Breakaway

It's been a while...

I wanted to live LIFE for a bit...

I've seen, I've experienced, I've taken notice...

Now I'm ready to speak up once again...

and finally say...

It's time to breakaway.

Change is a necessity, as well as making a greater path for oneself. I've always wanted to allow others to follow in my footsteps of allowing their hearts to take over, and yet, I myself have experienced that being vulnerable isn't always the best answer.

Strength does come in great numbers, although, it's also reinforced by identifying yourself in the best way you know how. As everything seems so far out of reach, the one thing that will never be out of reach is acceptance, that of your OWN will and ability to be you.

With every year that comes around I'm always aware of what works and what doesn't.

Sometimes, its best to change the path to best fit a simplistic way of life.

I no longer have the need to fight for myself as I once did.

When broken 'Pieces' stay broken

When something materialistic breaks, very rarely can you put it back together, 

even if you try your hardest.

Once something breaks on the inside, for some reason that's the hardest to deal with, 

especially putting yourself first and starting the mending process.

What I've learned to accept is this:

Some relationships, opportunities and ties are meant to break to teach you that you can still live and learn to get stronger even though remnants of those broken pieces will exist.
In reality they were meant to break,
 and that's O.K.

Accepting the reality is half the battle, understanding what life will be like with that broken piece is what can and will take time to make LIFE have its full meaning.
Agreeing with the unknown can be jolting because there's no secure way of making sure that you'll be in good hands and in good spirits.

Ultimately it's up to you to go through a good and/or bad day, and I can testify and say that if you decide that your heart is set to have a couple bad days, its normal and its OK, just allow breathing room and space for there will be much to sort out.

If it wasn't for those broken pieces inside me (there are very few), I don't know what mindset I would've been in especially with how today's world works. I've seen them as tears that have become sharp pieces of glass never to be handled ever again. I can appreciate them from afar, almost like looking back at old pictures, and just like old pictures, they fade with time.

Make It Count

Every now and then I'll be laying down waiting to catch a drift of sleep when I remind myself of wanting to look for inspirational quotes that resonate with what I'm going through at the time or what I've already gone through with my past experiences.

Recently I came upon a quote from one of my favorite English novelists, Charles Dickens, and it read the following:

It really struck a chord with me. In my younger years, this was definitely not the way I lived life. I always wanted to be right and always felt the world was out to get me, therefore I needed a solution  for everything I was going through. It wasn't until I was in my late 20's that I was able to slow down and take time to appreciate what the world had to offer, instead of seeing it as a ticking time bomb. 

Is it easy to say that we won't take matters into our own hands especially feeling like we need retribution against someone who made us feel worthless???

Is it easy to say that we won't blow up on the people we love the most because we can???

Is it easy to say that we won't ever say things that hurt others so deeply that we will feel good about it and not regret a single word, as words can touch also???

I'll say this, we ALL have choices and with those choices, we make our own surroundings and continue to realize what life has in store for us. It's EXTREMELY easy to take matters into our hands and make ourselves feel better no matter any circumstance. Yet, what makes it O.K. to continue such a destructive pattern?!

In all honesty, there's nothing wrong with finding a clear path for yourself, as long as you do it without hurting others, plain and simple. 

Should someone hurt you, don't let them harden your heart, if anything, guard your heart and protect it that much more. Should someone make you flare off your temper, remember that they might be having an even harder day and they're reflecting it off on you. Should someone want to make you come down to their level and make you want to do the unimaginable, reflect that what isn't in your nature isn't you, you don't have that harmful touch. 

Remain selfless, true and expect there to be all kinds of life forms out in the world, yet at the end of the day, there will only be ONE of you, make it count.

 

We Still Made It

Ever look at a situation you've been working on and you want it to prosper in it's own way yet you just seem to be stuck??

When it comes down to it, you have two options...

Keep making a breakthrough or end it...

What will it be??

