happy thanksgiving

Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen. 

Alma 26:37

Real Life Nichelle (Volume 1)

Sometimes my good foot falls asleep, and I walk like Bambi.

(read about my accident to see why I have a good foot and a bad foot. click here.)


This is me when someone starts talking about Disney movies:

This is me when someone talks about food:

When I found out my roommate had never seen Star Wars... 

I'm still struggling with it. 

Every time I hang out with Elise...

Nichelle when she wakes up and starts a new day...

Night Time Nichelle... She tries to be social, but she just wants to go to bed.

I'm awkward. But, I'm told I'm the good kind of awkward...
Let's hope that's a real thing. Because, I only know how to be me.

you don't even know

You don't even know the influence you have. Seriously, you have the capability to change the world. Do you realize that, that your influence is immeasurable? Do you really believe that, because it's true.

You don't even know how a simple smile, note, text, look, compliment, kind thought, gesture, act of kindness, or even how you carry yourself could change someone's life.

This post is written for one person, who doesn't realize how amazing she is. She doesn't realize that she is a light to everyone she meets. That she helps people become better. Do you realize that you are at times like her? We all are. I am all the time. I forget my worth, I doubt myself, I criticize everything I do. I need to remember that I'm Nichelle, and that's pretty awesome. Do you realize that you forget how amazing you are? That you forget that you've blessed my life so much, that you are needed, desperately needed by those around you. Do you doubt how wonderful you are? Do you do that to yourself? Stop it. Stop it right now.

Your imperfections, your faults, your shortcomings, yeah... they are there. But that doesn't take away anything from WHO you are, that doesn't make you less. You are not a list of positive and negative attributes. You are so loved. You are so cherished. You are so important. 

I wish we could all see ourselves as God see's us. I wonder if we realized how precious we truly are, that we would never dare say an unkind word about ourselves. We wouldn't dare to offend God in that way, we wouldn't dare do anything except love ourselves, because we are so incredibly precious to Him. 

Maybe you should try a little harder to be kinder to yourself, and when you look in the mirror, see yourself, really see yourself. You are wonderful, you are precious, you are amazing, you are inspiring, you are full of potential, unlimited potential. Shine, shine on. Don't let others hold you back, don't let yourself hold you back. Keep going, go forward, and know that you are amazing. Love yourself. Because you are deserving of love, of respect, of so much more than I can write in this simple blog post. You are so, so loved. 

'You can love yourself. It's allowed. '

I am more than a list of qualities or imperfections.
It's taken me a long time to realize I'm more than just  a list of traits. I'm more than what I perceive myself to be. I'm more than what others perceive me to be. Even if they see me with rose colored glasses, I am even greater than that, because I am a daughter of God.

I think it's really important that just accept the person we are, and embrace the possibilities we have inside of us. That we really, truly can be more than we can ever imagine.

I have this thing about me, I can't lie. Like, it's really hard for me. I also am a very expressive person, so if something it weird, I'll make a face, if something is funny, I will laugh, when I feel nervous, I make awkward noises, if I want to carry my lunch in an Avengers lunch box, it's in my hands.  I am who I am, and sometimes I get nervous about that. I have this weird combination of not caring what people think, but also caring what people think. I want people to like me, but I want them to like me for who I am. Sometimes, it's really confusing being Nichelle. I'm strangely confident in the weird things about myself, but then I worry that those weird things are too weird. If worrying were an Olympic event, I would be the champ of champs.

But, why should I worry about showing people who I really am? Why should I worry about people knowing that I dance around to Disney songs when my roommates are gone, why should I worry that sometimes I go to my parents house just to sleep. (Also, for future reference, if you text me in the middle of the day, and I don't answer within 30 minutes, I'm taking a nap.) I think it's really hard for us to accept ourselves for who we are, to be confident with our personality, to be grateful for our bodies, to laugh at our quirks, to embrace our flaws, to celebrate our potential. Our capacity to do great things doesn't end. Our capacity to love doesn't end. And that includes loving ourselves. In the context that I am writing, pride isn't an issue. I feel most of us are far too critical of ourselves to be worried about being prideful. You can love yourself. It's allowed.

