the title of this post and are already scratching your head. But, let me explain.


In Mid-September, I created my Monthly Predictions on what October was going to bring me. If you want to read that post, click here. Well, let’s just say things were off to a rocky start over the last week’s of September and I started my transformation right then and there. But this past weekend, something changed.


It started on Friday morning. I was watching a sermon on Faith Church that talked about “The Immense Value of Not Quitting” and the takeaway for me was that I could either give up or that I can get up. Friday, I finished my work day to the best of my ability and completed another workout. Saturday came and I explained to Mom how even though I was on Trulicity for 3 months, I wasn’t going to let it become a permanent lifestyle.


I also have been listening to some of my favorite Christian influencers and the messages have been revolving around the same words: get up, breakthrough, consistent. Then last night, I looked over my Passion Projects on Notion, and thought if I can commit to these things, I can commit my time to God, which is something I still struggle with.


One of the things I want to work on is accountability. After this weekend, and last night, I decided that I was going to give God a year. From learning to be content in my season of singleness, to reading and studying the Word, to continue to work on my prayer life. I know it’s going to be a challenge, but I’ve dealt with a lot of challenges this year so what’s one more. The things that produce my negative thoughts are my mouth and mind, so during this time, I’m going to talk to God and ask Him to change my mindset. I say it’s changed, but it’s caught in a loop cycle, and I’ve made that my comfort zone, which is not good.


I’m not going to let my challenges limit me, I have to stay committed, and what better way than to give my attention to God. Only faith, trust, and discipline from here on out.

I hope you all enjoyed today’s post today. I’ll be back with another post later on.


Until next time…

❤️

MENTAL HEALTH UPDATE

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Good morning.

We’re back to Friday, and it’s a little bit of cloudy start here in St. Louis, MO.

But that’s ok, it’s still going to be a beautiful day. Today’s post is going to be an update on my mental health. So rewind back to my doctor’s visit on September 24th. If you’re new to the blog, and would like to check out the post, click here. That day, was not only a wake-up call for me to get my physical health in check, but it was also a wake-up call that I needed to keep my mental health in check.

Sure, I watch my favorite self-care influencers, and videos of adorable puppies most of the day on YouTube (that will never go away until I get a fur baby of my own). But I’m still asking myself “Is it enough?” Well, fast forward to this week. There were some days that were mood boosters. For instance, Week 03 of class went awesome and I got the highest grade on both my discussion post and my rough draft for my final project, so I still have 100% in the class. I’m really enjoying my journey with Ashford, and taking these online classes because I love taking the time to engage with my teachers and my peers, whereas before I was so shy and nervous about saying anything in the posts because I was scared of what people would think of me.

Then, there were moments that caused my mental health to drop. As you know, I’m taking Trulicity over the course of three months to manage my diabetes. Long story short, I was stressing out because the pharmacy was taking forever to get my prescription ready. I was scared that I was going to have to wait longer than a week to get it. I think I had two mini panic attacks. Then, Mom reminded me yesterday to not let these things stress me out. It’s amazing how she can’t even hear it in my voice that she knows I’m stressing over the little things. But, I have it, and I’ve taken my pen so I’ll give you all an update on how that has been working out for me.

So, here is what I’ve learn about myself when it comes to my mental health:
• I worry about the things that I CAN’T control
• I don’t worry about the things that I CAN control
• I worry and stress too much which causes unhealthy habits to flare up
• I don’t capture the things that causes these triggers in time

Here is what I need to work on:
• Take time to understand what my anxiety feels like
• Catch my triggers
• Write these things down in a brain dump, mind map, or blog post
• Practice replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts

If I can rate my mental health over the past few weeks, on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being awesome, 1 being horrible), and I’m being completely honest with myself here, it’s been at a 7. I say a 7 due to the events that took place and the way they made me feel, but thanks to me getting back into working out again, the feeling doesn’t last long, and I’m focusing on other things again. I hope you all enjoyed this morning’s post, tune in next week for another mental health update.

I’ll check in with you all later.

