The Ten Count: Jessica Jean Fan Q&A

 The Ten Count: Jessica Jean Fan Q&A:

1. Q: What is your primary goal for being in this business? Living a dream? What's your vision ?

    A: This has been my childhood dream. I started watching professional wresting at seven years old. Now, I am so blessed to be able to live out my dream. My goals for being in this business is to leave my mark as a women’s wrestler, to always have fun with being a part of this business and to get as far as I can with it, whether that be with a mainstream promotion or continuing to work the independent scene. I want to be a woman in the business that other little girls and women can look up to as an inspiration and role model.

2. Q: Who are your favorite wrestlers from the WWE, Ring Of Honor or Impact Wrestling?

    A: I actually have a lot of favorites, both past and present so I will only mention a few current wrestlers from each promotion. For WWE, some of my current favorites include Samoa Joe, Bobby Roode, Naomi, Paige, Finn Balor, Bray Wyatt, The New Day, Charlotte Flair, Alicia Fox, Nikki Cross and Becky Lynch. For Ring of Honor, some of my current favorites include Chris Sabin, Christopher Daniels and Alex Shelley. For Impact Wrestling, some of my current favorites include Eli Drake, Ethan Carter III, Alberto El Patron and Brooke.

3. Q: How awesome is The Mack from IWA?

    A: Pretty awesome! He works very hard to keep the shows running strong and he, along with his family are just amazing people! I’m truly honored to both have met and got to know them. I wish him and his family all the best!

4. Q: Who inspired you to become a wrestler?

    A: As a child and teenager, the wrestlers that inspired me the most included Lita, Trish Stratus, Shawn Michaels, The Hardy Boys, The Undertaker, Mickie James, The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin.

5. Q: How did you decide or realize you wanted to be a wrestler?

    A: I was watching a match on Sunday Night Heat between Trish Stratus and Ivory one evening. Trish Stratus was one of my favorite wrestlers and during the match, I saw her hit a move on Ivory and that’s when I remember saying out loud that I wanted to do that. Ever since then, wrestling has been my dream and every time I would watch it or go to any wrestling event, both mainstream or independent, I would feel even stronger in my heart that wrestling was my passion and that this is what I wanted to do.

6. Q: Do you have a regular female tag partner? If not, what sort of qualities would you look for in one?

    A: I have only participated in mixed tag team matches so I have never had a female tag team partner, as of this time. If I ever did, the qualities I would look for in one would be loyalty and a moveset that differs from my own so we could bring different styles of wrestling to our matches. I would even want to possibly find a way to combine both our wrestling styles into some unique combination moves and perhaps combine some of our moves together into a unique finisher move, as I have with my regular tag team partner for mixed tag team matches, Nicholas Davidson.

7. Q: If you could work one dream match, who would you choose as an opponent, whether from the current era or a prior era?

    A: I recently just worked one of my dream matches when I was given the opportunity to wrestle Arella Angel. I would love to be able to work with her more in the future. In regards to other dream matches with people from the current era of wrestling, I would love to have the opportunity to someday work with Mickie James, Roni Nicole and Shayla Hyde. From a prior era, I would have loved to have been able to work with Trish Stratus.

8. Q: Are you ever going to sell your autograph or give it to your fans?

    A: I actually do sell autographed photos for $1 each at wrestling shows that I am booked for, along with vintage J.J. Sparxx shirts that are available in limited sizes and on clearance for $8. I currently am not selling any merchandise online at this time. Additionally, if a fan comes up to me and respectfully asks me to sign something for them or take a picture with them, I am always more than happy to do so.

9. Q: How long have you been wrestling and who trained you?

    A: I have been in the business for three years, come July of 2017. I’ve had various trainers throughout my career including my first trainer, Dennis Page as well as James Yun, Mark Bryant and Nicholas Davidson.

10. Q: What did you think about WrestleMania 33? Did you like it?

      A: I have mixed views on how WrestleMania 33 turned out. I feel like the show had its strong points and its weak points. There were matches that I enjoyed but then there were some that I felt were rushed and went shorter than I expected, as if time was cut from those matches due to previous matches on the card going over their time limits. I was expecting more regarding certain matches.

I think the WWE did a great job on the set of the event with the rollercoaster theme, even though I feel like that would have been more fitting of a theme for SummerSlam. I think costume wise, some were good but I think WWE fell through on making the costumes as grand and special as they have in the past. I think some costumes had potential but WWE could have done more to make them stand out.