Choices are based on us ALONE....no one else. You can point a finger, yet, it's not going to make anything better. Either way, it's time to OWN it and accept the actions that are to come. 

Making a breakthrough will build resistance, will make you look at your character and allow you to see what others see from their perspective, and it will become one of the greatest tasks you've EVER endured.

Ending it will cause reflection, resentment, and questioning of your own mind and will make you go crazy IF you decide you made the wrong choice. 

ONE thing both of these CHOICES have in common is that whatever path YOU decide to go in, be PROUD that you came this far! You and the person involved made it this far, you chose strength and confidence to continue to move on with or without eachother.

Failure belongs nowhere near the human heart and it for sure doesn't belong where CHOICE is involved. 

LIFE is full of them...you will make the BEST CHOICE for YOU and those around you...until then, know and be proud to say,

"We still made it!"

Color outside the Lines...Look Outside the Box

When following rules, we must abide to only color inside the lines, for it's customary not to go outside those lines or even go outside of your daily box.

For years what I thought to be the right thing to do, the right way to see the world, the right way to experience LIFE only made it lack an ingredient, nothing was shining. 

There are and will ALWAYS be two sides to everyone's story:

-->Staying inside the box

or

Going outside the box<--

 

I played inside the box, and my heart wanted to burst and communicate to the world that there was something else out there. There was nothing more suffocating than to be confined and be labeled someone you're simply not. So I started adding a bit of color and started looking outside the confinement of choice.

I say 'confinement of choice' because I CHOSE, I was old to enough to know what my world would be like. Adding color seemed to help, it added an extra push of development. Then I took color to a whole different level...I ran with it and made it into something I didn't know could even exist.

 

I made my own shade.

 

 

I colored outside the lines and I began to add texture. Now that I've done so, I can't go back to exploring inside the box and stay inside the lines. I was afraid yes, yet the shade of fear isn't for everyone, especially not me. 

 

Staying inside the box taught me discipline and benevolence...

and going outside the box taught me desire and creativity...

4 aspects I never would've learned had I not challenged myself to 

color outside the lines and look outside the box.

Beauty Starts with US #BLQBeauty

Beauty Starts with US

Having started my career 14 years ago there's so much I've learned along the way, yet only ONE aspect has remained very clear to me:

Beauty starts with US as individuals.

We choose what we want to look like especially when it comes to showcasing ourselves to the world. With the help of hairstylists, make-up artists, estheticians and manicurists to guide us through the path we have desired, they help us create and manifest the image and persona we want to become.

The whole idea of becoming our own image is so we are able to experience different areas of our personalities that we've haven't gotten to explore just yet. 

Some of us now would never have imagined ourselves looking the way we do though because we've been assured and have trusted our beauty advisors that we would look great, we're exposing some of our best images and angles to everyone who encounters us today.

I've always said to my clients that it's a 50/50 partnership when looking in the mirror and loving the new and improved 'YOU'. We were both able to achieve it together.

The inside is what makes US whole, 

and together, 

we can reach the beauty that starts with US.

Fearless Beauty #BLQBeauty

The next few blogs will be featuring an intimate and personal account as to what BEAUTY means to each individual.

We start with BLQ's Assistant and her account on Beauty:

 

Fearless Beauty

Love the imperfections that make me unique,
Such an easy concept to understand, yet so elusive,

So typical to take dozens of pictures,
In hopes of finding perfect lighting with the right angle,

All just to appear flawless,
No Scars, dark circles, big pores, redness, uneven skin tone, or wrinkles,
 
What am I scared of?

Letting my guard down can be one of the scariest things, yet so empowering.
Seeing who I really am,

Loving myself for every version of me:
Whether it's no make up and in sweats, full glam, or somewhere in between.

It's so easy to get carried away with makeup, filters, 
Or anything not to let people see flaws,

Just have to remember not to forget who I am. 

By :Ilda Gutierrez