Hello everyone and happy Tuesday!

My brother and his family are visiting from Chile and my priorities have change slightly spending as much time as I can with them and also working. I had written this post a little while ago, but I haven’t had the chance to process the information I had written and publish it, but today I made the time. Life gets busy sometimes, but we’ve got to make time, and just do it, so here it is! 🙂

My last post was about purpose and the exercise that I was given at a virtual workshop by Gabrielle Bernstein. The exercise was to share our story. But why share our stories? I think the very simple answer to that is to help someone else out there who may benefit from reading it. Also, it helps you understand your story better or release anything that doesn’t serve you anymore. Whatever your purpose is for sharing your story or even writing it should be thought of ahead of time.

As I had mentioned in my last post, I said that I was living my purpose right now. What is my purpose and how did I find it?

One of the things that Gabrielle mentioned and made me think back in time was to remember what we enjoyed doing as kids. I remember when I was a kid in Chile, I was ALWAYS around people and doing things. I lived in a time where it was safe and normal to play outside for hours with other kids from around the block. I had two best friends and we would hangout together all the time, and somehow we always ended up in bigger groups with kids from a few blocks from our house. My friends and I formed a dance group and wanted to dance to a song by Christina Aguilera and perform at the small plaza down the road where every year the neighborhood gave candy to kids during Christmas time. We decided that it would be great to dance in front of all the kids and their parents when they picked up candy. This event was something all the kids in the neighborhood looked forward to every year. So, we decided to go speak to the person who was in charged of this community activity and luckily we got to perform.

One year, I started selling my own homemade ice cream and my mom and dad helped me get all the necessary things for it like, fruit, milk, the long tiny plastic bags special for that type of ice cream and clear up space in the freezer and got me change to give when it was needed. I had a little box hanging in the living room with all the coins where at one point there was a plant hanging from the ceiling. That was my very first business.

My second attempt of a business was at summer school. In Chile, it was common for kids to go to summer school. Over there is different–you don’t go because you had failed a class, but rather a place you could go when parents were at work. Kids would play, meet new people, and do arts and crafts. I think I went for only one summer just because one of my friends was going and so I wanted to go as well. Upon arriving and familiarizing myself with how things worked and made new friends, I started braiding girl’s hair and charging for it. I was charging probably just cents and I have no idea why or how I started this, I just did and it worked!

I asked my parents not long ago if they knew what I had been up to back then. My mother confessed that she didn’t really remember all I was up to when I was younger, event here in the USA, and that she sort trusted that I would make the right decision and not get myself into trouble. My mother and I are very different and I tend to be involved in many things whereas she is not, but she never really restrained me. Instead, she encouraged me even though she didn’t really understand why I was doing it, but I think her acceptance gave me the tools to be brave and not care too much of people’s opinions and expectations of what my life is supposed to be like.

I think those three things have sort of marked me in a way because it’s three of the only things I really remember sort of vividly from my childhood in Chile.

My childhood in the USA was a little different. When my family and I moved here, I didn’t speak the language, so I didn’t feel as confident to continue my usual activities and initiatives, but it certainly gave me different types of challenges and tools that helped me get where I am today.

I think what we do as children really marks our paths no matter what you end up doing as an adult. You may become afraid of doing some things or living a certain way because as children we decided that we didn’t like that or you did do something and you realized that’s what you really like doing.

Sometimes we choose a career because it’s better for us, but do we enjoy it? I tested so many different jobs and it doesn’t mean that that’s what you have to do, that’s something I had to do because of the type of person I am and what was in my destiny, I guess. I need to do something I truly enjoy and once I feel like I’ve outgrown the job, I need to challenge myself again. But I think it’s critical to understand and really know yourself so that you can follow the right path for you and find joy in what you do even if you are not there yet. Sometimes the path there and your curiosity is what keeps you going and gives you joy.

Those are my thoughts at least! Let me know in the comments what you think about this. Have you found your purpose?

Stay tune for part 2!

With love,

Natalie