In regards to entrances, I am glad they did move the Smackdown Women’s match to the main card because if they hadn’t, Naomi’s entrance would not have worked in daylight. However, I think WWE did fail to deliver on more unique entrances like they have in the past. Randy Orton’s entrance with the viper on the ramp seems like it has been done before. Out of all the entrances, I’d say Sasha Banks, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H’s entrances were best.

WWE WrestleMania 33 Review

WWE WrestleMania 33 Review

I’m not going to review all the matches on the card as I unfortunately missed the kickoff show. Also, I will not be reviewing these matches in the order that they were placed on the main card. Starting off, I personally feel like the outcome of the Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton match should have ended with Bray Wyatt retaining the title. I feel like with that match Bray was dominant during it and then all of a sudden Randy takes him out with one move, which didn’t seem believable to me. Apart from the ending, this was one of the better matches on the card, in my opinion.

 In regards to the Raw Women’s Championship match, I expected either Bayley, Sasha or Charlotte to win. I do feel like that match, along with many of the ones after that were rushed and that they may have had time cut from their match due to a previous match going longer than expected on the show. Towards the ending, I thought Charlotte had possibly got hurt but I was clearly mistaken as she performed on Monday Night Raw. To me, the Raw Women’s Championship match was the second best women’s match on the card.

In regards to the mixed tag team match, I was expecting Nikki Bella and John Cena to win and I expected John to propose to Nikki also, due to the rumors going around about that. I do think with that match they wasted too much time at the beginning with neither The Miz nor Maryse wanting to get in there and wrestle. I think they could have given Nikki and Maryse more time in there to showcase what they can do as wrestlers and I was honestly expecting more from Maryse with what she did do. To me, the proposal was more exciting than the actual match.

Regarding the Smackdown Women’s Championship match, I was worried for a bit, thinking the match had been cut as I was expecting the match to be earlier on the card. However, I think it was pretty awesome that the match went from being scheduled to be on the kickoff show to being the main event for the Smackdown Division, even though Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton deserved that spot as the main event also.  Additionally, I was expecting Naomi to win the Smackdown Women’s Championship match, due to it being her comeback match from her injury and due to the event being in her hometown of Orlando. However, I feel like the ending of the match seemed rushed, which again was most likely due to time in their match being cut as a result of a previous match going over its time limit and I was a bit shocked that they didn’t include Tamina Snuka who has been wrestling at Smackdown house shows and that they didn’t have any surprise returns from former WWE Women Superstars involved in the match, especially considering the fact that ladies like Eve Torres, Christy Hemme, Candice Michelle, Beth Phoenix and a few others were around during the weekend of WrestleMania. Regardless, I think this match was the best women’s match on the card, allowing each woman involved to showcase her moveset.

Regarding Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho, I feel like this was also one of the better matches on the card. I also am glad to see The Hardy Boys back and it was a nice twist on getting fans to believe for a moment that The New Day were throwing themselves into the tag team ladder match. I was also impressed by the AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon match as it was interesting to see the roles reversed in a way where Shane McMahon was focusing more on executing more ground and technical wrestling moves while AJ Styles took a play out of Shane McMahon’s normal moveset by performing the more extreme, risk-taking moves. Regarding Seth Rollins vs. Triple H, I’ve got to first give props to Stephanie McMahon. She is a tough woman and one of the highlights from that match was her going through a table, something not everyone in the business would have the guts to do.

In regards to Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg, I honestly thought this match wasn’t going to last as long as it did. From the beginning of the match, it seemed very rushed, as if Brock and Goldberg were more concerned with getting the show back on track, timing-wise. This leads me to believe that even their match time may have been cut shorter than what was originally planned for them.

Regarding The Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns, towards the ending it seemed like The Undertaker couldn’t go on any longer for some reason. I was expecting this match to last longer especially with it being the main event but it seemed like the match got cut short. It led me to think that at one point The Undertaker may have got hurt. Going by the ending, I think WWE pretty much confirmed that that was The Undertaker’s final match. However, I don’t think this is the last we have seen of The Undertaker. While he may not wrestle anymore, I can still see him making appearances at shows and I do believe he is a future WWE Hall of Famer and actually expect him to end up in the WWE Hall of Fame next year.

