Remember your morals
2020 was difficult but that doesn’t mean that you should make life for those around you difficult too. Remember your morals and stick to them. Be kind to others and in return they will be kind. Of course there will always be that one person who ruins it for everyone. But don’t let that person be you! You can prepare yourself by reminding yourself that you and your actions matter. Maybe your smile inspires others to smile. If you listen to the troubles of a friend, you may lighten their shoulders for a while. Extend your hand to those who need help and you’ll get it back in return!

Change doesn’t happen overnight
The start of a New Year is symbolic for fresh beginnings, but let’s be honest with ourselves here. Change takes time and will almost never happen over night. 2021 will be a rough ride for many of us but keep the end goal in sight. Hope is such a strong emotion to hold on to and do just that! Prepare yourself by taking one day at a time. Wake up thankful for the ability to wake up. Allow change to come at a pace that’s realistic and we’ll all see a brighter tomorrow.

Be mindful of others
I’ve seen a few people talk about how wonderful the quarantine has been for them. Some people were finally able to take breaks. Others found that they loved working from home. These are the quiet few though. A majority of people found 2020 difficult. Keep them in mind and be respectful of their feelings.

Ease yourself back into the groove
My first week was 2021 was difficult. I felt unmotivated and slept unwell at night. I ate too many cookies and buried myself in the couch because it was comforting. Be kind to yourself. I didn’t beat myself up for my rough start but I’m working on getting back on track. It’s easy to fall into bad habits but don’t forget you’re not alone in this. Take it easy on yourself and ease back into where you used to be. Life can be hard but don’t give up!

Don’t give up hope
The New Year doesn’t have to be bleek. They say that time heals all wounds but some take longer than others. Wake up thankful to be alive. Go to bed happy for another day. These days fly by so treasure them! And most importantly, don’t give up hope. Hope can be such a driving force, so grasp it and don’t let go. All Along You Were Blooming has done wonders for my soul. I’m not one to read motivational books but maybe I should. This book is gorgeous and the perfect reminder that hope is alive.

The post How to prepare yourself for 2021 appeared first on A Daily Lee.

Practice makes perfect
It sounds like a year of art would yield amazing results right? Well I say it depends on the artist. You can’t pick up a pencil and expect to be perfect. It takes time, practice and maybe at least a handful of years. A the beginning of my journey I found an amazing video that helped me put things into perspective. Brookes Eggleston at The Character Design Forge shared some strong advice that helped me pushed through to the end. His advice is, if you’re still in your first 1,000 hours of drawing, you should be drawing more. I can say that some pieces I spent 10 minutes on while others took a few hours. And I discovered that I took more time to draw as the year went on. And I saw improvement!

Don’t force it
I had a few weeks throughout the year where I wouldn’t touch my Ipad because I needed a break and I took it. Of course I had a lot to catch up on when I got back, but I wanted to continue and I wanted to finish. If 2020 had a theme for me, it was commitment. For the first time in my life I’ve been self motivated. I stuck with drawing and even created that Youtube gaming channel I had wanted to make for years. So I pushed aside all self doubt in myself and forced myself to work. If you never start, how can you finish? But know yourself and the process because forcing yourself to do something you enjoy, can end badly.

In my youth I used to give up because I didn’t feel happy with my work. Now I understand that the best talents can be learned if you put your mind to it.

Choose your weapon
My supplies at the beginning of the year were an Adonit Pixel Pro and a 2013 Ipad Mini 2. My supplies at the end of the year are an Apple Pencil 2nd Generation and an Ipad Pro 2020 11 inch. I can’t say that using professional supplies will give you professional results, but it’s nice to use the tools because using them fuels familiarity. And if an artist is familiar with their tools, they know how to get the most out of them.

In January, when I looked up tutorials for Procreate, I often hit a wall because I was on an older Ipad. My IOS wasn’t up to date and so my Procreate was an update behind. Now this is a first world problem for sure. I tried to work with paper and pencil but I had such low confidence in my skills that I wanted to work in digital. It was easy to erase my mistakes and even easier to draw with the symmetry tool. Find what works best for you and practice the shit out of it!

You might as well
The year went on around us even when we were stuck inside. So you know what? You might as well do it. A year of art was over in a flash. I was going to get up and live my life anyway. So why not add some art to it? I don’t want to regret it down the line. And if it takes 10 years to become a good artist, why not start today? I’m going to be 43 eventually anyway, I might as well learn to draw until then! But this doesn’t stop at just learning how to draw.

