Right now is on time.

Image Credit: Pinterest

Believe it, ok?

♥mb.

"I love myself"

I made one comment in high school that I will never live down. My friends & I were on our way to Mexico for a home-building mission trip (stucco, anyone?), playing cards before our flight departed from SeaTac. If I remember correctly, it was pretty early in the morning and, I at least, was functioning at about 40% in terms of feeling rested. I can't remember what prompted it, but the following three words escaped my mouth before I realized what I had said done: "I love myself." (In my defense, I meant it mostly as a cut to myself - like "nice going, Meghan." I sooo wish I had chosen different words...)

For the next year of high school and over holiday & summer breaks during college, I never heard the end of it from my high school friends. Even (maybe especially) from people who weren't even there when I said it. I was actually greeted by a chorus of at LEAST 8 people saying those words in unison as I reached the top of the stairs the first day of my senior year of high school.

Aside from the fact that you probably shouldn't proclaim your love for yourself openly to large groups of people, the relationship you have with yourself is bar none the most important relationship you have in your life, and loving yourself is the key to opening so many doors. We spend so much of our time admiring other people and loving them, but if you take some time to look inward & admire the same qualities that you possess, your spirits will be lifted immediately. To realize that you really, truly, ardently love who you are as a human being, has got to be one of the greatest feelings we are capable of feeling. And it really is the one thing that makes loving other people - truly, without conditions - possible.

We are trained to not think this way. That a high opinion of yourself is selfish. Well society, I'm calling "bullshit."As much as I agree that absolutely everything is wrong with being conceited, to genuinely like the person that you are is a gift, and one that makes sharing your light with other people enjoyable and possible. Plus, it's challenging. It's easy to judge other people, but yourself? It's difficult. Because it makes us ask questions of ourselves that aren't always comfortable, implement  changes that might take time. And it will always be a struggle, cyclical, changing. But I promise you - when you reach that point where you truly do love yourself, everything in your life will benefit. Especially your relationships, which if you don't know yet, are the most rewarding part of this life we lead.

And if you are having a moment when this seems like an impossible task, remember that even the most inspiring and incredible among us have times where they feel like the last kid picked for the kickball team. We are human. We aren't anywhere near perfect. We all fail when we should have succeeded. Every human on Earth thinks they really, really suck sometimes. And sometimes we do. But we are both smart & strong enough to overcome that. To dust off the mistakes and feelings of insecurity and come out of the dark shinier, brighter and more beautiful than ever.

Be proud of who you are and love that person with reckless abandon. Take on the challenge of making yourself into someone that, if you were someone else, you couldn't help but want to be around. We all have that in us. All of us.

Happiness breeds more happiness. Don't be afraid to be the catalyst.

♥mb.

Simple truth.

It truly is the people (and the puppies) in this life that make all the difference.


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Hydration.

Certain songs sometimes feels like hydration to me. Like water for a very thirsty soul. At the moment, those verses and chords are the one thing you need to feel whole again, renewed and refreshed.

♥mb.

Molting.

Another gem pulled from the days of late 2010/early 2011...something I think all women struggle with. But fear not, beauties. It's all in your head. And if you think the right way, your head can be the difference.


   You can pull off an outfit if you feel comfortable and love ourself in it. I think the same thing applies to our bodies. We can't all look like Miranda Kerr or Blake Lively - but we can all feel awesome in our own skin. So why do most of us want to shed our skin like a snake and get a new one? People don't molt for a reason...we're beautiful as is.

Originally written: January 4th, 2011.

♥mb.

Barefoot.

One of the reasons I love writing so much is going back years later and re-reading the things that I've written. Sometimes I find my past thoughts to be the perfect supplement to whatever I happen to be going through at the time I dust off and crack open an old journal. I did this not too long ago with a journal I wrote often in back in the summer of 2010, and found this poem that I just cannot get past my immense love for.

It's a great reminder to not overcomplicate things - life, at its core, is made up of quite simple emotions. Embrace those and take on the world with the reckless abandon in which true happiness lies. Hope you all enjoy.




The world's on your doorstep
And the front door's wide open
It's waiting for you to find the right shoes
To make your mark

But the thing you forget
Is that your fashion doesn't matter
Stop looking for the perfect fit

All you need is your spirit
And a smile on your face
And a light in your heart
To lift the world with your soul

So leave your heels behind
Throw your sandals under the bed
And run into the blustering winds of this world
And change them

Barefoot.


♥mb.

Redefining Valentine's Day.

