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Saturday, June 26, 2010 |
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| FG Approved: The Carrie Diaries |
Hello Fab Gals! In summer, many of life's treats come into season: bright-colored flip-flops, late night adventures with friends, and anything sweet, frozen, and drippy. Oh, and books (the kind you aren't required to read for school). That's why I want to share with you my candidate for the FG-Approved perfect beach read: The Carrie Diaries, by Candace Bushnell. This novel follows Carrie Bradshaw, Sex and the City's heroine and one of my fave fictional FGs, through her senior year of high school. The book gives us a peek into Carrie's journey before her glamorous life, fabulous  friends, and cool career in NYC. Living in a small town called Castlebury, Carrie's life is like most of ours - full of ups and downs. Major crushes and major boy disappointments, true (and not-so-true) friends, disagreements with dad, and a few crazy adventures of the senior-year variety. Through all of that, she also has a secret dream of being a writer - but not necessarily an easy route to get there. What I loved most about this book (besides its sassy and insightful main character) is that this is a "before" story. Fans of the show and movies know Carrie's story has a happy ending. But it's cool to see that before the big closet and successful career, she was pretty... normal. Or at least, her life seemed that way. We all have big dreams, or "One day's" ("One day, I'll be a singer", "One day, I'll have a big house by the beach"). And it can be easy to focus on that. But there's something kind of glamorous about being unfinished, not quite there yet. There's something very wonderful about being on the way towards a dream - and all the characters, settings, and plot turns that get us there.
So FGs, summer is also the perfect season for working towards your happy endings... and just appreciating every piece of your story along the way.
xoxo The Fab Gal Labels: books, Candace Bushnell, fab gal, FG Approved, The Carrie Diaries |
posted by Fab Gal @ 11:28 AM   |
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Tuesday, June 15, 2010 |
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| Be Daring, Be Fabulous |
"You'll never do a whole lot unless you're brave enough to try." - Dolly Parton
"Fear can hold you back from so many wonderful things in life, so I make myself go for things I'm afraid of. Worry afterward!" - Leann Rimes
"There is something liberating about not pretending. Dare to embarrass yourself. Risk." - Drew Barrymore
Hello Fab Gals!
Recently, I was reading over some of my fave quotes. I started to notice a pattern - so many of the women I admire talk about the importance of having courage. At first, you could say it's just because they're famous. I mean, you have to have some guts to lead a life in the public eye, right? But I think there's something more there - something that's important for any FG.
Courage is more than just being a daredevil or having no fears. Having courage is one of the key ingredients to having confidence in yourself. It's not about being completely fearless - it's knowing that some challenges are worth pushing past that sometimes uncomfortable, scary, oh-my-gosh-can-I-handle-this? feeling. It's the faith that you know what the right challenges are for you, that you are worth putting in the extra effort, and that you can handle the situation. And like confidence, courage is more than just a belief - it's an action. Sometimes a bold move is just what you need to feel Fab.
So how do you even begin? There are often challenges in our hearts we've secretly (or not-so-secretly) been dreaming about - trying out for the school musical, talking to our crush, or even starting our own business or writing a book. Sometimes, these can be the hardest, because it feels like we have so much to lose, or would be too disappointed to deal if we failed. But there are other ways to practice that can seem a little less threatening. Riding a roller coaster, wearing a daring new outfit, trying a new hobby, or taking another small risk that's less related to your dreams can give you a boost (and summer is the perfect time for such adventures!). And hey, sometimes courage means baby steps, or asking for advice to get you going on what you really want to do. The important thing is to find the challenge and go for it - and let yourself enjoy the rush and the strength that comes with breaking out of your comfort zone.
xoxo
The Fab Gal
"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror, I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do." - Eleanor Roosevelt
P.S. - If you need some ideas for FG-approved risks to try, check out this Fab Gal Top 10.Labels: advice, confidence, courage, dreams, fab gal, girls, life lessons, quotes, self esteem, taking risks, teens |
| posted by Fab Gal @ 2:57 PM |
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Wednesday, June 9, 2010 |
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| Fab Gals, Past and Future |
Day 4: Inspire Yourself
Hey Fab Gals!