Think about something you’ve always wanted to do. What is stopping you from doing it today? If there’s anything I want to do in 2021, it’s to continue to throw away those feelings of self doubt. I can be capable of many amazing things, I just need to take that first step. And you can too.

Make 2021 a year of doing, instead of wishing. I believe in you! Happy end of 2020, and I’ll see all in the new year!

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You have a story to share
People always complain about writing and finding that inner voice. Don’t forget that writing is a skill that must be developed. When you start a journal, be free with your thoughts and allow them to guide you. Writing for yourself is an experience that only you can cultivate and enjoy. Improvement in your voice comes through feeling your own words and how they make you feel. And in the end if you’re happy with what you’ve done that’s what matters. A voice is strong and needs to be heard but first it must me spoken. Or in this case, written down! You don’t have to be fancy either. A summer journal can be any empty notebook. You can even make your own!

Don’t take yourself seriously
My dad told me once that my handwriting looks like a crow walked onto a piece of paper. Instead of putting all my effort into making my journal something beautiful… I’m allowing it to be a reflection of who I am. Give yourself room to express your true self. Sure you can obsess over beautiful Instagram worthy spreads and you can make them too! But if you’re feeling more stress than relief, give up the game and go all natural. A journal shouldn’t be a place where you judge yourself, it should help free you.

Make small notes if you have to
For me, everyday has been the same. I wake up, have tea, walk the dogs, come home and work until Sander comes home. Since the lockdown it’s been even more like this without any breaks. We can’t have adventures on the weekends or take the dogs out to run their buns off at the local park. If I have nothing interesting to talk about I jot down my feelings. And that’s enough. Don’t feel pressured into writing an essay every day. A summer journal can be as small or as big as you need it to be. Pace yourself and feel comfortable with what you can and can’t contribute. It’s ok!

Let yourself be inspired
Oh man, I have pages and pages of Pinterest journals saved. I also read other blogs and books that inspire me. I won’t even talk about how many Reddit pages about writing I’ve saved either… Don’t keep yourself stuck in a bubble. Get out there and explore other ways to express yourself because it’s the only way you can break out of a rut. And of course while “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” don’t let it go overboard. Figure out ways to inject your own flare into what you do. You’ll feel more attached to what you create, instead of recreating something someone else did.

It’s ok to have an off day
I believe that keeping a positive mind helps keep a positive soul. Have I reached that level of positivity? Absolutely not. I have terrible days where I don’t want to do anything. And then I have days where I’ve made a to do list and completed it all before dinner. The fact is that it’s ok for your journal to be filled with nonpositive writings. Did you have a terrible day at work? Write about it. Don’t allow yourself to drown in negative thoughts but use the moment to pull yourself up. Maybe I had a bad day because nothing went right and I couldn’t get anything done. I can write about it and why I’m frustrated. Then I can always make a note on how tomorrow is a new day and I can always try my best.

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And sometimes we’re met with resistance. “You’ll get over it soon, it’s a phase.”

That’s exactly what I heard when I was younger. For years I suffered with the idea that I wanted to be artistic but fail at it. My creativity suffered for so long because I thought I wasn’t good enough. And yet I still kept coming back time after time. I wanted to draw, take photos, paint beautiful images I saw in my head. I knew being an artist wasn’t a phase, I just wasn’t good at it yet. Now I take my time and assess my strengths instead of my weaknesses. So how can you tap into the confirmation that something is more than a phase?

Have a trial period
Set yourself up for success by settling deadlines. Sometimes we become obsessed with something and move on after a short time.  Can you love this for more than four months? How about a whole year? What if you find yourself obsessed with something simple? I fell in love with a certain shade of yellow not too long ago. It’s now August and I still wear that hoodie with glee. Before I had only worn black. The yellow remained with me for more than a few months and now I know it wasn’t a phase.

Give it your all
I’m still struggling with this one. I want to be a better artist but I keep making up excuses for myself. I never find the time for art and I need that to change. Once my Dutch work is over I’ll be spending an hour every day to draw. This way I can’t make up excuses on why I never did.

Feeling pressure
If you feel uncomfortable with your new interest then give it another thought. Think of it this way. You’ve made a new Instagram account. You’d like to devote yourself to posting photos of beautiful flowers. For the first month you’re met with praise on your pictures and you love the attention. But after awhile you begin to get bored of taking photos of flowers. Or you don’t find them interesting anymore. Yet, your online fans get upset if you post pictures of the beach. If you’re doing it to please others, don’t do it for them. Do it for yourself. With pressure comes stress to maintain an image that doesn’t make you happy. Choose your happiness over all else, even if it means closing down that account and starting fresh.

