Confidently In The Direction

Simplee Dance. That was the title of my first blog. Hold up? First blog?? Yes, friends, I had a blog before "Confidently in the Direction". Simplee Dance "launched" when I was a freshman in high school and it had one goal: to change the lives of young girls. I mean it was going to be big. It was going to be so big that I didn't even share it with anyone (besides my loving parents and the friend who told me it was an epic idea) because I was convinced girls would stumble upon my rinky-dink blog and tell the world. I wrote about topics like boys, (sidenote: total mistake because up until sophomore year ya girl had never had a boyfriend and boys still made me nervous half way through eighth grade), speaking life, how this generation is different, and all these other big topics. Looking back, I admire pre-adulting Kayla's confidence but shake my head at what I thought I knew about changing the world when I barely even knew myself. And no, you can't go try to...

Ahh.  That's all that comes out of my mouth right now. "Ahh" as I sip my hot chocolate, "ahh" as I sit downstairs with my brother as he sings along to his music but most importantly, I say "ahh" because today is the end of 2016. I know a lot of people are claiming this has been the worst year yet. For some people it's because of an election that was country dividing, frustrating, scary, or whatever else it may have been for you (and that's where we will leave that, please and thank you). For others maybe it's the multitude of celebrity deaths or maybe it's just that personally, 2016 was hard for you. That's where I am. I can easily say, 2016 has been the most mentally exhausting, emotionally draining, single hardest year of my life. I'm not one to look at the negatives or dwell on the hard times without looking for the lessons but I leave this year knowing that both of those qualities were pushed to their very max...

We all know those quotes. The ones that talk about how life is all fine if you just look at the bigger picture. Quotes like: "find joy in your journey" or "after a storm, there's always a rainbow". You've heard them, seen them, maybe even said them (guilty: 13 year old facebook status' can really kill ya looking back) but can I just be real honest about all of those quotes? Those quotes, they make me want to gag.  You see, I can read those quotes over and over again, hoping to get something out of them that will want me to continue on my "journey" but all is see is just fluff. Nothing in those quotes are going to want to make me continue on my so called "journey", especially when it's hard.  I'm a lover of words. Words that carefully thought out, well delivered and truth speaking. Which in turn, makes me a lover of quotes. After all the title of this blog comes from my favorite quote. That being said, I'm a lover of qu...

In case you missed the memo: I'm baaaack!!! That's right, I'm home. I'm not going to lie, it was weird at first. In many ways it felt like I never left but in other ways, I felt like a stranger. That being said, being a stranger quickly faded. I mean this is my home! So much of who I am stemmed from all that I encountered, learned and experienced here. Carlisle is my home. Carlisle will always be my home. Since being back, a lot has happened. For starters, I launched my "Alumni of the Year" campaign for CPYB. This was a huge step of "just going for it" for me. Usually, I like to plan out exactly how everything will work but this has been different. I've had to go into this campaign without any expectation and hope to make a difference. I still have 5 weeks left and a lot of money to raise but I'm proud of myself for simply giving it a shot.  About two weeks after being home my family took a vacation. Usually we vacation in August but beca...

It's crazy how things change from year to year. That's been a huge, eye opening element for me this year. I mean this time last year, I was so happy. Thanksgiving, after all, is my favorite holiday and this holiday is always guaranteed to bring some of my most treasured memories. Usually I would be spending the night before Thanksgiving with my cousin, preparing for a huge family meal the next day that would be sure to be filled with lots of love and laughter. On top of all that, this week provided the perfect little breather right before Nutcracker kicked into full swing. This year though I'm okay. I mean I'm sitting in  my apartment alone, tending to my sore muscles because Nutcracker is already in full swing and honestly, there is a part of wishing I could be anywhere but here. Of course, this holiday always brings the constant reflection of thankfulness and for a while that was hard for me to grasp this time around. I think back to August when I learned I wouldn...

Let me start by simply saying the obvious: it's been a while. It's been awhile because honestly, my brain has been all over the place recently. I mean this physically with work, ballet, grocery shopping, cooking, laundry, etc (when did I become so lame???) but also mentally. I've had so many different thoughts lately and for a while I thought they didn't have a connection but sitting here and actually processing, I've realized they are all connected to one thing: Home.  The first place that my brain has been in is Pennsylvania, for the sole reason of missing it. I'm not sure if I'm missing home more than usual right now because fall, my favorite season, doesn't exist here or because it's been a month and a half since I've had a good mom hug. Probably a little bit of both. Anyway, more often than not I find myself imagining how amazing it's going to feel December 23rd (or 24th....Dad and I are still discussing traveling dates. You can guess ...

Today is my dad's birthday! This deserves a blog post for the obvious reason, today 48 years ago the world became a better place because my dad was born. It also deserves a blog post because this year is the first birthday, well in my lifetime, that I will not be celebrating with him and the rest of my family. I guess that could be considered a good thing since it shows that I'm growing up and taking on new adventures but it also means that there is a little part of my heart crying out for home.  If you know my dad, you know how great of an influence he is to all people,  myself included. My dad is a man that persistently seeks God, always makes time for others, and constantly invites adventure and fun into my family's life. My dad is a man of deep love, abundant talent, fruitful leadership, and never ending kindness. I've learned this not only because of his love, guidance and presence in my life but also by watching him interact with so many people over the co...