The Power Of Forgiveness

The Power of Forgiveness

Sometimes in our lives, people will hurt us in a variety of ways. They could bully us, gossip about us, spread slander and libel, lie to us or blame us for something we didn’t do to get their own selves out of trouble. They could betray us, push us, throw things at us, physically or mentally abuse us etc. We may not always understand why they do these things to hurt or try to harm us and sometimes we may experience a range of emotions from their actions and words towards us, from anger to sadness. We may even want to seek revenge or sink into a state of depression from the way others mistreat us. 

However, vengeance is not the answer to fix the problem. The better solution to the problem is forgiveness. Forgiveness is not always the easiest thing to do after someone has betrayed, harmed or wronged us but it certainly is the best thing to do, whether the person who harmed, betrayed or wronged you is remorseful or not. 

By choosing the path of forgiveness, you can release any feelings of sadness, hostility, negativity and anger towards the person who hurt, betrayed or wronged you. You take away the power from them by letting go of the negative emotions caused by them because of the way you were betrayed, harmed or wronged. They no longer have any control over you or your emotions and you can free your mind of any stress they were bringing you due to their wrongdoing.

We should still forgive our enemies regardless of whether we receive an apology from them or not. We will not always be given the apology we deserve by those who wronged, betrayed or harmed us and even though we deserve an apology, we should never expect it because it more than likely won’t come because many times the person who wronged, betrayed or hurt us either doesn’t realize what they did was wrong and hurtful or either doesn’t care that it was. In my life, when I have been wronged, betrayed or hurt by someone, I found the best way to finding a way to forgive them is to pray for them and try to see the world through their eyes. Sometimes the person who wronged, betrayed or hurt us may only be doing so because they were having a bad day or they may be facing an insecurity or struggle in their life. They may be dealing with a personal issue or going through a rough time and instead of dealing with that in a positive or helpful way, they may have chosen to take out their frustrations and insecurities on you. 

When people wrong me, betray me or hurt me, I personally pray that whatever difficult trials they are going through in life or whatever insecurities and struggles that they are facing, that the Lord would help them through it and that the Lord would open their eyes and help them to see that the way they mistreat others or the way they take their stresses, insecurities and frustrations out on others isn’t healthy for them and that it isn’t fair to others, particularly the people they are hurting or attempting to hurt, even if that is to try to make them themselves feel better or for any other reason they have for trying to harm, betray or wrong someone. By praying for those who have wronged me, betrayed me or hurt me, I feel more at peace with whatever the situation or incident was that made me feel hurt, betrayed or wronged. It gives me clarity at how to handle any future situations with the person involved that either wronged, betrayed or harmed me, whether they are a friend, family member, acquaintance or stranger.

While it is important to forgive others, remember that if they continue the same behavior that lead them into wronging you, betraying you or hurting you, sometimes in addition to forgiving them, we may have to just ignore the things they say or do. That doesn’t make us weaker but instead makes us stronger because we are showing that we refuse to be affected by their negative actions, words and behavior. If it gets to the point where you feel the situation is too out of control or where you feel unsafe in your work environment, school, home or wherever else this situation is occurring, tell someone you trust and can rely on, and if necessary, take precautionary or even legal actions. I know you probably don’t want to deal with the stresses of having to take such actions but if the situation between you and someone else is that bad or dangerous that taking legal or precautionary actions is what is necessary to keep you safer, do it. Sometimes you have to protect yourself and your life from those who try to hurt or wrong you, even if it is someone close to you such as a friend or family member. 

Remember, forgiveness is a form of power. By forgiving others, you are taking back your confidence, your happiness, your self-esteem, your value and anything else that the person who wronged, harmed or betrayed you tried to take, steal away and diminish from you. Be strong and choose forgiveness today.

Positive & Empowering Films, Books & Television Shows For Girls & Young Women

Positive & Empowering Films, Books & Television Shows For Girls & Young Women

Today’s youth is often influenced by what they see in the media, from the way a reality television star dresses to the way a famous actress styles her hair. While many of these influences from magazines, television shows, novels and movies can be negative, implying and stereotyping girls and young women to dress, look and act a certain way to be considered valuable or beautiful, there are some media sources that encourage women positively, relaying uplifting and inspirational morals and messages. Here is a list of films, television shows and books that are great examples for motivating and empowering women in positive ways.

