Epiphany 2

Lately it seems like I have been having more epiphanies than days where I dress and shower before 5 pm.  That is not true though.  This is only my second epiphany in the past two weeks, and I have gotten dressed and showered before 5 pm at least 3 times in that same time span.  Anyway, I was being generally unproductive today while trying once more to call DSHS.  I have tried to contact them and failed every day this week, so I wasn't feeling too optimistic, but it needed to be done.  They are so hard to reach because most of the time the automated phone system just hangs up on you when all the operators are busy.  Today was a lucky day where I got put on hold.  I use the term "lucky" very loosely.  After about a half hour of being forced to listen to crackly Christmas music, I talked to an operator.  Long story short, I am being denied medical benefits.  The state does not provide medical help to adults unless they are blind, disabled, or pregnant.  I was chatting on Skype with G at the time and he said I should have told them that I think I might be pregnant. (I'm definitely not pregnant.) I told him that I totally suck at lying, plus it gnaws at my conscience and makes me feel sick to my stomach when I do it.  So I'm screwed if I get sick.  It makes sense that they don't want people just begging the state for help when they're too lazy to work.  I get that, but I have been trying and failing to find a job for at least half of a year now, and I have no experience at anything.  Anyway, I was understandably frustrated by the response from DSHS.  I said a few 4 letter words to G on Skype about how I felt about the situation and then I felt a bit better.

This post is not about DSHS.  It may appear to be, but I assure you that it is not.  It is about me figuring out my life (part 2).  After the annoying phone call, I was perusing blogs on Hellocotton, a girl's only blog community. (No boys allowed. *sticks out tongue*) I clicked on various blogs, followed a couple, and then I found the blog that caused my epiphany.  It wasn't anything the girl said specifically that made me realize what I need to do.  This girl is in her early 20s.  She shops at thrift stores and has an Etsy shop.  Sounds like a slightly older version of me.  The main differences: she's prettier and dyes her hair awesome colors, she can sew, and she's successful.  My thoughts: Oh hai, new role model.  (Note: I don't really think in LOLspeak. It just looks like it to your untrained eye.)  But anyway, there was one particular blog post of hers that caught my eye just a little bit more than all of her other eye-catching posts.   This post is called "3 tips for staying motivated while working from home".   And believe me, this girl knows what's up when it comes to home businesses; I checked out her Etsy shop and she's made nearly 6,000 sales!!!  I read the post, which was super helpful and made me feel motivated to be successful like her.  And then I got to thinking about my own plans.  I realize that my main problem is not being motivated enough to work on any of my home business ideas.  And then I realized why: I have three home business ideas, and I'm trying to do them all at once.  That will never work and will only result in a flaming pile of failure.  So the epiphany I had is that I need to pick just one idea and stick with it, for now anyway.  That way I won't be completely overwhelmed by all of the things I need to do and just end up not doing any of it instead.  When I become successful and confident with that one thing, then maybe I can add one more.  Maybe I'll eventually be doing all three, maybe not.  And that's okay.  I don't need to do EVERYTHING.  So the thrift store reselling and the freelance graphic designing will have to wait.  Maybe forever, who knows?!  I'm not really psychic, even though I claim to be when I make lucky guesses and G asks how I knew what was going to happen.  So at this point in life, I am going to make the very best jewelry I can and sell it on Etsy.  I will put my energy and my heart and soul into it until I become successful.  I will put the other two ideas out of my head and not worry about them.  It is better to do one thing well, than a bunch of things mediocre, or in this case not at all because it's overwhelming.  In closing, I would like to thank Kayla from The Dainty Squid for inadvertently inspiring me.  And that is why she is my new role model, plus she has an awesome fashion style.  So I would love it if you would all go check out her blog.  It's pretty great.  I'm not guaranteeing it will change your life, but I know that it changed mine.  Also, I am completely convinced that it is impossible to be unhappy when you wear bright colors.

My new role model. Just look how awesome she is!
(photo from here)

An Epiphany

I have realized the one thing that I really want in life is to make things that people will like.  I want to make music and art and jewelry.  And I want it to make people happy to share the things I make with me.  I want people to check the mailbox every day, anticipating the arrival of the jewelry they ordered from me, for example.  In the spirit of making things, and also to inspire and motivate me, I have found some jewelry pieces that cost way more than they should, and I intend to make my own versions of them and sell them in my Etsy shop.  I was inspired by these two lovely blogs that I stumbled upon yesterday whilst wandering the interwebs, being remarkably unproductive.  The search for a job is temporarily paused.  Jewelry making will be my job, for now.

These are the necklaces that I intend to create my own versions of.

The only thing I really need to buy to start with is chain of various sizes and colors. And while I am just about broke, I can afford a bit of chain. Also, some ribbon would be nice.  I really like the look of fake pearls with chains and ribbons.

In other news, I painted my nails yesterday for the first time in just about a billion years, and they're sparkly, and it makes me smile.

I know that most bloggers take nail photos holding the bottle of polish they painted them with.
I am not most bloggers. Deal with it.

Also, this is what happens when I'm bored and online.

Well, I'm off to clean my room now, and then to make some jewelry.