Invest in stages
I don’t recommend doing what I did. For years I felt the call of living overseas. I thought it would be fun and easy. When the option came for me to pick up and leave I didn’t hesitate. I sold most of my things, packed up everything else and took a 14 hour flight to my new home. I had never been to The Netherlands and I had never lived with a boyfriend before. Thankfully for me, everything went well.

For a long time I experienced a loss of identity and pretty bad depression. But I didn’t give up. I had wanted this for years and I wasn’t going to let it go. While I’m not saying you should never do what I did. If you decide to jump in head first you must brace yourself to take what life gives you. My mom thought I was going through a phase when I moved. She expected me home after a few months. A year had passed and then she understood I wasn’t coming home.

Don’t sweat it
In the end if you feel unfulfilled by what you’ve done then it’s time to take a step back. If all your efforts leave you feel empty, there’s no shame in that. We grow and change as we’re fed new experiences. The wonderful part of life is that we can take some of those influences and improve on who we want to become.

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I understand that now that I’m an adult.  He was forced into it when he was arranged to marry my mother. Needless to say they had me and my brother. It was something he didn’t want so we never developed a healthy relationship with each other.

There are times when I can’t help but wonder if I could have done anything on my end. My father passed away in 2014. My relationship with my mother continues to be strained though. Here’s what I’ve discovered helps keep our conversations civil.

Find some middle ground
I’m very much like my father and I’m sure my mother sees this. We keep our relationship bare bones minimal. Phone calls are made to wish each other on our birthdays and major holidays. My brother is also a huge help because most of the times we end up talking through him because he’s a great mediator.

Keep conversation light
It’s better to not go off topic. We keep our conversations simple and pleasant. We don’t talk about life choices or big decisions. She knows I’m doing well here and that I’m working towards a Dutch lifestyle. That’s it. I didn’t even have her on my friends list when I had a Facebook.

Don’t bring up the past
My mother had big plans for me as I grew up. I ended up failing those expectations. She had wanted me to become a doctor not work from home. I know it upsets her and it’s better not bring up the past. It’s important empathize sometimes. I understand I didn’t meet her expectations and it was probably hard for her to cope with. But we cannot live the lives our parents wanted for us. We can only live for ourselves.

Enthuse about the future
This one is also difficult to do with my mother. I know there are some people who have better or worse relationships with their parents. If you do wish to keep your parent in your life (and not cut them out), this is the way to keep it positive. Get excited about what the future holds because it’s something to look forward to.

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Unfollow the unimportant
One of my rules is, if I don’t recognize the name, I unfollow it. It helps a ton with my Youtube playlist. I’m familiar with channels I regularly watch. When a new video pops up by a certain creator, I know what to expect. When I go through my list at the end of the month I unfollow all the names I don’t remember watching. I also cleaned out my Goodreads “To Read” list. Can you believe I deleted over 500 books? Many were from my time working at a bookstore. I would add anything that looked interesting. My tastes have changed since then. If I haven’t made time to read a book in over 6 years… Chances are I might never read it!

Delete unused apps
I’m so guilty of downloading 10 different photo editing apps and then only using one. Take the time to use each app and delete what you won’t use. You’ll save space on your phone and you won’t mistake one app for another. This way you can focus on the one or two important apps and really learn how to use them. Apps work best when they work for you, not against you. Many apps feature in use tutorials but if you need help there’s always Youtube!

Back up important files
Use either an external hard drive or the cloud to create a safe space for your important files. No one wants to lose years of family photos or medical documents due to a hazard or a mistake. Don’t wait until a natural disaster or a rogue cup of water puts an end to your prized files! Keeping these files safe allows you to free up your phone or PC and not worry about losing anything.

Don’t feel pressured
It’s so easy to get caught up in the way famous people live. We all want to have a glamorous lifestyle filled with only photo ready moments. But many of these “ideal” moments are staged. So take a break from it all. Don’t feel like you need to keep up with the Joneses. I promise you that most of the time people are too busy looking at their own lives to fuss over yours. You should dance and no one’s watching!

Disable notifications
There’s nothing more annoying than waking up and seeing 100 notifications. Apps are constantly bugging us to play with them. Many notifications are simple and meaningless chatter. Go through your phone and tell them to shut it! You’ll feel calmer waking up to nothing other than your alarm. It also allows you to start the day without spending an hour on your phone before you roll out of bed!

