Shining Moments – Week 2 (May 2018)

Hello everyone, I hope that you had a great past week! It’s that time again for Shining Moments, a weekly roundup of gratitude, awesomeness and reflection.

 

Moments of Happiness and Gratitude

Able to help swap out dollars for quarters for the guy struggling at the meters

Made lots of money for UberEats during Cinco De Mayo Weekend

Some books I ordered came in, some of those finished a series collection

Sonic’s Oreo Caramel milkshake

My cousin graduated from her college with a double major

Getting to be apart of her special day and taking photos

The post party was so much fun

My cousin and I won a game of cornhole

Angry orchard rose

Impromptu dinner/date with babe at Bushido’s (Japanese)

Tempura Shrimp, tempura veggies, rice and miso soup was on point

RedBox movies

New 5 pack flameless LED color changing candles, originally for $30, got it for $15

Canadian Geese had 5 babies this year

Having a car that has AC

My flowers are doing well

Moe’s

Better Late than Never season 2 (Henry Winkler, William Shatner, George Foreman, Terry Bradshaw, Jeff Dye)

 

 

This week’s reflection was about present and future, especially since it’s graduation season for so many people. I’ve been to many of my cousin’s life milestones and I’m so glad that I was able to sit & take photos with family, watch her walk over the Cistern at the oldest college in South Carolina, College of Charleston and begin a new chapter in her life while closing another. She is a double major and put so much hard work to achieve her goals and dreams, just like thousands of other graduates across the nation and the world. Hearing Pomp and Circumstance brings back memories of my own college graduation back in 2012 (6 years ago, really?!) and others I’ve been in (my High school, my Aunt’s own college of Charleston’s graduation **Cool side note, my cousin and aunt wore the same dress, how cool is that mother and daughter wore the same dress to their respective graduations within a few years of each other!**). As we celebrate a life milestone achieved and listened to great speeches, I reflected on my own life journey.

12 years of required school and then I took some time off since I didn’t want to play “Let’s-Change-Majors-5-Times”. I worked full time and it was in retail that I realized that I didn’t want to do this my entire life. With this motivation to drive me and the advice of close family & friends along with the advice of people in the industry that I wanted to enter, I started the journey of college studies as a Hospitality & Tourism Major. In 5 semesters that seemed to drag on forever but now just seems like a drop in the bucket, I graduated Magna Cum Laude with an Associates in Hospitality & Tourism and 3 specialized certificates in Event Management, Food & Beverage Operations and Hotel Operations.  Armed with knowledge, persistence and a willpower to do great and new things, I graduated and entered Charleston’s Hospitality industry. I’ve worked at 6 hotels/resorts (Front Desk/Reservations & Banquets), a family-style restaurant,  a baseball stadium and catering/delivery. I’m now working at a prestigious nationally and globally known Resort. It only took me 5 years paving my own path, being true to myself with my heart, dreams, and goals as I worked my way up to get to where I am today. My current position isn’t where I want to be forever, but it is the next stepping stone until the next opportunity presents itself to continue to teach me new things and challenge me to grow even more.

My challenge to you this week is to reflect on your own life’s journey – whether or not you went to college. What are the life milestones that has taught you the most? Do/did you want to achieve those life milestones because you want(ed) to or because it’s “expected” of you to do them? What life lessons have shaped you to make the decisions that you have made? What are old/new dreams and goals that you’d like to accomplish? If you haven’t achieved those dreams and goals yet, what has stopped you from achieving those goals? Be honest with yourself, but don’t be harsh on yourself. Everything we’ve experienced is for a reason. What steps can you take today, tomorrow, a month from now or even a year from now to get you to those dreams and goals?

 

I’d love to hear your dreams and goals. Share them on the Facebook group, Shine Bright. Tag Crescent Moon & Stars on social media (@cresmoonstars) on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #letshinebrightogether.