Movies:

Cinderella:

This live-action film by Disney stars Lily James, Helena Bonham Carter, Richard Madden and Cate Blanchett. This movie expresses a positive message of showing courage and kindness. Cinderella shows just that in many scenes but particularly when she tries to be kind to her stepmother and stepsisters even after they gradually force her into servitude after her father’s passing, ridicule her and bully her. 

Additionally, she chooses to be courageous when she still decides to go for her dreams after her stepfamily forbids her and sabotages her from doing so. She is kind and courageous in other scenes including when she tries to save the life of a stag being hunted and when she finally stands up to her stepmother to defend her birth mother’s honor. Even after all of that, she still chooses to be kind and courageous by forgiving her stepfamily for how they treated her as she moves on with her life towards the ending of the film.

Aquamarine:

This film stars Sara Paxton, Emma Roberts, JoJo Levesque and Jake McDorman. It tells the story of a mermaid named Aquamarine who has to prove true love exists within three days in order to call off an arranged marriage. She seeks to do this with the help of two best friends named Claire and Hailey who if they succeed in helping Aquamarine, will receive a wish of their choosing. 

The characters of Claire and Hailey are two prime examples of how it is important to have loyalty towards those we care about. In the end, Hailey and Claire manage to help Aquamarine but in a different way than originally expected when they choose to make a huge sacrifice and thereby proving that true love can exist in other forms besides a romantic relationship. The story also reveals a powerful message in facing your fears when Claire overcomes her biggest fear in order to protect her friends. 

Soul Surfer: 

Based on the true story of professional surfer, Bethany Hamilton, this film stars Annasophia Robb, Carrie Underwood, Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt. It conveys the powerful message that even when you have setbacks, you can still accomplish your dreams and inspire others to live theirs. When thirteen-year-old Bethany Hamilton decides to go surfing on Halloween day, she expects it to be like any other fun day of surfing. However, when a sudden emergency occurs that almost costs Bethany her life, she remains passionate and hopeful about still being able to live her dream of being a professional surfer. The story tells Bethany’s courageous comeback to continue surfing and inspires her to tell her story of how God continues to work through her life despite the obstacles she endures throughout her comeback to competitive surfing. 

Magic Beyond Words: The J.K. Rowling Story: 

This Lifetime Original Movie stars Poppy Montgomery, Antonio Cupo and Janet Kidder. It tells the story of how famous author, J.K. Rowling came from a life of domestic abuse and poverty to finding the inspiration to write one of the most successful book series in the world, Harry Potter. This message is inspirational because it lets viewers know that if you do what makes you happy, even in the hardest of times, you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. It also relays the importance of being close to your family and being for them even when times are difficult as we see this in a young J.K. Rowling, played by Madison Desjarlais. 

The Princess Diaries & The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement:

This Disney film series starring Anne Hathaway, Heather Matarazzo, Julie Andrews and Caroline Goodall follows the story of a young lady named Mia Thermopolis Renaldi who eventually discovers that she is the princess of a country called Genovia.  Throughout the series we see how this clumsy, shy but goodhearted girl grows into a more confident, strong and empowering woman. She shows bravery when she accepts the title of being a princess, realizing that she has the power to help others and when she challenges outdated laws in the country so that she can be as inspiring and strong of a ruler as her grandmother, Queen Clarisse. Additionally, she shows, in the second film that it is just as important to be beautiful on the inside when she defends a young orphan girl being bullied during a parade celebration. Mia’s character is a great role model for little girls and young women, showing that while it’s nice to have pretty gowns and fancy tiaras, a true princess is a woman who follows her heart and shows kindness and charity to others. 

The Lizzie Mcguire Movie: 

This Disney film, starring Hilary Duff, Robert Carradine, Alex Borstein and Jake Thomas, follows the story of a girl named Lizzie Mcguire, who following a humiliating moment at her junior-high graduation, travels to Rome, Italy on a school-sponsored trip. There, she makes a wish in the Trevi Fountain for adventure, leading her on a whirlwind journey of impersonating a famous pop singer she looks similar to named Isabella Parigi.  Under the impression that she is helping Isabella, she learns from Italian pop star, Paolo Valisari that she will have to sing and dance at an awards ceremony, frightening her due to the idea of having to perform in front of an audience. 