Until next time…

❤️

SPIRITUAL GROWTH: MY STORY

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Hello again.

I thought I’d take the time to share with you all my story on how my faith walk started. It’s a big part of who I am on this blog, and also a part of uplifting you all, my readers. I hope you enjoy reading this post and that it inspires you on your faith walk or to start your faith walk today.

UNIQUE, SPECIAL, AND BULLIED
Growing up, I was always the shy girl. I was quiet, and didn’t talk much. When it came to making friends, I would be shy at first, but once I opened up more, I was goofy, bubbly, kind, and friendly. I got along with everyone. I made friends with kids of different backgrounds, but that made me a victim for bullying. Some kids thought I was weird for hanging out with certain people. I was made fun of because I spoke proper English, and was called all kinds of names, names that followed me into high school. I was super nice, which led to a bully constantly and viciously bullying me until the fourth grade. My escape was writing and art, I loved watching cartoons, and to this day, I don’t think I rushing to grow up, I’m still a big kid at heart.

NOT ALL BOYS ARE GOOD
Once I got into high school, I had my first real boyfriend. At the time, it was real love. Unfortunately, that was ruined by the world of “He Said, She Said.” Due to poor decisions, I no longer had a boyfriend, but had a reputation that I never wanted to associate myself with. Senior year was the year that I got diagnosed with Bipolar 2 with Depression. Certain guys came around me for the wrong reasons, and if they didn’t get what they wanted, they threatened to tell the whole school of the things I did. Long story short, bad decisions caught up with me, and I got in trouble for it. Luckily, I was never a troublemaker in school so I never had a record. But the words and stares were like daggers towards me throughout the hallways. After senior year, I was ready to leave!

A CRY FOR HELP IS ANSWERED
After high school, some of the guys continued dealing with me. At this point, I was going to college, and working part-time at a daycare with a friend of the family. This was also the time where my relationship with my mother was going downhill. There were good days, and there were bad days. More bad days than good between us, and looking back on it, I can say that I put her through it. Then, on April. 22, 2012, I went to church with Mom, and I remember a girl sharing her testimony of how she was trying to turn her life around. The pastor asked “If anyone wants to turn their lives over to God, please come up and do it today!” With a face full of tears, I walked up to the front of the church, Mom came down and we hugged and that Sunday, I got saved.

WHAT NOW?
Once I entered the world of “Adulting,” I started having issues and setbacks. But I always find my way back and trying to stick with it. It hasn’t been easy, we live in a World that want us to have certain things. Instead, we need to live for God. I have come a very long way from where I was my senior year in high school, and during my early 20’s. I’m not the same girl I was back then. I’m working on loving God first and loving myself first in the process. I’m learning not to conform to this world, which is still a struggle. But, with His help, I’ll get through it. I’ve come this far, there’s no turning back now…

Until next time…

❤️

LIVING BY THE BOOK

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Good afternoon.


It is Thursday already? These weeks are going by so fast.


As I mentioned in my last post, I was working on my goal to read more books for the year of 2020. Even though we only have three months left, I decided to start now, and carry my goal out into the following year. On my last entry, I mentioned that I was reading the book “The Power of Habit.” If you haven’t read that post, click here to check it out. I started reading it to help me improve my skills of keeping track of healthier habits, as well as improve on my personal development skills. Well, I have another book that I’ve been reading for my Quiet Time, and it is called “Living by the Book” by Howard G. Hendricks & William D. Hendricks.


Another thing I talk to you all about on this blog is my journey with my spiritual growth. Lately, I have improved on my Quiet Time, however I was have moments where I wasn’t sure I was grasping the lesson discussed during the reading. I heard about the book originally from the channel, Coffee and Bible Time on YouTube. One of the girls mentions that she uses the book as a guide during her Quiet Time sessions. She went into detail explaining how she would read the Bible, but wasn’t sure if she was full understanding the lesson and getting anything out of it. I started the book yesterday. Chapter 1 helped me understand where I was when it came to studying the Bible for myself. Let’s just say, I still have a long way to go on where I want to be and where God wants me to be on my faith walk.


