I’ve learned something about myself in the last couple of years as my life has found a bit of a rhythm; the Fall is the most stressful time of year for me. Let me explain.
The busiest time of year for my family starts in September and it doesn’t start slowing down until right around Christmas. We find ourselves coordinating childcare with other family members more in the last third of the year, birthdays are stacked, preparing for the holidays, and planning for the next year all seems to fall within this small time frame. I say this like I should know it’s going to happen every year. You would think I’d be able to better prepare so I can avoid the stress, but somehow by October, I am checked out of social media and my capacity for anything other than the bare minimum is nonexistent.
2021 was the year I realized that I need to truly prepare more and be way ahead of myself in order to not just “get through the day”, but to actually LIVE through the day. I don’t want to continue a common cycle that many Americans find themselves in where I go to bed dreading the daily rat race. I want to accomplish everything on my calendar and relish in them instead of simply check them off the list. That is a major goal of mine this year; let’s see how it goes!
Why was 2021 the year I decided something needed to change? Well, there is one thing; actually two big things that happened last year that contributed to our Fall whirlwind. And they are both amazing.
The first being Levi. If you follow me on Instagram at all, you will know that I gave birth to our son Levi in June of 2021. At a whooping 8 lbs 6 oz and born early due to induction at 39 weeks; he is healthy and thriving. He is generally a happy baby and watching him explore and learn about the world around him has been incredible to say the least. What has been different this time around is that Levi has Lila to help guide him too. Lila loves being a big sister. While there was definitely an adjustment for Lila as she started to understand what it feels like to share mommy and daddy’s time, she has become more settled into her role as big sister. She enjoys holding him and watching his eyes light up when he sees her at the end of the school day is priceless. As I write this, Levi is about a week away from crawling and he’s doing everything he can to scoot towards what he sees on the floor. Time to pull out the baby gates and put everything up a shelf higher! Let’s go!
The second big thing is that I decided to go back to school! I have wanted to pursue a MBA for several years and if you had a chance to read my 2021 FAQs, I mentioned that I applied for a program I never actually thought I would get into. But “manifesting” has been a large practice of mine these days so why the heck not go for exactly what I want even if imposter syndrome tells me otherwise?
Well ya’ll! I got in! Writing those words still gives me goose bumps because I truly did not think it was possible.
You might be wondering what is so special about this program. As we all know, I geek out learning more about how to live a more sustainable and circular life. I love to share what I learn through this blog and on social media. While this blog is still a huge creative outlet for me and I find joy in being able to give other people a how-to for living more sustainably, I have been yearning for a way to combine my passion for sustainability and dream of a MBA. I found the answer at Bard College in their MBA in Sustainability program.
Every class is rich with discussion and learning opportunities geared towards how business models and the strategy of a company or organization can have incredible influence in our impact as humans on the environment. A highlight so far – I had the opportunity to create a business from start to finish (like the nitty gritty details) with a team of girls in my cohort and pitch our idea to actual investors within the field. It was exhilarating and to say I learned a lot was an understatement. My mom was there when I delivered the “rough draft” of the pitch to my class and it was a moment to remember. Champagne all around!
It feels so good to marry my passion and career goals together; it feels so good to be working towards something I strongly believe in in this way. The blog isn’t going anywhere and in fact it will become richer through this experience, so stay tuned!! Remember when I mentioned manifesting? I have rough plans for where this program is going to take me career-wise – I hope you come along with me for the ride! Follow me on Instagram for more consistent updates and subscribe to the blog for more in depth lifestyle content.
I have to take a second to thank my family. Bryan has unrelentlessly supported me throughout this journey and while there have been discussions around “why the heck did you decide to go for a MBA now?”, Bryan believes in me. I am EXTREMELY grateful for his daily support as I schedule homework and class time around celebrations and after school activities. My mom has been an incredible support as well. I’m so grateful she has been able to join me in New York on several occasions to help me watch Levi while I’m in class. We determined last Fall that Levi was too young for me to leave once a month for the program so my mom was gracious enough to fly out there with Levi and I. I really enjoyed our time together and look forward to more adventures in upstate NY and the big NYC. I’ll be in this program for the next two years so there will be plenty of opportunities to travel out east. I have no doubt whoever joins me for a trip to the big apple will be full of unforgettable adventures.
The rest of my family has been nothing but supportive along the way and I’m incredibly grateful for their support, as well. This journey is feeding my soul and is a tangible action in the direction of achieving my goals; I’m incredibly grateful for my family, friends, and those I meet along this journey.
So you might also be thinking, “Dang, Kylie. That’s a lot to take on. Why now?” There really is no better time than now. If you knew how little time we actually have as the world continues to warm at a faster rate than any other time point in history – the time to act is now. Surprisingly, my resolutions tie into that and this year seemed more significant than previous years. Mainly because of these major life changes and the sense of urgency there is to do something about the crisis we all face.
The resolutions that rose to the top of my list for 2022 are below:
- Plan ahead. Like seriously. Plan way ahead in terms of when things are “due” and what needs to be done prior. It was a major shift getting back into school mode and incorporating that into my daily life with kids and a husband. Planning out everything ahead in terms of when things are due or will occur (assignments, blog posts, after school activities, vacations, etc) is going to be ESSENTIAL. I want to avoid that rushed feeling as much as possible and doing things in advance will allow me to LIVE through this experience instead of simply surviving the experience of being a mom and a student at the same time.
- Communicating when I need “me time”. As a woman, it’s easy to take on a lot and refuse help because somehow it makes us feel weak to ask for help. Thanks, society. I seriously do not understand why our culture puts a taboo on mental health and doesn’t recognize that asking for help will get us to a better place where there’s more kumbaya instead of the “you think differently than me therefore I hate you” way of thinking. I don’t understand. It’s time to flip the script folks. I can work hard and ask for time to do my own thing for a little bit out of the week too if it keeps stress at bay and allows me to be more present as a mother, wife, and student. I’ve never been a fan of the status quo…
- This might sound silly, but I need to believe in myself. This MBA program is the #1 Green MBA program according to the Princeton’s Review… and I freaking got in! This is not me patting myself on the back. This is me saying that manifesting makes things feel real and become possible. I mean, someone has to be the Chief Sustainability Officer of a company… why can’t that be me?? I don’t know if that’s exactly where I want to end up, but my point is that it’s possible. Imposter syndrome is intense though, so putting practices in place to shut her negative voice up is a resolution of mine this year.
I have a lot of other resolutions too, but these seemed the most important for me to share. I’ll let you in on another secret though. A better diet and workout routine are on my list too haha.
Anyways, in the spirit of keeping this year’s birthday post short and sweet. Oh ya, haha. I turned 31 this year and officially entered my “Early Thirties”! While that last sentence seems like it carries a tone of regret, the reality could not be more opposite. Check out my birthday post last year for more info, but basically what it comes down to is – I am so excited for my thirties. I think it is full of so many possibilities and I just need to make sure I remember to relish them all along the way.
I hope you join me on this journey. And more importantly, I hope that you too have the support and confidence to manifest what you want in life because babe… it’s possible.
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Until next time,