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Clean early
Get rid of all that summer and autumn clutter now. Start by cleaning out all those light clothes you won’t need during the colder months. There’s nothing more annoying than searching for a winter sweater that’s buried under out of season clothing. Keep your wardrobe clean to lessen your time searching for pieces you need to wear. Packing away out of season items is a great way to do this. Put them into dry and safe storage boxes to keep them out of sight and out of mind. If you want to donate old clothes you don’t use, even better! We’re all guilty of buying things we don’t use (or want to but haven’t found a reason to do so). Take the time to donate these unused items to someone who needs it more.

Invest in comfy clothing
Black Friday has ended but that doesn’t mean you can’t buy warm winter clothes at a discount. Visit those 2nd hand stores when you want to add something new and exciting to your wardrobe. It will give you a more unique closest to explore and you’ll be eco-friendly. Make sure that you buy clothing you can wear for more than one season though. Otherwise you’ll be donating it right back to where it came from!

Bring some neutrals in
It’s fun to change up all those lively colors for sets that are earthy. Bright colors remind me of spring so I like to put them away. We have more indoor plants than last year but by taking those summer colors away, the color pallet is muted. Instead of flowers we put out dried branches in our vases so that those earthy browns can help ground the space. We also throw a few extra blankets and pillows onto the couch to make it inviting. Our blankets have little specks of gold to bring in that cheery holiday spirit without overdoing it.

Burn some candles
Have you ever hung out in a room filled with candles? It’s so damn cozy and magical! While it’s not practical to only use candlelight, you can replace one or two small lamps with candles instead. You can also fill empty corners with candles and light those when you want to feel that warmth. You can also invest in battery operated candles if a real candle is out of the question. I understand there are fire risks and it’s nice to have LED candles because those are much safer.

Pamper yourself
Above all don’t forget to take care of yourself during the cold season. Treat yourself well while it’s cold and stormy outside. Use an extra thick cream on your hands and body. Those holiday tea flavors are back in season so stock up for a tasty drink. Eat foods that make you feel healthy and cozy. If you treat yourself well now, you’ll be more than prepared for both the holiday season and the New Year.

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However all this procrastination can catch up to you.

Oh I should have cleaned this today… I should have completed that assignment when I had time… I’m far too busy to finish everything I had to do…

We end up putting tasks off until the last minute. That’s when we get stressed and rushed. We race to complete the tasks had to do. Our work ends up being sloppy or half done. We end up upset or even angry if we can’t complete our project. This is why it’s important to remember that everyone procrastinates. And there are ways to combat it!

Make a to do list
I do this every month to remind me of my goals. Sometimes I might not be able to complete all of them. Keeping a list helps me check off what I’ve done and what I can improve on. I too love to procrastinate and there’s no shame in enlisting some help! I’ve begun putting ideas together to help me focus more and I’ll share more when the time comes!

Do a little at a time
If your task requires a long period of time to complete, take it in sections. Complete what you can before you take a walk around the room or get a glass of water. It’s important to take breaks because constant working puts a strain on your mental and physical state. Staring at a computer screen all day is horrible for your eyes. Keep your eyes focused for 20 minutes and then look away from the screen to give your eyes a rest. If you must work late into the night, use a program that helps your eyes with the bright screen. I love using f.lux to automatically adjust my computer screen color. The bright white strains your eyes. F.lux changes the color to a warm yellow shade to take away the damage being done.

Take a break
If something gets too overwhelming, you should take a break but promise yourself to return. It’s easy to take a break that lasts several hours. If you set a timer for yourself it becomes easier to manage your time. If you take a breather between tasks you come back refreshed and energized. I do this often when I have Dutch to work on. Sometimes my eyes get tired from looking at those crazy Dutch spellings. I get up and take a break. Sometimes I’ll take a cup of tea on the couch so I can be with my dogs. Other times I do a few chores before I come back. What you do is up to you, but make sure you go back!

Just get it done
Sometimes you just have to sit yourself down and plow through it. Dedication pays off in the end. There are a ton of things we could be doing to enjoy life! So get your butt in that chair and just do it! You’ll feel that weight lift off of your chest because now you don’t have anything to worry about. Sometimes that’s the best feeling in the world.

You can find more information at Fight Procrastination Day

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Photograph everything
I try to take photos of everything. If I don’t have a camera, I’ve got my phone ready to do. Late at night I’ll browse through the photos I took during the day. I love to use the app VSCO to edit my photos. After that I’ll use the UNUM app to organize and post my photos to instagram. They might be simple photos (right now I’m digging deep blue sky photography) but they make me happy. It’s important to photograph what makes you happy, remember that! I don’t often print photos but the ones that I do remind me of far off places from a long time ago.

