Authentic Transformations
Hi my name is Helen… and I’m an interior designer. I’ve been one practically my entire life. Only recently though has it become a profession but it’s always been a love. I am also in the midst of a transformation. Going from New York City public school teacher to starting my own business in interior and furniture design has proven to be quite a journey but I’m learning lots of valuable lessons along the way. Telling people my story has been helpful but it’s also quite new for me because I’ve always been more of the listen and soak it in type rather than the let it all out for all to see and hear kind of gal. Let’s just say I’ve never been described as being an open book, yet here I am writing my thoughts and ideas for the world to see.
This is my first blog post. My goal is for each post to be about or somehow connected to interior design; but through my unique eyes, my life, my experiences, my journey, and most importantly sharing information about the people, places and things that inspire me.
I recently attended the mega conference BlogHer15: Experts Among Us, which was here in New York City. It was truly an amazing experience especially for a social media newbie like me. Talk about inspiring!
BlogHer15: Experts Among Us Keynote speakers included award-winning director of Selma, Ava DuVernay, Academy Award-winning actress and Founder of goop, Inc., Gwyneth Paltrow, model and founder of Every Mother Counts, Christy Turlington Burns and #BlackLivesMatter Co-founders Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi.
I left the conference each night on a high amazed at the passion and authenticity behind these female bloggers around me and their individual stories that come together through social media to affect change in the world as well as improve and inspire us all. Here are the three major lessons I took away from the conference…
1. Be Authentic: Authentic people are the ones who are passionate about what they do and have a want and need to share that passion with others. Through their sharing they inspire us all to seek our own passions or move us to want to join theirs. I learned that whatever I speak and write about must come from the heart and be authentically me.
2. The Importance and Influence of Social Media: I’ve always known social media was the way to share and connect with the world, but I’ve personally always been more of a voyeur. Yep, that was me… keeping my life private while reading and enjoying everyone else’s posts. Now, especially since starting my own business, I know my “peeping Tom” days are over. I need to share my life, my journey and experiences, along with my thoughts and ideas with the world too. I’m ready to dive in head first into the deep end and once I push the post button to release this blog into the world, I’m going to pop back up out of the water and start swimming. I’ve realized that I was on the sidelines, off in a closed off world I labeled PRIVATE. As of now, I am PUBLIC for all to see.
3. Connecting With People is Key: Whether it’s face to face or through the Internet, life is about the people we meet and the relationships we develop, maintain and nurture. Forming relationships with people both personally and professionally is of the utmost importance to living a successful and authentic life.
Now, you might be wondering isn’t this blog supposed to be about interior design? Yes it is and here’s the link… When designing your home it is important for your space to reflect and show who you are, where you’ve been (whether it’s around the world or to the local flea market), and showcase the things you love. Those are the questions I ask when getting to know a client and it’s important to ask those questions of yourself when designing your own home. I think reflecting on the answers to those questions (Who am I, Where have I been, What are the things I love?), ultimately can help us all figure out who we are authentically; and if we are not sure of the answers, know that life is about change and growth, it's a process. A transformation can happen at any time either within ourselves or in our personal living spaces.
I want to end this, my first of hopefully many blogs, with something that has inspired me tremendously this year. It’s a book I found in my apartment building’s lobby one evening. Someone was giving away a pile of books and I chose this one… A YEAR WITH RUMI: Daily Readings by Coleman Barks. I’m generally not into poetry (meaning you won't usually find me quoting poems or going to spoken word events at the local cafe), but I was drawn to this book and decided to keep it. I opened to October 4, the day I found the book in my lobby, and read the poem. It spoke to me at my core so clearly that it was kind of a scary but amazing feeling. Everyday since that first day, most of the poems have touched me just as deeply and is usually connected to exactly how I am feeling at that moment. I thought it fitting to prove that fact by sharing today’s poem…
I swear I didn't plan the idea for this blog post to coincide with the date of this poem! I make it a point to never read ahead in this poetry book so that each and every morning I can be surprised at how clearly this book speaks to me and my spirit (not to sound all Oprah like but...really!) This is the perfect poem for anyone seeking to find their passion or authentic self, which really, isn't that everyone at some point in our lives?
Please like, share, subscribe to, or comment on my blog. And check me out on all the links below (Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, etc...). Don't forget I'm a social media newbie! I literally just started all of them this week so don't judge me on my lack of followers. Everyone has to start off somewhere and I'm starting from right here.