I love people. I love getting to know people. But, I am also shy. I tend to look at that as a weakness, but I've realized lately that it's not. I don't create a friendship unless it's real. I don't let people in halfway, I'm not a surface friend. I either care about you, or I don't know you yet. So, the times when I'm most critical of myself, I realize I'm not allowing myself to really know who I am. If I truly understood my worth, then I wouldn't be so harsh with myself. I would be tender like I am with those I care about. It is just as important for me to love myself, as it is to love those around me.

Do most people struggle with self confidence? Or is that just me? Maybe I just spend too much time with myself and I'm fully aware of all the weaknesses I have. Shouldn't I be fully aware of the good things about myself as well? Why is it okay to be so hard on ourselves? It really is just a dumb idea. Yes, we are human, yes, we have flaws. But, who said you had to be perfect to be wonderful. If we are striving forward, looking up, having hope, taking that leap of faith, pursing dreams, lifting others, isn't that enough to make us wonderful. Our strengths and our weaknesses make us who we are.

Having a bum leg is a weakness, but it is definitely a strength when you are at Disneyland.

Trials and obstacles don't have to be negative. You don't have to be perfect, you can be perfectly you. It doesn't matter if your life has gone the way you hoped, what matters is what you do with the life you've been given. 

It's okay to trust yourself, it's okay to trust God. He loves you, if you don't love who you are, rely on his love. "The trials and tribulation that we experience may be the very things that guide us to come unto Him..." (source) God is giving you experiences because he loves you, because he trusts you. Don't doubt who you are, because those who really know you don't. Life can be hard, life can be painful, but if you trust in what you can't see about yourself, you'll do great things. There is more to you than you are allowing yourself to understand. 

God loves you, I know that, because I know Him. If you don't believe that you are wonderful, rely on someone else's faith in you until you discover that for yourself. You get one chance, you get one life, live it well, and live it fully. Don't be the person that holds you back. 

Trust that good things are in store for you, trust that good things are happening to you, trust that you are deserving of the blessings you have. Don't be afraid to embrace who you are, and who you can be. Because, you are completely wonderful.

November 3: 5 favorite blogs

Blogember: Blog Every Day In November Challenge

Elise's Pieces

Let Me See You Sparkle

Katilda

Nie Nie Dialogues 

Mandipidy

November 2: Favorite inspiring quote

Blogember: Blog Every Day In November

I don't know if I can pick my favorite inspiring quote. I love quotes. I love inspiration. I love inspirational quotes. I think I'll just post some of the quotes that have really touched me lately, hopefully you enjoy them as well. Also, all of these quotes are from my instagram @nichellelora. 

November 1: One of the best lessons life has shown you.

Oh hey, welcome to my NEW blog. Yep, keep reading to see why...

I'm linking up with "A Happy Girl"s Blogember. There are prompts for each day in November, you can find the info here. 

I'm not going to lie, this is not the way I wanted to end this week, blogging about life lessons. It's been a horrible week, I won't even get started, but it ranges from throwing up to my bank account being hacked. Yay... life. But, I think one of the best lessons I've learned, is that life changes. A lot. Things happen, people change, you change, but life goes on.

I'm starting this new blog, because I'm not the person I was when I started Vintage Wanna Bee. I love blogging, and sharing my story, but my heart wasn't into it anymore. I didn't want to blog about my accident, and foot updates, and that's half of what my emails are are asking for updates about my leg. Which, is fantastic, I love all the support I get, but that's not why I want to blog. I want to blog to share who I am, not who I was. I needed a change, and starting over in blogging was an easy way to do that. I know it seems silly to start all over when you already have an "established blog". But, I feel like that part of my life is over, I'm not having surgeries all the time, I'm just living my life the best that I can, and accepting the changes that come with life.

Life is always changing, you are always changing. Sometimes, change can be viewed as a negative thing, but really, it's just you being given the chance to grow and become better. Some change is harder than others, but all change is an opportunity. An opportunity to make the best out of a situation you are given, an opportunity to become a better you, an opportunity to better serve those around you.

So, what has life taught me?

Live long and prosper,

Nichelle