In hopes of making over my confidence (and finding some tips to share with you), I've been testing out some advice from GirlWise: How to Be Confident, Capable, Cool, and in Control, by Julia DeVillers (with help from Atoosa Rubenstein) on how to Be Your Own Best Friend. The final step is to "Inspire Yourself." When you're feeling down on yourself, one of the first things to go is your dreams. It can feel like they're far beyond your reach, or maybe they were just kind of silly anyway. So GirlWise suggests you "Read empowering stories about amazing women, women of strength. And remember that each one of these amazing women... all started in the very same place you did."
I was definitely having one of those days, where it was only breakfast and it seemed to me like I wasn't getting anything right. I wasn't sure if reading would really help, but I decided to give it a shot. I picked up a book about cool women throughout history, featuring everyone from wild warrior Joan of Arc to funny girl Lucille Ball. As I began reading, I was truly amazed by their stories... and the effect they had on me.
Sometimes their thoughts, dreams, ideas, and challenges seemed crazy to other people - Jane Goodall saved her waitressing tips so she could move to Africa and study chimpanzees. but they still went for it. They could be extravagant, glamorous, and outrageous - like scandal-causing actress Mae West - but at the same time be ambitious, diligent, and hard workers. The two weren't mutually exclusive. They used the challenges in their own lives as a guiding force - like Madame C.J. Walker, who became the first black woman millionaire after a hair crisis inspired her to start a hair care company. Reading their stories put into focus the kind of woman I want to be, and started piecing together the inspiration I'd been missing.
I would definitely recommend this exercise. Of course, the trick comes in not just reading, but reminding yourself that you really can be counted among these amazing FGs. If it helps, I know you can do it.
So that wraps up the final day in my journey to be my own BFF (thanks to a lot of help from GirlWise). It's been tough, and definitely highlighted some problem areas in my relationship with me. But hey, relationships require work - and now I have some new tools to keep working on it.
xoxo
The Fab GalLabels: advice, Atoosa Rubenstein, books, confidence, fab gal, GirlWise, Julia DeVillers, self esteem, women in history |
| posted by Fab Gal @ 2:42 PM |
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Thursday, June 3, 2010 |
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| I Am... Fabulous |
Day 3: Compliment Yourself
"It's okay to be shy to accept a compliment. But what's so wrong with standing up straight and saying, 'Yeah, I am great'?" - Mandy Moore
Hello Fab Gals!
This week, I've been testing out some tips from Julia DeVillers (and Atoosa Rubenstein) from GirlWise: How to Be Confident, Capable, Cool, and in Control on how to Be Your Own Best Friend, in hopes of working on my own confidence and giving you FGs some ideas, too. The third part of this how-to was to "Compliment Yourself." Since most people love to get compliments, GirlWise says, "why wait until someone else makes your day? Plant yourself love letters in your room, your locker, anywhere you can."
I knew this step was important. I'm not much of a chef, but I'm starting to see confidence as a pretty simple recipe - equal parts the things you do, and the things you say to yourself. Still, as much as I give compliments to my (other!) BFFs, it had been a while since I had complimented myself. So, I sat down with a poster board, sticky notes, a pen, and twenty minutes, and wrote down any compliments that came to mind.
Despite being out of practice, it was not as difficult as I imagined it would be. I thought about inside qualities (being caring and passionate) and outside ones (love my hair!), ones that really matter to me (being a good writer and great BFF) and ones that I don't give enough credit (It used to embarass me that I was so good at math. But hello? That's a good thing, even if I only use it for managing my money so I can shop). It doesn't really matter what you compliment yourself on, just as long as you get started - and mean it! I thought I might feel silly or embarassed by trying to compliment myself, or worse, I wouldn't be able to come up with anything. But looking back at my poster throughout the day felt good... and even better when I thought that I might be able to come back and add to it later.
If you need a confidence boost, this is definitely a good place to start. I think I'm going to work at doing this more often. I think that we are scared to compliment yourselves because we don't think what we are already is enough, or that if we tell ourselves nice things we won't be motivated to work toward our goals. But looking at my compliments poster, I actually felt excited about the challenges in my life - like I know I have what it takes to tackle them.
Stay tuned for Day 4: Inspire Yourself, and more confidence tips from GirlWise.
xoxo
The Fab GalLabels: advice, Atoosa Rubenstein, books, compliments, confidence, fab gal, GirlWise, Julia DeVillers, self esteem |
| posted by Fab Gal @ 10:55 AM |
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