Lizzie eventually agrees to it and learns all the lyrics and dance steps to perform the duet with Paolo but shortly before performing the duet, Lizzie meets Isabella and discovers that Paolo was using her the whole time to make Isabella look bad, in the hopes of ruining Isabella’s music career. Eventually in the end, Paolo’s scheme fails and the truth about him is revealed to the world. Isabella and Lizzie become friends and Lizzie conquers her fear of performing in front of an audience. While the message of conquering your fears is very powerful in this film, this movie is also inspirational because it conveys powerful messages of true friendship in the form of Lizzie and her best friend, Gordo who constantly comes to Lizzie’s aide throughout the film. 

Television Shows: 

Once Upon A Time: 

 This ABC television series stars Ginnifer Goodwin, Lana Parilla, Josh Dallas and Jennifer Morrison. The series first starts out with a young woman named Emma Swan, who shortly after her birth is taken away from her parents, Snow White and Prince Charming in the Enchanted Forest and sent to the real world. Growing up an orphan, she eventually becomes a bail bondsperson. On her 28^th birthday, she receives a knock on her apartment door only to find a young boy there named Henry who she gave up for adoption. Henry informs her that his hometown of Storybrooke, Maine is cursed by his adoptive mother, The Evil Queen and that it is Emma’s destiny as the savior to defeat the curse and bring back the memories of all the fairytale character’s past lives. 

This series is a great example of positivity because it conveys a variety of empowering messages including not judging people by their appearance, finding and accepting what makes you special and unique and the ever constant message throughout the series, which is to have hope and bravery even in the darkest of times and that even if you make mistakes and have a rough past, it does not define who you are. Even if you have made wrong decisions in your past based on bitterness, pain and anger, you can find redemption, happiness and forgiveness. You can turn your life around for the better. It also conveys a positive message that even when families have difficult times, they still manage to find a way to unite together for the greater cause and still will do anything to help and support one another. 

Supergirl:

This series first premiered on CBS before moving over to the CW Network. It stars Melissa Benoist, Calista Flockhart, Chyler Leigh and Jeremy Jordan. It tells the story of Kara Zor-El, an insecure woman who gradually becomes more confident, strong and powerful as she begins to use her special powers after thwarting off an unexpected disaster, thus becoming Supergirl. Supergirl is the embodiment of Women’s Empowerment, showing little girls and young women that they should embrace what makes them unique and different because that is where their very own superpowers are. 

Sailor Moon Crystal: 

This series can be watched online in Japanese with English subtitles via crunchyroll.com.  A remake from the original Sailor Moon series, this anime follows a clumsy, ditzy crybaby named Usagi Tsukino. While running late for school, Usagi has a brief encounter with a cat, removing a bandage on its forehead and revealing a crescent moon mark where the bandage was. Later that day, the cat, named Luna, confronts Usagi again and tells her that she is Sailor Moon, a chosen sailor soldier destined to protect the universe from wicked forces. Later on in the series, other sailor soldiers of their respective planets begin to appear to aide Sailor Moon in defending the universe from evil. 

The character of Sailor Moon is a positive example for women in the sense that while she may have her moments of being afraid, clumsy and a crybaby, she still manages to do what she must to protect those she loves. Her character grows throughout the series into a courageous, more confident and strong woman. Many of the other sailor soldiers can be seen as positive role models too including Sailor Mercury, who is very studious and intelligent. 

DC Superhero Girls:

This animated series can be viewed on YouTube. It focuses on many DC Comics characters and their journey towards growing up and dealing with how they handle their various superpowers. Some characters featured on the show include Harley Quinn, Catwoman, Katana, Poison Ivy, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Batgirl and more. This series conveys positive messages regarding loyalty, friendship, leadership and teamwork.

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:

This animated series can be watched on Discovery Family. It follows the journey of Twilight Sparkle and her friends Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Rarity on their quest to protect Equestria from evil forces by using their magical artifacts, the Elements of Harmony. This series has a multitude of positive messages involving themes such as friendship, kindness, generosity, loyalty, honesty, forgiveness and more.

Books:

"Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte:

"Jane Eyre" is a novel written by Charlotte Bronte. It focuses on a woman named Jane Eyre who becomes a governess to a French child named Adele. While employed as a governess, she eventually meets her employer, Mr. Rochester, whom she later falls in love with. This novel conveys many important themes including the value of friendship, forgiveness, being truthful, having loyalty and following your heart.

"Ever After: A Cinderella Story" by Wendy Loggia:

"Ever After: A Cinderella Story" by Wendy Loggia is a novel based on the major motion picture. It focuses on a young woman named Danielle De Barbarac, whom is forced into servitude by her stepmother after her father passes away. In an effort to save someone close to her, she impersonates a courtesan, which leads to her meeting the prince of France, whom she later falls in love with. This novel conveys multiple themes including the courage to follow your heart, being truthful, the importance of helping others, finding friendship in unexpected places and being yourself.

