That New Office Feeling

Do or do not. There is no try.” — Yoda, The Empire Strikes Back

It was a snowy winter day, and I was outside, walking on snow. Then it happened: the thought that started it all. All of a sudden, I decided that I was changing careers. I decided that real estate was it. I knew it right then, at a moment’s notice, that my life was about to change.

Let me take you back to twenty years ago, in 2001 when I started Law School. It was my institution of choice, my career of choice, and I was determined. But as fate would have it, in my fourth year of Law (it is a five-year program in Brazil), I decided to switch directions for a little while and enrolled in a work and travel exchange program. I lived for one year in beautiful Door County, Wisconsin, USA, where I made friends and fell in love with the Great Lakes and with a handsome local. Truth is if you know Door County, and I hope you do, then you know that you can’t help but fall in love with the Peninsula. The way it feels, the way you breathe when you are here. Rumor has it that when you are on or above the 45th parallel… magic happens.

My change of direction for a little while became a life change – a move across the world. I returned to Brazil to see family and friends and complete my law degree. Soon after I started researching and planning my move, and six months after graduating I started studying Economics at the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay. I did not finish the course, and after my first semester, I moved to Door County and never looked back.

Continue reading “That New Office Feeling”

Morning Thoughts

While jumping on my loved rebounder this morning, I watched a lovely TED Talk by Iskra Lawrence. Her talk hit close to home because I know very well that feeling of being uncomfortable in my body. As a teenage girl, I had absolutely no weight to lose, but somehow I started talking about diets and feeling inadequate. I have grown out of this mental process, but I know the damage it did to my happiness and I wish I could go back in time and slap myself on the face and say: “wake up, kiddo! You are so so much more than your body, and your body is so so much more than what you see!”. Well, I can’t go back, but I have kept a desire burning in my heart to be authentic and to be someone who practices self care, and hopefully I can be a good influence on my daughter and help her see that she is beautiful, strong, and she doesn’t need to look like any specific ideal in order to be loved. She just has to be herself… and hopefully develop gratitude for all that her body does for her.

Iskra Lawrence reminds us that being insecure makes us a motivated consumer. That is sad, but true, and our society has never been more insecure and driven to “be better”. With social media and strong marketing, ideals that are hard to reach and articles titled “how to properly enjoy a sunset” (really, really? Now people feel like they don’t know how to enjoy even the simple things the right way! Sigh…), people are more confused than ever. Her talk is simple and not revolutionary, but it’s sweet. And I want to share it here.

I hope you have a lovely day. I hope you find many ways to enjoy yourself today. I hope you can find a glimpse of gratitude for your body today, or a ton.

Stay high with life!
xoxo