Hello and welcome back to my little corner of the internet. Obviously, I took a little social media hiatus, but let me fill you in on what ya missed.
When I moved (read the last post “803- 405”, to pick up where we left off) from my old apartment to my new downtown place, I had no time for social media outside of my clients. Turns out I needed a break anyway because it was pretty peaceful being offline. I love blogging and sharing my life, but I needed to remember how important it is to live in the moment and for the moment. Social media is this wonderful, productive, thief of moments. It allows us to share our favorite memories but also gives us incentive to capture every single one. I needed time to establish my boundaries with social media. My goal is to be more intentional and only post when it is fun for me. Sounds like common sense, but I think it is easy to stray from that when you are so heavily involved.
Now for the fun stuff… highlight reel story time!
The Gatsby Gala
This night was absolutely unforgettable. I am a part of a small dance company in Charleston called “Charleston Dance Project” (CDP). We were asked to perform at “The Gatsby Gala” hosted at the Charleston Aquarium back in February. It was clearly a Great Gatsby themed gala and the venue was perfect for the occasion. There was something new in each room with live music and plenty of photo opps. They even had a bomb mac & cheese bar, which we know I was all about. I had the amazing chance to perform with some of my good friends and meet even more fun people. This was the perfect kickoff to my fresh start moving downtown. Easily one of the best nights I have had in Charleston.
Jackson + Livi Visit Charleston
It is always a great time when my Buddy (Livi) is in town. I cannot wait for the day she moves here. Unfortunately, I was working for most of this trip, but that didn’t stop us from having some quality cousin time. We hit the beach, our favorite pizza spot and the best ice cream spot in town. We used to spend a lot of time together as kids, so it is always so nice to get a glimpse of that again as adults.
Liesel Visits Charleston
Liesel came to Charleston a few days before we headed to Karrie’s wedding. Liesel is a long distance friend that I literally talk to every day. We had a few days together before wedding festivities began and got to have the classy night out that we have waited for. We even got our first spray tans (yikes lol). Honestly, I have never felt so incompetent than when I was getting my first spray tan. Just me? It was so great hanging out with her in person after being apart for so long. Over the past five months I have honestly gotten closer with Liesel than anyone else. If only she didn’t live in Texas.
Karrie + Wyatt’s Wedding
Karrie was the first of my college friends to get married so we all got to have a little reunion and celebrate her on March 12, 2022. I say this often, but as much as I love Charleston and the life I have built here, I hate that all of my college friends dispersed to completely different cities. We all arrived in Georgia from South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Maryland, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. It was so great to see everyone again. College is this trap where they let you live with your best friends and do everything with them two seconds away for years and then all the sudden you aren’t all together again for three years. No wonder we are all slightly traumatized. Miss these ladies every day, but grateful for every adventure. Everyone really missed an epic scene on that dance floor, though lol. Congrats Karrie + Wyatt!
Easter with Holley
Holley is one of my very best friends from college. One of those unique friendships where you meet someone that understands the parts of you that no one else does. Grateful for her every day. It has just become a tradition that I spend Easter with her and her family in Palmetto Bluff. Always a perfect weekend. My next mission is to convince Holley to move to Charleston, stay tuned.
Michael + Abby Visit Charleston
The best trips are the spontaneous ones. Less than a week before, both Abby and Michael booked flights to Charleston. We hit all of my favorite spots, relaxed, partied and wound up part of a reality TV show… What more could we ask for? We started off our trip at 82 Queen for brunch, had a chill pool day, moved to margs and apps at night to then live our very best lives at Share House. Sunday was breakfast sandwiches at the beach dodging jellyfish and recovering to get dinner at my absolute favorite restaurant in Charleston, Magnolia’s. It did not disappoint. We ended our night at Cocktail Club on the rooftop. Monday was another day by the pool with dinner at Poogan’s Porch. This is where we decided to get drinks on our last night at Bourbon & Bubbles and found ourselves in the middle of a reality TV show. No one would tell us what show it was, just that it would be on Hulu, so let us know if you find it lol. Michael is probably the star. We also learned that no one reenacts Dirty Dancing quite like Michael and I. They are the best and I wish I had more time with them.
NYC
This was my first solo travel experience and I loved it. I went to New York for work, for a grand total of two and half days, but it was everything. If you have never solo traveled, I highly recommend it. It was such an empowering experience. I got to do what I wanted, when I wanted and had no one to counter. I had a successful work trip, saw Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, got my fix of a NY bagel and pizza and walked around Time Square. I also caught up with my friend, Shaina, who I have been friends with for like 12 years. We danced together as kids and have been long distance friends ever since. There is something to be said for the friends that you don’t see for five years, but then when you reconnect it is as if no time has passed. We went to Eataly and had the best view of the city followed by some late night adventures and catching up for hours. The entire trip was a dream.
The Fam Visits
It had been a whirlwind of a week with Abby and Michael here, visiting NYC and then my family arrived in Charleston just in time to pick me up from the airport. They stayed for the weekend and it was great to see them! It is unfortunate that I am so far away from them most of the year, so it is nice when we are all together down here. I haven’t had quality time with them since Christmas, when I was in NH. I got to actually catch up with my squish of sister. I am really proud of the person she is becoming now. I got to joke around with my brother, who happens to be pretty funny. I don’t talk to him as much as I would like, but when I do we always laugh a lot. Miss him. Maybe one day I’ll convince the whole fam to move down south.
Takeaways from the past 5 months:
The past five months were an interesting combination of repeated life lessons and also finally feeling like I got my life together.
1. It is so important to fall in love with your own life. “Main Character Energy” sounds cheesy and ridiculous, but is absolutely necessary. Romanticize your own life. If you don’t, who will?
I am completely in love with my downtown apartment. It is a dream. Living on my own has forced me to fall in love with my own company and everything that I enjoy doing. It is freeing. I am so close to everything in Charleston and I have made it a point to try new places and venture out of my comfort zone more often. My life looks completely different than it did a year ago. I have always romanticized my life and people have told me that isn’t “reality”, but why not? The only way you are going to get the life you want is if you start living it.
2. Be choosy about your time and the people that deserve to spend it with you.
I learned a lot about the people I allow to be a part of my life. This one is more of a repeated lesson that I have learned more than once. I recently saw a quote that said,
“I would rather adjust my life to your absence, than adjust my boundaries to accommodate your disrespect.” - Unknown
I think a lot more of us really need to take that and apply it to every person you give your time to. Your time is valuable and you should never let anyone treat it otherwise. Spend your time with people who value and respect your time, thoughts, effort, ideas, stories, feelings and generosity. That being said, in the last five months I have spent time with long time friends and family that mean the world to me. I have also met new friends that hold me accountable to my worth. Find those people and keep them around.
3. Enjoy the stage of life that you are in right now, because one day you will miss it.
Sometimes we get so wrapped up in planning for the next stage of life or feeling like we are behind in some way, but it is so important to just love where you are at because you can’t go back once it's over. Love where you are now because one day you will miss it.
4. Buy the ticket, plan the trip, be a “yes” person.
I can promise you will never regret going on a trip, attending an event, or going on an adventure. Life is too short to sit back and wait for next time.
5. Long distance friendships are important.
Majority of my friends are long distance, because I have moved around so much. Keep in touch with the people that matter most to you, regardless of where they are in the world. If you want a long distance activity, I highly recommend FaceTime movie dates. Liesel and I couldn’t survive without them.
Some People/Moments Worth Mentioning
Week night vibes
Always find the good.
xoxo ~ Shelby
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