GYC-GirlYOUCrazy.com is Officially 3 Years Old…But should I celebrate?

Yes. I am still here, although a bit quiet, and a tad reserved (for the moment). Focusing and making sure I am connected to the limitless. Placing one foot in front of the other. Wrapping my head around international changes, external phases… being confident that THIS (the life we have today) is it!!

The past two anniversaries, I sat in front of you on video, got teary eyed, did karaoke…etc. However, this year, I just want to (briefly) reflect…authentically! Even if you may have to read this a couple times to catch what I’m saying or realize the seeds I’m planting or watering.

So this year…I decided, it was time to be DEEP and eventually we’ll laugh but always enjoy the journey. I am rededicating the purpose of GYC regardless of the lack of new posts (bear with me)…its intention beyond the date is to encourage perspective that honors OUR journey, Purpose, goals, Passion, and realize the influence we have beyond the people that have taken the time to learn our name.

Often, this journey of Purpose requires submission to an (appeared) unknown path of promise.

I was looking at life up till now, thinking about all, ALL the different directions that it seems I’ve gone and am going…and I thought through a question:

How did you change your perspective to honor an unknown path?

This is my response: Trusting that I am created with Purpose. So as much as it may seem unknown to me, it’s not. We grow into the beautiful people that we are becoming, in honoring our growth we honor who we are and the path that leads us.

So for this 3rd year, in honor of GYC-GirlYOUCrazy.com…spend some time or better yet, TAKE some time reflecting on your journey through whatever medium (sitting on the floor, journaling, mirror conversation, drawing…YOU get the picture…make a picture). Make sure that YOU still love where you’re headed, appreciate where you’ve planted, and still hope in its Promise.

“Girl YOU Crazy”

… I know. ;-)

With love and a whole bunch of CRAZY COURAGE,

Miss Lauren Alicia, Still Here. And the Queen of the Process!!

Dear Life…Signed Girl YOU Crazy!

Have you ever taken a moment to reflect on how far you’ve come and where you’re going, the next step you should take and if you took no steps at all what would really happen?

Writing Life a letter this week is all about self-reflection, moving forward, walking in your purpose and…defeating crazy with courageous…no matter the obstacles in front of you!

When was the last time you wrote Life a letter…and just let it all out?

I personally have never really written one, well I have in this book I’m writing (another part of my process)…but it goes in a completely different direction…yea, that’s another story for another time…but I have never written one that was just to Life in general like this one.

Pre-GYC-Disclaimer: We have all written or spoken a letter to Life and the way we write or speak it depends on our relationship with it…therefore, as some may know I am ALL, all over the place and this letter will more than likely read this way but I mean…this wouldn’t be Girl YOU Crazy if I didn’t right? Right.

Let’s get into it…

Dear Life,

It’s funny how we live you everyday, yet we question the reality we see…I guess you know where this is going!!!

But when I’m left with my thoughts, I just wonder…

Why are you not as pure and simple as this paper?

Maybe that’s too deep… let me start again…

You must get these letters a lot…?  I guess I could say, “I hope this letter finds you well” but I guess this letter is not about you but me writing you, and telling you what is on my mind…

HMPH…

I’ve come to a point where it seems as though you are seriously pressuring me and everywhere I turn is a LESSON… (I’m not yelling, I just want you to know that I recognize/acknowledge/know these are LESSONS).

Learning one thing after another…encountering this crazy, that crazy and they have the nerve to think I’m crazy but Life when will they learn, my crazy is in perspective, profitable and we call it courage…Can I get a witness???

But honestly, the reason I am writing you…since you already know all of this stuff is…

The different experiences of the past and present seem to keep placing me at sink, sail or swim back to shore moments, which ultimately remind me… “don’t let go…”

There comes a time or many, and I believe this is mine, since we have been creating aha moments and all that but it’s time to look at the process (my process) and recognize where I’m going and did I volunteer to go or did I just end up here…and is there a reason to stop, start over or keep going?

Whatever the answer is…Am I actually in Operation Forward Motion?...because none of this matters if I am not moving forward and just making noise where no one is listening…been there, done that, saw it and continue to see it…and I don’t like it for myself or anyone else!

So as I write this letter, I will explore these questions...