After reading Chapters 1 and 2, it made me feel better that I made the decision to getting this book. I’m also going to be working on a special project for this month that I will share you all soon. I think you’ll enjoy it, and I hope it will help you as much as it helped me. I’ll keep you guys updated on how this book is going, what I’m learning from it, as well as my findings in “The Power of Habit.”


I’ll check in with you all later.


Until next time…

❤️

THE POWER OF HABIT

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Good morning.


One thing I love about the fall season, is that it’s the perfect time to get into reading. Curl up in your comfy chair, wrap up in a blanket, and dive into a good book.


Today’s post is about my reading challenge for October. The first book, “The Power of Habit” is the book I chose for personal growth. The book talks about how habits can have an impact on our everyday lives, healthy and unhealthy.


I started using the Fabulous app, which was a habit tracking app. At first, it was fun and cool to use. Unfortunately, I forgot that I had it, and slowly stopped using it, so I uninstalled it off my phone. But, I then went to my plan B.


I created a habit tracking page in Notion. If you haven’t heard of it, check it out in your app store. It helps with productivity, where you can create your own databases. For me, I use for both my personal life and for my passion projects, and it has been a game changer for me.


The habits I decided to focus on for this month are drinking water as soon as I wake up, have daily and nightly quiet time, practice skincare, be consistent with exercising, read 25 pages a day, and get more than 8 Hours of sleep. I thought that these were simple habits to practice for the month, and can make a difference in my health in the future.


After reading the first chapter of the book, I learned that individuals focused on one thing that helped them develop more healthy habits. I know, I have five, but they all came from the first habit I started on, which was drinking water as soon as I wake up in the morning.


I’ve never did this until the middle of September. I took even more seriously after my health scare two weeks ago. I do feel a difference in my body when I drink water first thing in the morning, I feel like I have a little more energy.


So today, I challenge you to focus on one habit, it can be for a week, a month, it can be for a year if your need a year. That’s ok. Start with one and see how many habits can impact your life over time. I’ll keep you all updated on how the book is going, and what I’m learning along the way.


Well, time for me to plan the rest of my day. I’ll check in with you all later.


Until next time…


❤️

A BLESSING IN DISGUISE

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Good morning.


I’m back after being away for four days. I spent the weekend at Mom’s again, due to having to do laundry, and spending some time with her and my niece, Haley.


Yesterday was a bit of a rocky start. Woke up, and my stomach decided to plan my morning out for me. 😖😣🤤🤢. Long story short, I knew I wasn’t going to make it through the work day.


After sleeping on and off until 10, I stayed in the front room and indulged in YouTube videos from Morgan Tracy J, Kaylin Nicholson, and watching reruns of adorable puppies 🐶 that I can watch all day. Most of the morning, I started planning things out for my Passion Projects, as well as knocked out my responses for school.


Then, I relaxed until five, and stayed in the zone for school until 11:30 last night. But, I think my stomach being upset was a blessing in disguise because it gave me time to relax and rest before I started taking on the daunting tasks of work and school. Also, I got to spend time with Dad once he got off of work.


I’m ok, and my blood sugar has been ok. I checked it today, and it was at 116 before eating which isn’t bad. It can (and will) be better so I’m still working on it and I’m in good spirits.


Just wanted to let you know that even when you don’t feel good, take that as a good thing. Your body is telling you that you’ve been working hard this week, and you need a break. Let’s take time to rest. So take advantage of those moments to either take things slow or just sleep all day. It’s ok, your body needs it. 😊


It’s Week 04, and I need to prepare myself for class soon. I’ll check in with you all later.


Until next time…

❤️

YOUR HEALTH AFFECTS OTHERS

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Good morning.


Happy Friday!


I just took my second Trulicity pen treatment for the week. I called Mom and told her about my experience. So the first pen, it left me feeling sore due to injecting the solution in my thigh- NO GO FOR ME!!!!

