I realize I have not been around my blog in a while and I have been thoroughly upset about that but I was just very busy this Summer pursuing many opportunities that I was given and I was having a blast because this was the first Summer, I think I have ever had where my life wasn’t built around a cheer or dance schedule. In short, I got to be apart of many things bigger than myself, by attending many concerts with family and friends, going on an incredible trip with my Dutch Bros family to Coacha, being apart of a few weddings, getting to go home and visit family and friends, and pursuing my side hustle in Arbonne. This post may seem sporadic, but I promise it is all connected by one common denominator.
One of the things I cherish the most about this Summer was the fact that throughout these opportunities I got to rekindle old friendships, create new friendships and strengthen my current friendships, and my heart has never been so full. I have always valued my friendships and believe in giving out a lot of love to those who surround you but, unfortunately, sometimes friendships fall off and people have fall outs that lead them down different paths. Many of my friendships seemed to have taken this hard left turn, in high school and then, even more so, when I moved away from everyone to go to college, although, I really wish they hadn’t. I did not move far but being 8 hours from everyone who is only 15 minutes from each other can leave you feeling left out and often lonely.
Experiencing this was hard for me especially when I have had a majority of the same friend group since I was in 7th or 8th grade; we have all grown together, supported one another, and been there for each other through most of our ups and downs. I have always valued these people and loved them unconditionally but when I moved I took the risk in losing the connections I had and risked not talking to them or seeing them as often as I would like because I had something I wanted to pursue here while they all had something they wanted to pursue there and we have all grown a little bit apart but when we are together it is as if we never left which makes being apart a lot less difficult. But with being far from my friends, I have not had the easiest time creating new friends where I live just because I have not really had the chance to show people who I really am or get to know them as well as I liked and I think not having m friends from home added on to feeling like I was unable to make friends took a harsh toll on me, until this Summer.
This Summer, I had opportunity to make a last-minute decision to go to Coacha, a huge Dutch Bros conference that was placed in Sacramento, California and lets just start by saying this experience changed my life. I was able to spend 3 days with a few of the people I work with and we took a 12 hour bus ride, went to this Coacha pre-party where we got to interact with other Dutch Bros employees from all over, got up at 4am for our conference to be first in the door, we got to hear from one of the owners of Dutch Bros about his why and love for this company, we drank a million rebels and then topped the night off with a concert where CVBZ, Kyle, and Khalid performed. It was so awesome and I had the time of my life being with my Dutch family. Who would have known you can truly enjoy a job and the people that surround you at it so much? I never thought I would have a job where I feel so loved, where I am appreciated for who I am and where I feel like I belong, and all the while it is just a coffee shop, but once you get inside of that coffee shop, it is so much different.
Additionally, this Summer, I went to Night in the Country this year, which may not be everyone’s thing but I LOVE country music and more importantly, it is my moms favorite part of the year and for the first time in 9 years I got to be apart of her experience. If you have no idea what NITC is, it’s a 3 night country festival where about 8 country artists perform on the main two nights and it’s just one huge party with a whole lot of people out in Yerington, Nevada. At Night in the Country, I, not only got to see some of my favorite country artists, but I also was able to reconnect with people who were my absolute best friends in the 6th grade. We all hung out, sang loud, danced, and talked about life like we never have before for 3 straight days. It was something I really needed but did not realize until after the fact because you do not realize how much you have missed people until they’ve been gone and you get to reconnect with them and remember why you were the greatest of friends in the first place. Surprisingly enough, in the middle of nowhere, where you really have no cell phone service, you can have a lot more deep conversations than you anticipated. We all talked about where we fell off, why we never tried to talk again and what we have been doing in the mean time and there were no hard feelings, just happiness for one another for where we have gotten. It was heart warming to know that although we all stopped talking, we all still cared about one another’s successes and wanted to help with the downfalls that we were all facing but were too afraid to talk about.
Another one of my favorite events this Summer was on 8/18/18, the day my dad got married and I got to be in the wedding! My dad and I have never had the greatest relationship, he knows it and so do I but this day meant so much and I think it was a new peak in our relationship. I got to see my dad say “I do” to his second chance at love and I do not think I have ever been so proud of my own father for something. A few of his close friends mentioned to me how he was so excited that I would be there and be apart of his big day and honestly each time I heard that I wanted to cry happy tears. I was so in awe of him and his, now, wife, because their wedding had so much authentic love and it gave me yet another expectation of how I want my relationship to not only look, but feel.
More of my summer activities included my side hustle Arbonne where we promote healthy living inside and out and we share our love with the world. This is a “lifestyle”–or how we like to describe it anyway. I attended a couple other concerts as well but I am going to save my music talk for one of my next blogs to come because music is a whole other dimension of passion and love for me.
Now you might be wondering, alright, cool we know all about your summer now so what was the point? Well my point was it is never too late. Never too late to find that job you love, it’s never too late to reconnect with old friends or reunite with current ones, it is never too late to pursue a hustle that you believe in, and it is never too late to experience things that will change your life, but you have to be willing to take that first step. At the beginning of this year, I did not think that this would be where I was 9 months later, I do not think I could have even thought this was possible for me with where my head was at but, now, I am feeling so much happier and I am seeing so much progression.
The little things have all added up for me, and it is never too late for them to add up for you too.
With the most love,
JoVee
The Power of Me 