Personal Open Reflection for us to explore in a conversation with our beautiful Life:

+Where did I start?

+Why did I start?

+How did I start?

+Do any of my where, why, and how’s relate to each other???

+Where am I now?

+Do I want to be here?

++If not here, Why? How will I get somewhere else?

+This is where I want to end…

__________________________________

+But where will my actions/decisions allow me to actually end?

The other day, I made a sticky note about all of my experiences to see how and why I could move forward…and you know what I realized Life???

That this life me you live together was (past tense) missing some understanding in my actual experiences…and I have way more experience than I knew I had…and at age 23, so I’m wondering, how many of us have really taken the time to know what we have experienced???

Do we give ourselves proper credit? (Please refer to Don’t Take the Elevator…)

Do we know and appreciate the journey we are on?

“The person I am is the person I have become, the process can attest to the journey that has only begun.”-My truth

I know we sat down before and had a conversation about stop being nosey but all of these lessons I’m learning, those questions above really place things in right now perspective…and the two of us have greater things to do…I know it!!! So, I refuse to let/allow/approve any of things or people that will keep me from receiving my directions and instructions, which is a serious fight and strengthens my knowledge to know that the best IS yet to come…

But can I just vent…because that’s what I do??? Cool? Cool.

I’m almost done…but what I don’t say here, I say in my thoughts and actions---

GYC Girl Girl GIRL YOU CRAZY Rant…I have to! And yes this is like 1 sentence)!

When I think about my life and the lives of others that face criticism by those thinking they’re doing a favor for something bigger than them or even a favor to you without genuinely asking YOU, about YOU before talking negatively/criticizing/bashing YOU…I remember that in actuality it’s just a response of their own self-reflection or lack thereof…but I won’t retaliate/argue/give any more air than this quote (I wrote) below because I know that you, beautiful Life, have great instructions and directions for me to live and be all of me, so when people see US (YOU, ME, WE) may our confidence, strength and boldness shine, maintain it’s character and say…

“If you don’t understand the vision (the vision for my life)…don’t criticize the image (me)!”

Life, thank you for showing me how to be in Operation Forward Motion, and reminding me that I am going somewhere that I am supposed to be voluntarily…I love you…but you already know that!

Sincerely ME,

GYCGirlYOU…know the rest!

Your turn, what letter will you write Life…

Dear Life,

P.S. GYC The Shop is open…and you can send someone the perfect card that can make them smile, cry and laugh in your own “Girl YOU Crazy” way…Check it out: GYC The Shop

GYCGirl...Speaks! Week 2: Still I Remain.

"Many things will be offered but be led by your dreams."-The difference

"The thing I struggle in today and remain...could be the very thing I conquer with strength tomorrow and impact many. "

 

http://youtu.be/PE6tidgSe4k

 "Don't allow your weaknesses to keep you from increasing your strengths."

"If it's aligned with your purpose, be BOLD and Remain." -GYCGirl...Speaks!

Find GYC on Facebook for "Talk About It Tuesday"

Is the Door Really Closed?: "questionable closed door" Part 2 (My Story)

Avoiding the Open Door

“I do not see mistakes as failures but experience paving the way to success.” –GYC Girl YOU Crazy

Have you ever made a mistake, started to live the mistake, and then finally admitted you were wrong…so you could start over??? I know I’m not by myself!

Although I do not see mistakes as failures, I have to tell my story for you to see my experience as paving the way to success.

Well here’s the story, my story:

Remember how I said that if college was a must for me that it had to be Parsons…and NYC is my dream home? If not, “My Dream is Mine and Yours is Yours” is the place to be…after you finish here of course! However, I’ll give a quick recap: 6th grade was the best, realized my dream and dream college (if I had to go…that’s another post), fast-forward…I came, I saw and graduated from my dream college. Now, lets discuss the in between!

GYC Girl YOU Crazy Timeline aka my own version of what a timeline looks like and the way I’m going to tell this story! This story will have enthusiasm here and there but it is written this way to get straight to the point (10 point story).

“Everyone has an important moment that determines the next moment…often we call it the substance of life.”- Now Speaking

1---Junior year (high school), the year that sets off the possibilities of senior year, and the life after.

