My top priorities are being a wife to Kevin and a mom to Maggie — jobs I adore and take very seriously. I also work full-time as the Marketing & Communications Manager for an after school enrichment company, AlphaBEST Education, and am lucky to do meaningful work that’s helping students around the country have exposure to quality care and curriculum.
But I also do lots of other things. “Extra” things.
Sometimes, I question why I commit to so many additional activities. After all, working 40 hours a week plus being a wife and mom is certainly enough to keep one person busy! But I’m a multi-tasker at heart, and do better when I’m busy. Plus, these extra commitments really help to round out my life, too, and help to define who I am.
Because these “extras” take me away from time with Kevin and Maggie, I wanted to take a moment to dig into why I participate in each of them. I started this as an exercise for myself, but then thought I’d turn it into a post. (Because, why not?) So here goes:
- Pure Barre Teacher. Being a Pure Barre teacher is one of my greatest joys. I love this role for so many reasons, it’s hard to know where to start! I love the energy I get from teaching class to our amazing clients. I love that teaching a Pure Barre class requires that I focus my brain completely and totally on just one thing for a full 50 minutes — something that’s hard for me to do the rest of the time. Memorizing choreography is a fun challenge, too. Perhaps the best part, though? Getting to teach alongside a group of amazing women, who inspire and encourage me constantly. Yep — doing this (even when it takes me away from my family) is most definitely worth it.
- Blogger. I started my blog nearly six years ago (!!!) with the aim to always make it something I enjoyed. I didn’t want it to be yet another thing I HAD to do, or something hanging over my head. I wanted it to be an outlet for me to share my life with others and document it for myself, as well as process certain topics and events. Though I’ve gone through stages where I’ve beaten myself up for not taking the steps to really grow my blog into something bigger, for the most part I’ve been able to remain true to this original goal: to make this a place of inspiration for me rather than obligation. (And I’m so thankful to those of you who are faithful readers. It’s so fun hearing from y’all and connecting with you, both virtually and IRL.)
- Freelance Writer. My educational background (both undergrad and graduate) is in journalism, although these days I work in marketing. Freelance writing has given me the opportunity to keep those journalistic “muscles” nice and strong, despite not working in the field full time. One of the things I love most about journalism is that it keeps me curious. I get to talk to people I wouldn’t otherwise talk to about things we wouldn’t otherwise talk about. I’m so grateful I still get to incorporate this role into my life!
- Beautycounter Consultant. Now this is a role I NEVER thought I’d add to the mix. I was really nervous to embark on this venture when I started it earlier this year, but it’s turned out to be so incredibly rewarding. I became a consultant because Beautycounter is a brand I fell in love with, and the idea of spreading the word about this skincare and make-up brand to other women was really appealing. Since starting this business, I’ve had the pleasure of sharing this wonderful brand with friends and making new friends in the process. Plus, after working for a few months to get things up and running, now I’m making a profit each month that I can put toward things like childcare for Maggie and student loan debt. Yay!
P.S. I’m able to do ALL of these things in large part because I have such a wonderful partner in Kevin. He’s so supportive of all these “extras” I have going on, and does what he can to make sure I can keep doing them. He’s pretty amazing, y’all.