I don’t know about you, but I have two dates tonight: one is named "Triple-Chocolate Fatpants Cake" (shout out to my favorite bakery babycakesNYC) and the other "merlot". Or maybe "malbec". I haven't really decided yet. And, if I had a boyfriend, I am pretty confident my night would be pretty much the same, I would just add another date to my list and an extra fork.

This pinky-red, frosting-covered holiday that graces us with its presence every February 14^th usually inspires two very distinct types of outpourings from people (read, GIRLS):

We have #1: the "I am SO in love!-I can't WAIT to see what my honey-buns has in store for me-I am so blissfully happy I might have to call in sick!" people. 

And we have #2: the "omFg if I hear one more person talk about the beautiful flowers they received I'm going to jump off a skyscraper-spending my night alone watching the Notebook on repeat-boys are oxygen-wasting jerk-offs" crowd.

It, in all honesty, is pretty rare to fall outside the scope of one of these two camps come February 14th - it just seems to inspire extremism in one direction or the other. I myself feel rather indifferent toward the holiday - perhaps this has something to do with the fact that during my time in Rome I saw St. Valentine's skull inside a glass case in a Catholic church. (Yes, I have a picture. And also, yes, I have thought every Valentine's Day since then of sending out cards with his lovely portrait on them to all of my single friends.) Romantic, no?

In all seriousness, here is my issue with this holiday that seems more driven by men looking to impress their girlfriends/wives with fancy dinners, beautiful flowers and sparkly jewels than by the desire of people to express their love to their loved ones: it just feels really un-genuine to me. I mean, think about it. Valentine's Day is essentially a day set aside during the year when we are supposed to outwardly show how much we love one another. Um, excuse me but, why isn't that the case every day? Why does there have to be a label to warrant the delivery of special gifts and the giving of thoughtful, handwritten cards? Why limit that to only a day? Grand romantic gestures seem to be much more real to me when carried out on a Wednesday. Not a special Wednesday, just...Wednesday. But then again I am more for subtlety when it comes to romance - it suits me better than planes flying across the sky carrying banners that say "I LOVE YOU!" I'd rather a guy take me in his arms when I am in sweaty lulu clothes after a yoga class, kiss my forehead and tell me I look beautiful then. Yes, I would know he was lying. But I would also know that he meant it. 

Secondly, it seems like people tend to equate Valentine's Day with romantic love and romantic love ONLY. Now maybe this stems from a lifetime of getting presents/cards from my parents on this holiday (a tradition that, yes, still continues today) but I am more of the mindset that we celebrate ALL kinds of love on Valentine's Day. (After all, to limit the idea of love to simply the romantic form would mean there are a lot of single people running around out there with no love in their lives. Which simply is NOT true.) Love can be for a spouse, significant other, new flame, sibling, family, friend, classmate (hello, have we already forgotten about perforated Valentines attached to candy?) pet, cake...all of it. Only a handful of those are romantic, but that doesn’t mean the whole lot of them aren’t just as meaningful. There is a reason that Papyrus (my card brand of choice) has sections of Valentine’s Day cards cordoned off for “Mom”, “Dad”, “Sister”, etc. To me, nothing about a Valentine's Day spent on the couch with your dog drinking beers seems sad. You love your dog, right? And, presumably, you love beer, right? Well then, a very Happy Valentine's Day to you!


This year, and in many years past, I sent my close, single friends Valentines, because I truly believe that friend love is just as important as the romantic variety (if not more, if you're an unattached 20-something like me). And if I am given a specific day that I am instructed by society to express it (something I try to do as often as I can without seeming overemotional, which, by the way, I am) then by jolly geez, I will do it! Everyone loves mail. And even more importantly, everyone loves to hear that they are loved. Everyone doesn't just love it - they deserve it. (Side note: If you are my friend, single & did not receive a Valentine, I apologize for the oversight. If you are my friend & in a happy relationship & still sad I did not think of you, be assured, I did. I just figured your Valentine’s Day would already be filled with love from your honey and I felt compelled to share it with those running around this world unattached.)

So, this February 14th, I choose not to be bitter. I choose not to envy those who are in happy, fulfilling relationships (...much). I choose not to lament old relationships - they were beautiful in their fleeting moment, but I'm not still in them for reasons that make sense now. I choose to (mostly) ignore the dim flicker of hope that someone will come out of woodwork and surprise me with a romantic gesture I never expected (something that I admit to having every Valentine’s Day…I’m a girl. What can I say?). I choose instead to embrace my evenings filled with high-calorie, sugary treats and red wine - it won't always be this way.

After all, in the future, I will have to share. But I have the feeling I won’t mind.

♥mb.