            My Junior Year Checklist:

            +Take the SAT, twice was enough (don't judge)

            +Apply to college (only Parsons…fashion design program)

+Last chance to do my best, grade wise, not that I wasn't already but this was year to show off a little more…(colleges rarely look at senior year grades, so I was told)

2---Summer after junior year…lets make it count!

+I went to Parsons Pre-College Design and Management (business) program for 30 days…MY FIRST TIME IN NYC and if I may add, the 1st time being away from home by myself!

+Realized that NYC is really my dream home…I LOVED IT!

-Made international friends and met random celebs, yea that experience came with many interesting stories, anyway.

+I came back home, and wanted to spend the day observing at Paul Cicchini, a high-end custom clothier shop…they let me, so I did, and it was amazing, they are amazing!

3---Senior year, the results are in…

+I didn’t get in, so what now?

++ I applied to 2 other design schools’ fashion design program, 1 in NYC and the other in LA…of course I get into the school in LA that starts in the summer instead of fall. ++

4---Fast Forward: They (Parsons) keep emailing me…leave me alone, the door is closed! Isn’t it?

+The emails say “Keep us in your academic career” and all that jazz!

+Then I realized that I could have possibly messed up by applying to the fashion design program instead of business.

+But I knew it had to be too late, so I started the application for Parsons Paris’ business program-> it wasn’t too late for that (yes, I was all over the place)!

5---In the meantime, I have to go somewhere (out of state!!!), I love NYC but I guess it’s on hold for now…LA here I come!

+They let me in, so here I come…summer session, YAY (and yes I did pump myself up to be excited)!

++ The door was open so… ++

6---Sometimes we can’t see the open doors attached to our dreams and someone else has to open our eyes to see. I told a family friend about the emails from Parsons, and although I thought I was over it, she knew my desire to live in NYC and that I shouldn’t give up.

+My family friend called Parsons to find out what went wrong… "A rejection letter is not always the end but a stepping stone to the next level."-Me

            -I moved to LA in July & started school

            -I realized that LA was not the LA on TV and wondered what “life” I would have here? (I am sure that LA is awesome and hopefully one day I will get to experience its awesomeness but I needed NYC in my life!)

7---I walked through the wrong door because it was open but my dreams preserved the right open door & waited for me!

+My family friend talked to one of the Parsons' admission representatives and she pulled out my file…and there was a sticky note in my file... My rejection file saying, “I should have applied to the business program.”

++ To this day...a sticky note in my rejection file still amazes me, it's not over till it's over! ++

8---Prepare for the right open door

+The rep. said that everything in my file was admissible but I just needed to write the BBA (business program) application essay.

+I had already written the essay to apply for Parsons Paris.

+The door was not closed in NYC but I knew that the door known as LA would not close for me but I needed to close it myself.

            -After all, I did have to make myself excited to go there because I had to leave home after high school & that is the truth!

9---Be Bold, Be Courageous and Walk through the Right Open Door.

+I packed up my short-lived LA life, shipped it home, withdrew from the LA school, and went home to get ready to walk through my right open door!

+The Parsons admission rep. told me to email the essay, "they" would print it out, and present it to the board with the other applicants…and I would immediately have the decision by email!

10---The end of July, expected arrival for freshman is the end of August…

+I got in…with a month before everyone/I am supposed to be there…I got in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

+And the journey continued as I walked through the open door designed specifically for my purpose and me!

++ If ever there was such a loud Girl YOU Crazy moment…this was it! (So much negative Nellies in my ear, directly & indirectly)++

GYC Commentary: Sometimes we do force access “Yea this door was open, it was busted up like that when I got here” or an all time favorite “stutters: ‘See what had happened was…’” Placing ourselves in a place we were never supposed to be. In life we will find that there are many mistakes posing as an open door, and we will go through them because it’s available right now! However, if we hold onto our dreams no matter the mistakes, we’ll find that the right open door is waiting on us.

GYC Personal Commentary (even though this entire story is personal…):

I was at the right door with the wrong purpose, left and went to the wrong door because it was available but the right door was waiting on me to open it when I was ready with the right purpose. Okay let me try again: I was at the right door but didn’t have the right key, the door wasn’t closed, and I needed to know why I was there so I could have the right key to gain access.