This round, I did the next injection in my belly (where there is more meat- 😂😂😂) and it didn’t hurt, and it was a lot easier for me to handle. Further in the conversation, she brought up that she told Nana about my news. Long story short, my health is impacting my grandmother.


It had me thinking, wow, I’m not the only one affected by my current health issues and decisions. How I take care of myself affects everyone. The last person I ever wanted to be affected by this was my grandmother because she’s a diabetic. It’s bittersweet because I’m glad to know that she’s concerned, but now I feel like that’s another person I’ve let down.


Don’t worry Nana, I’ll make you proud. I say all of this to say that your overall health is not just a personal matter, it’s a family matter as well. If you don’t have that support group within your family, start today. Sit down with your parents and loved ones, let them know how your health is, and figure out ways to keep each other positive and encouraged.


If you’re just starting on your health journey, create a plan. Write down your struggles, your goals, and what you want to get out of this experience. Do it together as a family so you can keep each other accountable.

Well, time for me to get work done. I’ll check in with you later.

Until next time…

CREATING A READING SPACE

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Good morning.


Happy Tuesday. Today I thought I’d talk to you about the topic of reading books. Earlier this month, I devoted myself to a challenge of reading one book for one month. Unfortunately, due to work, school, and other things going on in my life, I have yet to finish reading “Eat. Pray. Love.” That’s ok, I have the entire month of October to do just that.


Have you ever started reading a book, only to stop midway? Do you feel that your environment is causing issues when it comes to reading? Well, today’s post may be able to help you.


TRANSFORM YOUR SPACE: If you are like me, you have more than one bedroom in your living space right? You try to read books in your bedroom, but that results to curling under the covers and falling asleep. Turn one of your extra rooms into a reading room. This is where you can go to read books, have Quiet Time, journal, or just sit in silence. Create the atmosphere so it will inspire you to read.


CREATE A REASING NOOK: So you don’t have an extra room, but you do have a corner that you’ve been trying to figure out what to put in it. Find a comfy chair, a nice side table, a reading lamp, a cozy blanket. There you have it, you own little oasis to get lost in while reading a good book.


CHANGE YOUR ENVIRONMENT: If you can’t transform a room or a nook in your home, then my last tip is to change your environment. Travel to your neighborhood library, go to your favorite coffee shop, call a friend and see if they want to grab a book and hangout somewhere new with you. Just saying, make it fun and make it work for you.


Well, I hope my tips helped you get started with reading. I’ll be back with more tips and tricks on reading books and creating a routine. Look out for another post.


I’ll check in with you all later!


Until next time…

❤️

WE’RE GONNA BE ALRIGHT

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Good morning.


Happy Friday!


I know yesterday’s post was a bit much to handle. If you haven’t, check out the post here. It was a lot for me to handle too. But I wanted to share this post with you all to let you know I’m ok, and that things are going to be alright.


Thursday was a day that I didn’t expect to have an unexpected outcome. After finishing the remainder of my homework, and crying some more. I sat in the front room and put on something to make me happy.


That was “The Incredible Dr. Pol.”
Now, I’m probably getting confused looks like “Gabby, why are you watching that?” Well to answer your question, aside from the usual operating on cows, horses, and farm animals, my favorite parts are puppies. Puppies are cute, fluffy, and adorable.


After watching that for a few hours, I ended my night with a sermon from Faith Church that talk about people that plan and people that do. For some reason, Ariana Grande’s song, “Be Alright.” I sat there and started singing it, belting it out.


It seems that by doing all of these things, it calmed me down, and made me feel better. But during the small time of Quiet Time, I realized what I need to do to change. Here’s what I’ve done so far:

  • I started my first Trulicity pen for my blood sugar- next one will be next Friday. I’ll give you all an update soon.
  • I checked my blood pressure and unfortunately, it’s still a work in progress.
  • I woke up this morning, reminded that God gave me a second chance and that things could be a lot worst. So I’m grateful for my current situation, but I know I need to do better.

Overall, I’m in good spirits and it’s “Shark Week” so time for slowing down and relaxing. I’ll check in with you later.

Until next time…