"Soul Surfer" by Bethany Hamilton:

"Soul Surfer" by Bethany Hamilton is the autobiography that inspired the film of the same name. It tells the story of how professional surfer Bethany Hamilton made her surfing comeback after surviving a life-changing incident at the age of thirteen. This story focuses on many empowering messages including having faith in yourself and having the courage to follow your dreams despite whatever obstacles you may face.

"A Little Princess" by Frances Hodgson Burnett:

 "A Little Princess" by Frances Hodgson Burnett is a children's novel. It focuses on a young girl named Sara Crewe who is enrolled into a boarding school by her father, Captain Ralph Crewe. When her father passes away, Sara is forced into servitude and abused by the headmistress of the boarding school. 

During this, Sara befriends another servant girl, Becky and the neighbor to the boarding school, Ram Dass. Eventually, Sara comes into an unexpected fortune, restoring her to a life of wealth. This story contains many powerful messages including showing kindness, being charitable, the importance of friendship, standing up for yourself when mistreated and not judging others.

"Matilda" by Roald Dahl:

"Matilda" by Roald Dahl is a children's novel. It focuses on a young girl named Matilda Wormwood who is unappreciated by her family for being different. Matilda, who has a passion for learning and reading is eventually enrolled into school where she befriends her teacher, Miss Honey. Unfortunately, she makes an enemy of her school headmistress, Miss Trunchbull who has a dark past with Miss Honey. 

Eventually, Matilda discovers she has special abilities and reveals them to Miss Honey. Matilda uses her abilities to help Miss Honey and put an end to Miss Trunchbull's cruel acts towards her and the students of the school. This book is a great example of positive messages including embracing your differences, being yourself, helping others, the importance of friendship and the value of learning.

"Before You Meet Prince Charming" by Sarah Mally:

 "Before You Meet Prince Charming" is a guidebook. It is written by Sarah Mally. It conveys many important messages including being the best version of yourself that you can be, avoiding temptations, building the right relationships, developing strong connections with family and making positive choices in life.

Embracing Our Imperfections

Embracing Our Imperfections

In life, we deal with many things that we consider imperfections. We don’t like something about our looks or we feel we could have performed better with a specific task, test or activity. Often times, we beat ourselves up over these things to the point where it makes us insecure and then we take those insecurities and express them negatively by taking it out on others unfairly or by worrying that we disappointed the people we care about. But how can we take those insecurities and transform them into something positive? 

First, we need to remember that we are not perfect. We are human and we all make mistakes. The important thing to remember is that while we can be our harshest critics, we should not let it discourage us from continuing to try when it comes to a task or activity. Knowing that you tried your best at the time you performed said task or activity, given whatever circumstances you were dealing with is what should make you proud and if the people you worry about disappointing still can’t support you and see that you tried your hardest, then they don’t deserve to see you at your best and don’t deserve a place in your life.

Remember, you only truly fail when you don’t try and that even if you look back on something and feel you could have been or done better, you have to keep trying and never give up. Look at it as working towards a goal, use it as motivation for self-improvement and continue to encourage yourself, telling yourself, you can do better and be better. Accept that the past is the past and you can’t change it. You can only embrace it, learn from it and work harder in the future. Be persistent with your dreams and never stop trying to reach them. 

If you truly want something, you have to remain passionate, committed and dedicated to get it. If you want to reach that goal weight, receive a good grade in that class, achieve a lifelong dream or pass that test to get your driver’s license etc., it’s up to you to work hard for that. There will always be times where you will say “I should have done this”, “I could have done better” or “If I had done this, the outcome would have been a better result” etc. 

It’s ok to think how you could have done or been better but don’t let it stop you or upset you from still reaching for your goals and dreams. Use it as inspiration to do and be better in the future. Embrace your insecurities as a part of you and as a part of your journey to self-growth and self-improvement.

Don't Worry, Be Happy

Don’t Worry, Be Happy

In life, we all have our ups and downs. We have things that bring us great joy but sometimes we don’t feel our happiness for what we do have because we constantly wish for more. We want certain things in our lives that have yet to come such as that dream job, more money, a relationship, children, that college degree etc. 

