What’s up, PLH fam?! I know, it’s been forever since my last blog post. What was supposed to be a quick, one-week-regroup turned into an almost month-long hiatus? But I’m back and I’m so ready to get back into the swing of things again. That means regular blog posts again, regular posts over on Instagram and Facebook, and a few more new things that I’ll be announcing in this week’s Weekly Rewind so DON’T forget to come back here on Friday for that ? But this post today is about a recent realization that I had, and how I plan to give back more in my life. Let’s do this…

So it’s no secret that this year started off a bit rocky for me. I’d been on the job hunt for a couple of months and was feeling really down on myself about a bunch of things. I’d try to stay positive, but it was all too easy to slip into a dark hole and think things like “why did this happen to me?”, or “am I not good enough?” or “what am I doing wrong?” I try to put on a brave face for the public, on social media and here on the blog, but trust me I had plenty of these moments over the last few months.

And then one day I’d just had enough. Enough of the sadness, and the negativity and the miserable thoughts swirling around in my head. Instead I thought about all the bad things going on in the world. Like the poor kids that lost their lives at a high school in Parkland on Valentine’s Day this year. Or the complete devastation that is the Syrian Civil War. Or even the many homeless people that I see everyday in NYC. I think you see where I’m going here.

I realized that my problems, though they may seem colossal to me, really weren’t so bad in the grand scheme of things. So what I lost my job and didn’t find a new one right away. I still have a beautiful apartment in the city of my dreams, and luckily had enough in my savings to cover my rent/bills while I wasn’t working. I still have an incredibly loving family and support system that is more than willing to help however they can. I can’t even name how many vent sessions I’ve had with my mom, who’s always there with a listening ear and the right words to make me feel better again.

What I’m saying is, I finally pulled things back into perspective. I had lost sight of how bad things could actually be, and I wasn’t being grateful for how good I do have it. And I never want to do that again. I’m so incredibly grateful for my life, the people in it, and all the opportunities that I’ve had and that are still to come! I’m so grateful for my health, and for all the experiences that I’ve had that have made me who I am today. I know how blessed I am, and I want to live in that feeling everyday going forward. Keeping things in perspective has helped me so much.

With this new realization, I came to another conclusion: I want to give back more. I want to create more positive energy in this world and help those less fortunate. A few weeks ago, it was World Water Day. And in celebration of that, I decided to donate to a charity that I personally love and respect called Charity:Water. They put 100% of profits towards bringing clean water to people in need. People in third world countries that are still walking hours upon hours to get water from a dirty water source, just to survive. (You can read more about them and their initiative HERE and I totally encourage you to donate if you can and spread the word!)

Long story short, after donating I felt SO good. It wasn’t a huge donation or anything, but I know that every bit makes a difference and it felt good to spend my money helping others instead of on Starbucks or some new lipstick (though I still love coffee and makeup, don’t get me wrong, ha!). So I decided that I want more of this feeling. Why should donating be a once-in-a-blue-moon thing? I realized that now that I’m working again, I can afford to donate more and give back to the causes that I really care about. And with that, I’ve decided that every month, I’m going to donate to a charity of my choosing. Nothing groundbreaking or crazy, but I will donate at least $10 per month to a cause that I’d like to support. Because again, every bit makes a difference.

I’d love for you guys to join me on this new initiative. Each month, I’ll announce which organization I’m donating to over on Instagram and I’d love for you to guys to message me or comment if you’ll be joining me! Let’s put a little bit of good back into the world. God knows we could all use it.

giving backhappinesslife lessonslifestyleperspectivepositivity