I'd be lying if I said that I have been doing good since my last blog post. April was such a hard month for me. From having a huge roadblock in my business to handling the grief that continues to come and go, April was nonetheless a month of growth.
I have been laying really low. It's like I have so much to share and then sometimes I don't have the capacity or the words to share what is going on. I am learning to sit with these things and just give it to God.
A lot of things happened in April. I honestly felt like I was a punching bag and I got hit with something EVERY SINGLE WEEK. This is on top of the everyday struggle of having to endure the teacher life during this ongoing pandemic. It was overwhelming. But even in the chaos, once again, God was with me.
So today, I just wanted to share some of the things that I learned in April up until now with you guys.
1. Research your heart out!
Baby! Where do I even start with this. This is mostly for my boss babes or for people who want to start a business in the near future. But man, did I underestimate the start up of a business. In my mind, I thought I was doing everything right and I felt like I was prepared for allllll the things that business people talk about. Like the ups and downs of business. I knew they would come. But I was not expecting this at alllll. In short, the Salvadorian shirts that you loved had to be taken down because it was trademarked. I didn't do my research sooo...that was my fault. BUT I learned my lesson. When that happened I second guessed myself and I had to take a step back to analyze how I was going to move forward. So this is how my April started. I am in a better place now and I am continuing to do my thing. So if you want to do anything, see what is out there FIRST! I want to do right by Boujee and Blessed. So that's what I plan to do. Stay tuned for the new new!
2. Healing is ongoing.
The word healing definitely has a different meaning to it for me every since my dad passed away. But even before my dad passing, I feel like during the quarantine we were all forced to sit with our trauma, troubles, and just things that we avoided dealing with for years and years. We all need healing. But how much more beautiful it is when we heal with the Lord. SOOO many things have been spoken over my life by strangers and people that have shifted my focus, thinking, and my heart. God knows the depths of my heart and even the things that I don't mention, he knows those things too. Healing will never stop for me. But in the healing, I will still live my life in gratitude, peace and love because of him.
3. Take a break and take your PTO!
For soooo long, I prided myself with never taking days off. But I am so glad that I am putting myself, my health and my family first. I think now more than ever everyone is realizing that we need to truly take care of ourselves. The stressors that come with a teacher life or any job that is stressful is truly insane. You lose yourself in the profession but at what expense? I mean, I could line up two photos for yall to see how much weight I have gained from my first year teaching to now. And yeah...yall don't wanna see that! ANDDD I don't even have my own kids yet. Life happened and I cared too much. I stopped taking care of myself. But now I am back on board. I have started to work out again and I have also taken days off without feeling guilty. Period! I have given too much of myself. I am taking charge now. I am taking care of me.
4. You cannot do anything alone!
Man. I am so thankful for the people around me. Asking for help is okay. Asking for prayer is ok. Asking for advice is good. Telling people that you need them is good. Don't keep those emotions in. I am so over the surface level relationships. I just want to be real. We need each other. Now more than ever. Reach out to the trustworthy people. And if you are the person they reach out to, walk with them.
5. Conflict will come but you will overcome!
As most of you know, I am teaching Health. So one day, I was teaching about stress and conflict with family, etc. all things mental health right?? As I was teaching, I was speaking about how stress is actually good for you because it helps to face things in the future. It is all about how we react to situations and problems. Blah blah right. As I was teaching, I was going off and just being passionate and real with the kiddos. I then said, "Conflict will happen but you will overcome!" As I continued, a student in the chat said, "Preach Mrs. Deleon.!" And I replied, "I am preaching right?" It was so profound to me in that moment that I also realized that I was preaching to myself. I even had to pause to write it down. Conflict in all the ways came at me in April but here I am overcoming every single time! No matter what you are going through, this too shall pass. Your present won't always be your future. Keep going. Things will change soon. Because conflict will come, but YOU WILL OVERCOME!
I have finally felt like myself in these past few weeks and I can definitely thank many factors for this. So I guess I will make this a "Thank You" section too. Sometimes people do not know the impact they have until you tell them. So tell them. <3
- Stephanie from Stephitness Challenge. I am currently doing a fitness challenge and this is my THIRD attempt. I have not missed one workout. If you follow me on Instagram you know that I am faithful posting on my stories. Some days I am motivated and sometimes I am not but I am thankful for the journey. Dedication is finally back in my veins! I am feeling like myself again and putting in the work. I am unbelievably thankful for this challenge. I will post more about this later in another blog.
- My Pastors. Pastor Eddie & Pastor Josh have been such a huge blessing. Their preachings every Sunday and teaching throughout the weeks have impacted me and wrecked me every time.
- Sandra. For being available for praying with me when I was down. Your voice is powerful and the grace that is over you truly has blessed me. Thank you for being who you are. Your friendship to me and my family is a blessing.
-Laide, Sayed, Arlena, Dami, Courtney & Britney. My friends at work. Whether they even know it or not, they truly make work worth coming to! By me just talking to them, laughing about anything and venting with each other has kept me grounded at work. I love yall! Thank you.
- My husband, Mark who is truly my rock. He has been amazing husband. The man I thought he was during our dating days is the man that you have always been to this day. I am so blessed to call you mine. God knew I needed you.
That's all folks. Thank you for reading! Keep doing your thing and live each day with intention. You got this!
P.S. I wrote this in one sitting. I usually take a few days or weeks even but today I just wanted to type. So sorry if there is any typos. All the grammar police out there, holla at yo girl. lol