Post-Graduation Moving and Self-Discoveries!

Hi everyone!

Sorry I haven't been on in such a long time. Since I last updated you all I have moved to Florida for to work at Disney World with the College Program Internship! This is such a full circle experience for me as before I went college I took a gap year and worked at Disney World. I'm in the same physical location as I was before, but I work in a new area and live with new roommates. A lot has changed around here, but much has stayed the same. This gives me the opportunity to really stand back and look at myself and see all the changes I have gone through in my last four years. Here are a few of the changes I've recognized:

1. I see a lot of things, people, places, ideas, etc, at more than surface level. For example, when I first lived here I saw Disney World as a happy place here to make people happy. Though this is still true, I see it more as a business. It's choices are based on economies of scale, research, and market analysis. My first go about I would have laughed at you if you said any of that to me.

2. There is a much larger world out there than your momentary situation. Just like most high school students, I saw the world as black or white. If I didn't get the date or wasn't liked by the right people then my world would surely end. When I first came to Disney World I saw this place as much the same. Make friends, be happy. Today happy is much more complex and interwoven with the realities far beyond my experiences. Through the blessing of social media, and my education, I see the wars going on in the world on an individual basis, I hurt for these people and want to help. Therefore the guests here at Disney World aren't just other people, they are people with a story and this is the only moment I may have to make their story a happy one.

3. I have dreams beyond this place. During my first Disney World experience I literally didn't have any dreams or aspirations. I was scared of going to college, and felt inadequate in the world. Now I have within me the deepest conviction to change the way women are represented in the media, and help empower women to make this world more equal. This makes being here at Disney just a joyful momentary blip in a hopefully long future of providing happiness, support, and answers to those around the world.

But alas, I'm still a small girl in a big world. Though my current world is owned Uncle Walt, I'm still growing and learning. I'm excited to keep you up to date with what I'm doing and the things I'm learning as a simple post-graduate twenty-something.

See you all real soon!

Best,

 

Girl--->WorldOPEN

 

Have you ever been brought full circle and realized something new about yourself?

 

What's your biggest post-graduate discoveries?

Thriving from College to Career

Very recently I've learned about Arianna Huffington's Third Metric movement. If you haven't yet heard about this movement you may have heard the word "THRIVE" going around a lot, and this word sums up most of what Arianna's movement is about. Too often we get caught up in our work, our jobs, the daily little nuances in our lives and forget to really be in the moments. We push harder, work longer, and run faster just to reach the top. It's not a bad thing to want to be reach the top but the way we are going about it is burning us out before we even get there, and that is a bad thing.

The Third Metric movement is about taking the time out of our days to key into our inner-self and check on our wellbeing. If you're not a spiritual person (not in the religious sense, but in the soul-focused sense) then this can all seem quite hogwash. But let's take a beat and think about work, under today's society really means. 

Work means:

1. Waking up early and working AT LEAST 8 hours (typically more)
2. Checking e-mail constantly
3. Lists of tasks (all work-related) running through the mind like a never ending receipt at the check-out counter
4. At least 4 cups of coffee just to keep the energy up
5. Having Friday be the most exciting day of the week so you can do what you really want on the weekend
6. Not being happy when Sunday comes to a close
7. Hating Monday's
8. Tight, suffocating work attire
9. Fake smiles, fake joy, and fake excitement
10. Consistent exhaustion from lack of sleep

When you look at this list you can understand why any college graduate, like myself, would want to stay in college forever and never get a grown-up job. Being a person who is continuously joyful, loves passionate conversation, and has a internal demand for 8 hours of sleep, I hated the thought of going into the working environment. The thought of being surrounded by drone zombies all week wasting away their lives until Friday seemed depressing at best, and life-crushing at worst. The truth is, we spend most of our lives at work than anywhere else and with anyone else in our lives, so we must be able to find our joy there too, not just an income. And this, right here, is why I'm so excited for Arianna Huffington's Third Metric movement. 

There are four elements to the Third Metric movement that are describe in more detail by Arianna herself below**, but here is a quick summary. 

One, we need to prioritize our health and wellbeing. This goes without question. If we are not healthy, both physically and mentally, we cannot contribute to this world like we were born to. We do have a destiny, and exciting, liberating, and passionate one, but if we are not well, then we will not reach our calling, so we must take the time and check in with ourselves. 

Second, we need to tap into our wisdom, strength, and peace more often. Typically it is in trying times that we are able to tap into this finite resources of ours. We do it out of necessity, and it helps us trudge through the garbage life has handed us. If we could tap into this more often we would be able to unfold worlds we never imagined, with an eye seeing a holistic picture of a better tomorrow. It takes time to learn to cultivate this "sixth sense" into a regular practice, so buy some mindfulness books. Practice yoga. Talk to a therapist. For us to reach a better future, we must find our center.

Third, we need to give ourselves permission to wonder about the world. If you look at a child who is at a place they've never been before, you can see in their eyes this great sense of wonder, excitement, and possibilities. As we grow older it's as if the world has gone gray to us, we find much less to wonder about and a lot more to worry about. It's true, there is a lot to worry about, but worry solves nothing, but wonder may solve it all. 

The fourth and final element of the Third Metric is our need to give back. As Arianna Huffington talks about in her speech I attached below, people who give back have at a greater state of health and wellbeing. But giving back shouldn't be for selfish reasons, for then that would accomplish nothing. Instead, the importance of giving back strengthening other's wellbeing and health and giving them a platform to start rolling a new ball of health, wellbeing, strength, wonder, and giving. As cliche as it may sound, it all starts with one act. One act, and this world can change for the better. 

I cannot tell you how much I believe in this movement and am exciting to follow it and be apart of it in any way possible. I do believe we are in a time of transition and we can all do our part. So stop working, and start thriving! 

What are some changes you are making in your life today to start thriving? 

Identity Crisis, Inner Beauty

Hey everyone! 

I've been asked a few time about how I can be passionate about finding inner beauty and loving your natural self and yet still be into make-up and fashion. Well I'm here to say it certainly took me a while to understand how those things could be related but as I talk about in my vlog below, I've come to find out they can be surely knit perfectly together.  Hope you like it!

What are some ways you find inner beauty?

Much love,

Hayley Kaye :)