It was a long day at work. Then, I got home and babysat my best friend’s daughter for three hours. I got virtually nothing checked off the to do list. I had hoped to get a lot more done than playing blocks and reading the same book over and over with a one year old. But after her fast-asleep, played-tired self had been picked up by mom and dad, I decided I’d accomplished a lot more than I’d thought.
Taking the time out of my day to hang out with a kid forced me to remember some important things that are easy for all us adult types to forget. But they’re vital for us to remember – or else we’ll reach burn out point hard and fast. So in light of my toy-filled evening, here are a few life lessons we should all take to heart.
1. Be curious. About everything. All the time. Always. Even if you’ve seen the same thing twenty times. Look at it in a new light. Talk about it in a new way. Realize even the same old things can be new again if you explore them with curiosity.
2. Play. Don’t go nonstop. Take a break. Don’t think too hard. Do something ridiculous. Dance, sing, let go of your stifled, grown-up self. Maybe even do a somersault.
3. Sleep. Don’t be afraid to conk out when you need to. Listen to your body and your moods, and go to sleep when you get cranky and obnoxious, for crying out loud! It will not only make you happier to be well rested, it will make you more creative.
Life at the intersection of life
July 6, 2007
As you may have read previously on this blog, I aspire to do a lot. Including blogging, but a lot more than that, in my personal life as well as my career. As a woman who aspires to one day work at home where my children are and have a career as well, I admire greatly women who are successful at that very thing. Women like Penelope Trunk. I’ve been blogging about her and her posts a lot lately. I’ve been reading her blog every day and am inspired so much by her insights as well as her “brazen” way of talking about her actual life, warts in all, too.
That’s why when I read her post today about her first day of marriage counseling, I stopped in my tracks and sat down to write this. I had been brainstorming several great blog topics this week that I wanted to get fleshed out and posted, along with some guest articles for other blogs and an article I’m co-authoring with another blogger. I have a lot of ideas, and a lot on my plate, so I work on them whenever I can – including days off and “vacation.” What can I say, I’m an eager Gen Yer. That’s apparently what we do.
But after reading Penelope’s post, I realized that today isn’t a day for that sort of thing. It’s a day for being real and honest, and spending time with those dearest to me. Today I traveled home for the funeral of a dear old high school friend who died tragically last week, 8 months pregnant. I’m sitting here, writing, wondering what’s wrong with me that after the funeral, I checked my work e-mail, read a few blogs, checked my stats, and wrote this while my boyfriend sits in front of me having a conversation with my dad about chess and HDTVs. Maybe blogging and working is a way for me to get away from the frustrations of losing a friend so tragically and dealing with all those pains. But it doesn’t change the fact that I should be sitting there, next to him, rolling my eyes about guys and electronics and worry about my blog and my network and all those ideas another day. So I will. I’ll keep trying to figure out how to balance life and aspirations and living in the real while dreaming wild dreams. But for now, I’m going to go have dinner with my family.
Ambition and the Tale of One Generation Y Woman
June 29, 2007
Well, thanks to the personal encouragement from one Penelope Trunk and one Ryan Healy, I’d like to introduce myself. My name’s Tiffany Monhollon. (Read more about me in the About section of this blog). Nice to meet you. Now that that’s taken care of, I’ll tell you a little more about myself and why I’m here. It’s all about writing my own success story. I’ll start at the beginning.
Growing up, I was a do-it-all, curious, ambitious, entrepreneurial kid. I started my first jewelry business at seven, and the ideas haven’t stopped since. When asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I’d spout a string of occupations similar to this one: Lawyer, actress, doctor, singer, mommy, teacher and the first woman president. When grown-ups would smile and show their support of my passion by commenting that I really could be any one of those things if I wanted to, even president, I disagreed. That wasn’t the point.
I wouldn’t be one of those things, I would be all of them. Here’s why: Like most children growing up in Generation Y, I was told I could do anything. To me, this didn’t mean I could cherry-pick one job and do well in it or one career path and take it far. It literally meant to me I could be everything I ever hoped to be or wanted to be or even briefly thought might be cool. All at once. Personal and professional. Without blinking. No problem. To me, work, life, career, dreams – I didn’t draw the lines. I didn’t want to. And I understood the difference.
This do-it-all attitude was instilled in me in a very real way by my parents. I was home schooled until high school, so my family was my classroom, so to speak. And in my case, through the examples of my parents, education, work and life were all one thing. Not “going to school” in the traditional sense, I also learned the world through experiencing it, with the lines between the classroom and the kitchen or backyard or playtime blurred to the point where everything was learning. It wasn’t curriculum and tests and schedules that mattered, even though we had those, it was things like learning fractions with measuring cups while making blueberry pancakes with my dad on a Saturday morning that really taught me. This approach to life, learning, even work, is something that’s stuck with me to this very day.
From my mom I got the, the work-is-life-but-not-in-a-bad-way mentality My mom chose to stay at home with us after she taught elementary school my first two years. When she couldn’t really bring me to work with her anymore and had my sister, her traditional “work life” was over for nearly 20 years. I started reading at three, so she started schooling me then, and her work and her life were one in the same. She brought her profession into her life in a very real way, teaching three of her own children, and though she may not have made a salary, she worked hard and dedicated herself to this career, and I think she’d agree with me that it paid off. My siblings and I broke many barriers and stomped many stereotypes in a small town, made great grades, got into great colleges, and became fully functioning members of society – not that we were ever worried about any of that – she’s a fantastic teacher! But there were more than a few naysayers.
From my dad I got the I’ll-do-it-all-at-once-and-no -one’s-stopping-me mentality. My dad’s studied marine biology, ended up in PA school, and has been practicing medicine ever since. He went to work, but his work came home with him. He talked to us about science, used his medical expertise to help people in South America, helped start a free clinic in our small town, and was the go-to-guy for everyone for computer help, medical advice, volunteer projects, church involvement, and the like. I remember vividly many times as a child when my mother told my dad “You need to learn to say ‘no.’” He didn’t, to this day, so I credit him with my take-on-the-world ambition.
Now, I’m at the start of a career, looking at what I’ve done so far. Graduating with two majors in four years, with honors and a Summa status. Leaving college and getting an internship with a Fortune 500 company and parlaying that into a full-time gig at a Franchise 500 company, all while attending grad school full time and commuting insane distances every day for several years. Sure, these things are great, and I’m proud of my accomplishments, but I can’t help knowing that even now, I want more.
I still want to do it all. As I look toward the next five years in my life and think about what I want to be, my list is a little different now than it was when I was younger, but it’s just as long, if not a little more daunting. I want to be a published author, an APR, a wife and perhaps mother, a PhD, a well-known blogger, a business-owner, an entrepreneur, an industry expert. It’s hard to stop myself there, but you get the point.
And I don’t think my story is singular, by any means. The ambition, drive, and passion of my Generation Y peers excites, motivates and encourages me, because I truly believe that in a very real way, I can do all those things, and probably more. That’s why I’m here. Thanks for reading my story. I hope you’ll leave a few comments, check back often, and join me by sharing your story. Thanks!