Often times we forget about the things we have that we should be happy for because we’re too focused on worrying about what we don’t yet have. Other times we get upset at seeing others happy with things that we want but don’t yet have ourselves. We feel that it’s not fair for them to be happy when we can’t have those things but the truth is, they have every right to be happy and it’s not their fault for us not yet having things we wish for. It’s all about patience, timing, passion, dedication, hope and hard work when it comes to getting what we want in life.

But just because we don’t have that amazing career, a baby, marriage, a larger paycheck, a beautiful house, a nice car or any other dream or goal we’re striving for does not mean we should let that stop us from being happy, especially for what we do have now. It’s perfectly fine to work and dream for what we want but we should still be thankful and joyful for the things that do bring happiness in our lives whether they are small things or big things. Regardless of what others may say or think, it’s ok to be happy with what we have been blessed with such as good friends, a good education, our pets, a week on vacation etc. Regardless of other’s opinions, it’s ok to take delight in things or hobbies that bring us happiness such as singing or dancing, reading a favorite book, taking a warm bubble bath, eating a favorite snack, having a relaxing yoga session, spending time with your best friend etc. Anything that brings positivity and happiness in your life that does not harm you or others in any way is a healthy thing.

Additionally, the things we want will come to us if we keep staying positive, persistent and patient. While we wait and work for those goals or dreams, let us be happy and grateful for the good things in our life instead of focusing on the negative because of what we don’t yet have. Use the time you have while waiting to focus on bettering yourself as a person in whatever way possible and enjoying life as it is now for all the wonderful blessings you have received. There is always something to be thankful and happy for so don’t worry about what you don’t yet have. Be happy for what you do have.

Embracing The Superpowers Within You

Embracing The Superpowers Within You

Often times in life, we have our insecurities, things that lower our self-esteems and drop our confidence. Whether it’s something we don’t like about our body or something we don’t like about our personality, these negative factors affect our lives and sometimes even the lives of others if people choose to point out what we see as other’s flaws instead of focusing on our own. While we may have our insecurities, however, we also have our superpowers.

To most people, when they hear the word “superpower”, they think of things you would read about in a comic book like Super Girl’s ability to fly, The Hulk’s super strength, Spider Man’s web shooters or The Flash’s super speed. To me, the word superpower means two different things. The first thing it means to me is being able to take your positive qualities and showcasing them as your strengths and beauties.  For example, think of a positive attribute you have, such as kindness or a good sense of humor. How can you take those positive attributes and show them to the world as your superpowers?

First, you can find a way to take those positive attributes you have and use them for a good cause. If kindness is your superpower, bestow your kindness on others by investing in a cause that’s important to you such as volunteering at a soup kitchen, homeless shelter or animal shelter. If your superpower is a good sense of humor, volunteer to entertain senior citizens at a nursing home or children at a children’s hospital. Using your superpowers to put smiles on other’s faces and laughter in their hearts will make you feel good about yourself, which will help to boost your confidence and self-esteem. 

Secondly, the word “superpower” also means to me, the ability to take what you see as imperfections or insecurities and embrace them by turning them into something positive. For example, let’s say someone’s insecurity is their shyness. How can they overcome that and turn it into something that makes them confident? One way they can do that is to find an artistic hobby they may enjoy such as acting or singing. They can join a church choir or audition for a community play. By doing this, they can find ways to overcome their shyness and bring out their inner confidence.

For me, the character I portray in wrestling is more outspoken, bold, daring, empowered and confident in who she is but those who know my actual persona outside of my character could say I am a bit more quiet, reserved, shy and a bit of an overthinker, sometimes to a fault. It took a long time for me to overcome my own insecurities with what I would wear and how I would act to develop this character into a strong, fearless woman, something I still continue to work on daily to improve my character more and more. I had to take risks with what I didn’t feel comfortable with at first, due to my shyness, tendency to overthink things and my reservations. Once I knew I could take those risks and handle whatever came from them, it was only then that I could grow my character into a woman of confidence. While I am still working on constantly bettering my character, I realized shyness can be my superpower by turning it into something that radiates confidence and inner strength.

Therefore, I implore you whatever insecurities you may be dealing with, turn them into your superpowers. Find a way to make them a positive thing in your life. Whatever positive traits you have, make those your superpowers also by sharing them with the world. Find your superpowers, accept and embrace them as a part of you and express them to the world in a beautiful, inspiring and empowering way.