Much love, Shaudeh Farjami

Good news: So much can change in 6 months

Bad news: So much can change in 6 months

Looking back 6 months ago, it is mind boggling how many people have come in and out of my life. In your twenties, you’ll come to find that there’s a role for every person you meet. Some will test you, some will take advantage of you, some will love you, and some will enlighten you. They are the rare and genuine people that remind you why it’s all worth it.

As I’ve grown and matured over the school year, I’m realizing I’m not the person I used to be at all. The things I used to tolerate, now flipped to intolerable. Where I once stayed silent, I choose to take action— even if my voice shakes. Where I used to argue, I choose to stay quiet. With time, I am understanding the value of my voice. Even more so, understanding what deserves the time, effort and energy of my voice.

When it’s time to choose something new, you will feel it. It will move you. You will feel a desire to. Let go, dismantle the burden, recreate, shed dead layers. You will know because there will be subtle shifts all around you. Release the old, and make way for the path ahead.

What am I trying to get at? You have to choose yourself, even when it’s easy to refuse to. Self love is choosing yourself and choosing yourself is a form of self care. Struggling to love yourself will only entertain the wrong people.

In essence, I strive to love myself enough to recognize the things I don’t like about my life and find the courage to change them. Just notice how happy you get when you choose you. What you aren’t changing, you’re choosing. Remember that.

I am choosing to maximize my days. I am choosing to be active 5-6 times a week. I am choosing to give myself the same love I give everyone else. I am choosing to remove toxic people. I am choosing to drink more water. I am choosing to spend more time with my family. I am choosing to stay consistent. I am choosing to surround myself with people who encourage my energy.

A productive, driven, motivated girl is so much more attractive than a girl who waits around for a boy to validate her existence. I challenge you to change, otherwise you’re choosing to repeat the past.

It’s one thing to desire change. To crave that shift. To be hungry for self-growth. It’s another to take action. If you don’t act on that change, if you don’t reflect that shift in your actions— you are not a step forward from where you started. If you weren’t ready to change, you wouldn’t have the opportunity.

Surround yourself with people who want to see the best version of you. Surround yourself with people who make you want to be a better version of yourself. Surround yourself with people who love the truest version of you.

When reflecting on life, remember this. No amount of regret or guilt can change the past. No amount of anxiety can change the future.

You can’t control the uncontrollable, but there is so much you can control. You words, your actions, your perspective, your attitude, your effort, your energy, your focus. There is no room to complain about wanting to change if you are not making new choices. If you’re ready to stop looping the same cycle, it’s time to make some changes. Don’t spend another summer on the same track. Ultimately, if you don’t make changes, you’re choosing to stay your past self.

In 3 months, you can be in a complete different space mentally, physically, and socially. You can totally rebrand yourself. Keep working on yourself for yourself this summer.

Much love,

Shaudeh Farjami