Experience the moment
Sometimes being in the moment is enough to make and chronicle internal memories. THere have been so many times that I’ve been unable to take out a camera. Instead I make mental notes and hope I can remember them later. If I need help I do have a tip. I play music that reminds me of those experiences. I relate the two and they become one memory. From there, everything I hear that song, I’ll recall those fantastic memories I made along the way. It’s a good way to keep memories fresh and intangible.

Take note of smells
Everytime I go to Amsterdam, I remember the scent of the canals and the street food. The scent of summer on people’s skins as they walk through the sunlight streets. I often recall the oily smell that comes from french fries or the sickly sweetness of walking outside a donut shop. Scent is one of the strongest ways to recall a memory. Using that to your advantage is a simple yet effective way to document mental memories that can be triggered!

Find the perfect journal
If you need something to touch and hold, find the perfect journal and spend the whole summer filling every last page. It’s important to use the whole journal for one summer. This way you’ll have volumes of different summers to pull out and reminisce about. If you keep too many summers in one book they might melt together. If you’re a fan of this, then by all means, enjoy it! I’m a bit of a perfectionist though and I would rather have a collection to keep my memories in. This also means more time taking photos and putting together beautiful spreads.

Remind yourself of the past
The photos I have above my desk are photos from California. One I took while driving home after work one evening. The sun was setting over Lake Mathews and the hills that surround it. My brother and I had gone to a house to photograph for a real estate agent. The evening was cool because it was late summer. While this photo is beautiful, it is bitter sweet. It had not even a year since my father had passed away.

The other photo is when Sander and I went to Laguna beach to see the sunset. We had made it there before the sun had vanished. I wanted to remember that night forever. It was our last night in California. We were on a flight back to Holland the day after it. The two weeks we spent there were the best of my life. It was another bittersweet memory. I seem to have a lot of those!

Either way, I hope you’re inspired to create something of your own now! Documenting the summer can seem like an impossible task but it’s not! It’s an enjoyable experience that can be as laid back or as involved as you want it to be!

The post How to document your summer appeared first on A Daily Lee.

This is more about the reasons why I left California. Sander was a major reason, of course, but he was not the defining factor. Relationships are two sided and instead of having him move to America, I decided to move to North Holland.

Moving to a new country is never an easy task. On top of leaving everything behind, I had to learn a new language and social norms. So when Sander asked me to move in with him, how was I able to find the pros and cons of the situation?

Perfect timing
I don’t want to go into too much detail but the time was right for me to leave. I was at a point where I was ready to move forward with my life. The next step was going to be a big one so why not move? Sometimes in life when a good opportunity presents itself, you have to take the plunge. When I looked at the possibilities of the future, the past was something I could leave behind. My old life was coming to a close and the best I could do was thank it for the experiences and move on.

Wanderlust
I always longed for something exciting in life. Much like Belle from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, I wanted something greater than what I had. I grew up bored with my surroundings. This deepened after my mother took the family to London for the first time. I was in love. The grittiness of the city. The locations, the history, the accent… It was so appealing to me. I made a promise to myself that I would make it to Europe some how. Of course The Netherlands was not my first choice but it’s growing on me for sure!

Beginning of an era
Sander and I had been dating for about a year when he asked me to move in with him. It was the perfect time to take our relationship to the next level. We had a lot of chemistry and a similar personality so the decision was not difficult to make. Moving in to be with him and surrounded by his culture opened many new doors for me. It was the end of one era and the beginning of the next. I won’t say it’s been an easy time but the adventure has given me a lot to consider. I’ve been able to connect more with who I am. It feels so good!

Searching for independence
My parents came from a culture where the children stay in the house until marriage. Moving out in California is difficult because it’s such an expensive place to live. Moving in with Sander pushed me to be more independent. I’m still timid because I’m still learning Dutch. But being able to go to Amsterdam alone is such a thrilling feeling. I love taking the train to the city. I love riding a bike when I need to go places. The idea that I’m living a European life gives me life every day.

Ready to move forward
Even today I take each morning as a step forward. Sometimes two steps forward and one step back. Each new experience shapes who I am. As I work on this blog, learn new skills and meditate on who I want to me, I grow. This is a gift given to me by the universe. I took the chance to leap across the pond. So far it’s had its ups and downs. Sometimes the simplest tasks can be a challenge. But I can’t say the adventure wasn’t worth it.

If you’re looking for a reason to finally take the leap… Do it. I know I would have regretted the choice to say in California and end my relationship with Sander. There were so many factors that pushed me towards the idea of moving. I’m so glad I did.

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