Arianna Merritt, MEd | Health Educator & Digital Creator

What I Learned From Holiday Season Traffic

The holiday season brings congestion everywhere - at shopping malls, on the roads, even at the grocery stores. People are out trying to find the perfect present for their loved ones. This means, though, that the parking lots and routes to these major centres are packed with holiday season traffic. It may seem like the whole city is out shopping!

During this festive season, I usually try to plan to go shopping for my gifts at off hours or to order things online to avoid the crowds and congestion. However, this past weekend I found myself in a jammed traffic lineup while merging onto the highway.

Conversations Change Lives

When talking to people over the past few months, many have independently mentioned how years ago I was “floundering” in terms of transitioning from recent graduate to established professional; now, they love how I have found my balance. Each has used that exact word, floundering, which means: “to make clumsy attempts to move or regain one's balance” (thefreedictionary.com). The reason the word was used was because I took a different route than what they were used to so they thought I was off course. However, I never thought I was "floundering," I used the term exploring instead. I knew exactly where I was going and working hard to get there.

Coping With Transition

What have I spent 10+ years practising?

Sometimes it takes awhile to see the most obvious thing that has been there throughout our whole journey. We focus so much on the details and not on the bigger picture; hence why I had been stumped on my friend's question. I reflected, dug deeper, and after some serious thought, discovered what the common element was.

I am an expert in coping with transition. Not only had I experienced a lot of transition personally, I counsel individuals and organizations on how to improve (change is a huge element of this).

Navigating Your Twenties

This quote has been my mantra as I’ve been navigating the journey of my twenties. I threw off my bowlines, sailed away from the harbour, caught the tradewinds, but got stuck. I stopped my journey for awhile, as I was unsure of the direction to sail my ship. The wind (i.e., the passion) was there; I was just unsure in which direction to steer. Do I choose mainstream (i.e., the common path) or set my own course?

During my pitstop, I reflected on my life journey thus far and where I could go from there. I wanted to manifest my calling of empowering others to persist despite any setbacks they encountered. As I was stuck momentarily, I decided to use my personal journey as a tool to start discussion and implement change. Therefore, I developed my blog as a way to coach others to navigate their personal journeys. I went against the wind and began creating empowering media; I was turning my dream of helping others thrive into a reality.

Exciting Announcement!!

Life is all about the journey, not the destination. Every obstacle teaches you a lesson which shapes you into the person you are today. I want to create a ripple effect through sharing what I have learned. I have learned many lessons along my path and I want to help others (especially Generation Y) overcome the obstacles in their path. I will share more about this in an upcoming post.

This September: Start Afresh With Your Attitude

September has always seemed like the start of a new year! With its new beginnings, we should start afresh with our attitudes; we should open our hearts to new ideas.

Individuals today are transient; they are constantly moving for school, for their work, for their families, or just for a change. I have moved various times since leaving high school. I have had many new beginnings and endings with cities, schools, and work. I have embraced each move, though, as I love meeting new people and learning their unique stories. Each of my moves has been an exciting experience and has taught me new lessons. However, moving and changing are by no means easy tasks.

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” - Lao Tzu.

Today, I am taking that step through writing out my thoughts on an issue that is sensitive and personal to me: body-image bullying. In the past, I was ashamed to discuss this subject but I soon realized that this is an important topic to share. I have come to learn that if I don’t speak up, who will?

Years ago, my second-year social psychology professor shared a case with our class that taught me to never rely on someone else to take action. My professor was talking about the famous Kitty Genovese case that occurred during the early 1960’s. In a populous U.S. neighbourhood one morning, Kitty was attacked on a street and left to die over a 45-minute period. Kitty’s death was heart-breaking for its needlessness: 38 people witnessed her attack, but none did anything to help her! Kitty’s story is not the only documented case of the Bystander Effect; there are many more where people didn’t do anything to help someone in extreme need; they thought another person was taking care of it.

Let’s Rock the Boat

A couple of summers ago when I was doing recreational rowing, I was scared to tip the single as I didn’t want to fall into the lake and get wet. I also thought tipping meant that I was a bad rower, so I tried hard not to tip. Little did I know: tipping happens to everyone, regardless of their abilities. I used the pontoons way longer than I should have, because I wanted to be safe. It took awhile, but I finally took the pontoons off – my coach insisted. You know what? I didn’t tip that night! It took another couple of weeks before I finally did tip. Tipping wasn’t so bad. Yes, I was drenched; but it was a hot summer night, so I felt refreshed. Now, I’m not afraid to tip. So, I go out on the water with no fear. I should have just tipped at the beginning so that I wouldn’t have wasted time and energy being unrealistically fearful.

Rise & Shine Interview: Ruvini Godakandae

I'm so excited that one of my friends, Ruvini Godakandae, who I have known for almost 15 years is sharing her thoughts on perseverance with us today. We have seen each other through many important times in our lives. She is such a sweet and kindhearted person. I had to ask her to be involved in this series and I'm so glad she agreed to participate. Thanks Ru!

Ruvini is an Employment Educator & Communications Enthusiast who loves taking in an interesting arts event or chatting online or in person with like-minded individuals. When she’s not busy working, she’s checking out festivals and events around the city, following her social media networks, and staying active with recreational activities, sports and dance.

A Sunday Afternoon Reflection

This quote has been on my heart recently:

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." — Mark Twain, American author

It has gotten me thinking of what I want to achieve with my life. It is exciting to come up with ideas.

The Power of Love: The Beautiful Story of Ian and Larissa

Larissa and Ian Murphy represent to me a true tale of love and perseverance. I watched the following video yesterday, and their story was truly beautiful. The couple had been dating ten months and planned on getting married, when Ian got into a car crash. He suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury. Instead of giving up on the relationship, the couple got married and are going strong! The video literally made me cry. Watch it for yourself!

How to Cope with Unrequited Love?

A loyal reader of mine asked if I could share on the topic of unrequited love; they are coping with this situation presently, and would like some support.

Unrequited love is love that is not reciprocated or returned by the other person. Basically, you fall in love with someone whom you can never be with for a variety of reasons. It is really hard on the person who has these feelings for the other, especially when they think that the other person is the man/woman of their dreams.

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