-Lauren Alicia GYC Girl YOU Crazy Creator

Is the Door really closed?: “questionable closed door” Part 1

“Just because it looks like the door is closed, doesn’t mean that it’s actually closed”…what does that mean?!?

----Perception is Powerful because Truth doesn’t always appear to be True!

(…Now that’s deep…)

GYC Commentary: Have you been knocking on a door and it was already open? Does it seem like you keep knocking and no one is answering? The topic of the “questionable closed door” can go in many directions, as do my thoughts, so this post is written accordingly… and it just wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t discuss the many, right? Right.

No matter how we look at it,

A door gives you access…

                 Whether you want or need access is determined by you…

&

 Whether or not you have access (where you want or need it) is determined by (your) purpose or the reason you're there.

Hmm…

Then, there are times when we decide our own purpose, and want (not need) access because:

1. We are good at something...

2. Everyone is joining/doing ___________(Fill-in-the-blank)!

            a. “If they can do it, so can I”!

3. It’s popular...

4. We’ll make a lot $$$...

5. ___________(Fill-in-the-blank) will be proud or impressed by me...

6. So what if its not my passion or desire right now, it will be!

…The list goes on!

 *I’ve definitely been a participant to some of those but I’m probably by myself…, … Anyway, I’ll leave that alone.*

However, I’m talking about where the “questionable closed door” lives. Those who are going after their passion/desire, the building blocks for purpose, and are not fully sure if the door where they’re trying to gain access is the right door…they are looking at the “questionable closed door.” There are so many reasons, questions, and phrases to think about when you need to figure out if the door is really closed (as in “do not enter,” “come back later” or “right place, wrong door”)!

Lets talk about it:

+The perception of winning- You believe that you are on the right track, headed in the right direction, laying down a strong foundation but when it’s time to build and actually walk through the door…you begin to question if this is really what you should be doing. Holding the doorknob (it’s unlocked) but letting thoughts of doubt decide if you have been given access. There have been many times that I started stuff (that’s the best way to put it) that I was sure of, then in the process, I would doubt that it could happen…letting the outcome decide my access (denied or granted).
The point of all that is: Winning isn’t determined by the outcome but a decision that you make before you start, and commit to until it’s over.

+++If you want to win then don’t give up- winning is a mental decision before the act is even done!

+Persistence-Just because you tried once doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try again! Sometimes it may look like the door is closed but its really not you just need to try again. Allow confidence to develop into boldness, and turn determination up on HIGH!

+++Re-approach the situation differently- You have all the knowledge but you didn’t ___________(fill-in-the-blank). Revisit “Picture Everybody in Their Underwear & You'll be Fine” and make a new game plan.

+Don’t be afraid to demand an answer-a clear yes or no will do! Sometimes the door is open but we start to guess if we can come in or not…"maybe the person before us forgot to close it behind them or maybe I should close it then knock just to be sure?" When you know that you know that you are walking in your purpose, confidence and boldness follows. “If not this one, the next one”…move on after you check to see if the door is fully closed!

+Know that it’s okay to want the door closed- Sometimes when you get there, you look around and realize “this is NOT for me.” It is okay because life goes on! Trust me, you don’t want to succeed at the wrong thing!

+What is for me is for me! Simple…I’m not going to wonder if the door is closed or not, if I have been working on this “thing” that I’m passionate about for a long time. I know what I know, and I’m not backing down, THIS DOOR WILL OPEN BECAUSE I HAVE ACCESS…Step aside, I'm coming through!

+Know what you came for and where it is- Example: Don’t go to the ice cream spot/place/parlor, whatever, that only sells ice cream and you want a sandwich! Sometimes the door isn’t closed; you are just at the wrong door!

You don’t want to be sitting, waiting, wondering if you should do something when you’ve been given access all along…Is it a “Questionable Closed Door”…GO LOOK!

Read my “Questionable Closed Door” Story in Part 2…check back this Friday Monday...It will be worth the wait!

Preview:

“Have you ever made a mistake, started to live the mistake, and then finally admitted you were wrong…so you could start over??? I know I’m not by myself!”

In the mean time, follow @GYCGirlYOUCrazy on Twitter, tell your mom, friend, cousin, aunt, niece and everybody else to do the same! *Smile & Thank You*

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