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Angela Hamilton

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writing & inspiration

We can do better than just getting by

June 10, 2016 by Angela

if you are a subscriber to #yearonpaper you might’ve seen what inspired me to write this post today. earlier on in the year, there was a moment when i felt i was just getting by, in every sense of the word. actually, lots of moments. i was pretty busy working so i felt like i was certainly getting by, but mentally i, as i wrote, wasn’t thriving. there wasn’t much making me feel just excited or passionate. there wasn’t anything driving me to get outside of my comfort zone. there i was, just getting by.

so i wrote the line in the title of this post. i honestly just felt kind of bad that i was in such a rut because for one, it lasted forever and i do feel like i’m still working on it (major), and two, i know there are so many things to be excited about or at least propelled by in life, that it seemed unfair to myself and everyone else that i wasn’t out there trying.

heavy stuff. so my #yearonpaper assignment to myself after reading this was to reflect on the last few months and think about all the little victories. after doing this, i came across something i hadn’t noticed in awhile… lots of little victories! and even some big ones.

over the last few months i decided to throw myself into both my work—that’s two major jobs plus a lot of part time things like the blog market—and the project i’ve been working on. plus, i copied my friend janell when she wrote about all the little things she’s been doing (have i referenced this yet? i feel like i almost have a million times) just around her house and in her life—lots of little things like spring cleaning and getting healthier that have led to changes.

i started a cleaning list of my own and ended up scouting out some new recycled goodies for my home, started collaborating with a couple artists on some pieces to make my home happier, decorated my office, and lots more little, TINY things. there was a week where i exercised each day for five days straight which embarrassingly had not been done since college and i can’t begin to explain how much better i felt afterward (and since have been trying to recreate it).

print by ps lettering shop.

just like my running…which is awkward and far too public on the busy streets near my place, and includes lots of walking and stopping to literally smell the roses and quite audibly sigh at the brightness of the bougainvillea, i feel like these past few months have been filled with hiccups and brief pauses but more importantly, always, continued progress. i can feel myself more actively making an effort than i have in awhile in most facets of my life (read: most… i’ll get there). i am rounding the corner to last august when i felt things started to go really wrong for no particular reason at all just everything at once, and it’s taken time to not just get back—it’s not about getting back because there was not really a space mentally i wanted to get back to—but move forward.

today, look back on something you wrote or thought six months ago. have you changed, have you moved on from that? how? have you felt yourself just getting by and how did you—if you did—rise above it?

Filed Under: writing & inspiration, year on paper

#yearonpaper | 06: “just be yourself”

May 5, 2016 by Angela

as you might’ve seen, i have a backlog of posts i want to share, including #yearonpaper entries. but i got stuck on where to go next, so i sort of avoided my journal for awhile. in forcing this entry, i landed on this phrase: be yourself. i realized that in very tiny ways, i haven’t been myself in a lot of instances lately. also, that i, in actuality, do in fact want to be myself. woah!

just be yourself
my mixed feelings on los angeles continue for this reason.

[Read more…] about #yearonpaper | 06: “just be yourself”

Filed Under: writing & inspiration, year on paper Tagged With: #yearonpaper, journal

#yearonpaper | 05: solitude

March 9, 2016 by Angela

Processed with VSCOcam with f1 preset

night hikes are a big thing in los angeles and i’m not really for wandering the canyons in the dark but we went out one evening in a we-haven’t-exercised-today kinda moment and as it turns out it takes a lot longer than a sunset to wind your way back through a canyon. very worth it though with the city twinkling in the backdrop, the glow of the sun which never fully disappears beyond the horizon, and wildflowers all sprung up because southern california wastes no time when it comes to springing into the warmer months. i thought these iphone photos would be perfect to illustrate my latest journal entry on solitude. thoughts and prompts in the post! [Read more…] about #yearonpaper | 05: solitude

Filed Under: adventures, writing & inspiration, year on paper

#yearonpaper | 04: positivity

February 15, 2016 by Angela

last week i wanted to experiment with my camera a bit and not wanting my notebooks and office goodies to be the subject of yet another impromptu photo shoot that i’d later lay on a splattering of blog and social media posts as if they were stock photos, i opted to do the same things with my plants. charity + i went to the DTLA flower market right after this little shoot. afterward, i had bouquets mixed in with these succulents and my little, partially munched on fern that was almost kitty lunch (thankfully not toxic). then came valentine’s day, when kevin stopped by the farmers market and picked out a couple spring bouquets that replaced all my dying market bits. i know having flowers is sometimes silly. if they’re not in the ground they certainly don’t last long, even shorter when i’m tending to them. but they sure do brighten up the place. we’ll call these little ones the survivors. even the fern. i’ve had them all month now (big feat, right?) and they persevere. and even though market flowers don’t stay in my life long,  having a brighter, lighter space with them makes all the difference.  [Read more…] about #yearonpaper | 04: positivity

Filed Under: writing & inspiration, year on paper Tagged With: #yearonpaper, journal, positive thinking

#yearonpaper | 03: big ideas

February 1, 2016 by Angela

i’m suffering through monday right now. it’s cold and windy and my to-do is mostly the anxiety inducing stuff i put off last month (making calls, health insurance, dealing with apartment maintenance people. basic adulting, ya know? i don’t like it, I DON’T!) so i’m avoiding it a little longer with today’s journal entry, about big ideas. the kind that take hold and motivate, and maybe even change things. when you basically have a thought like, “the world needs ___”, and just as quickly realize YOU can provide it. i had an idea like that recently, so i dedicated a few pages to working it out and giving it the time it deserved, whether or not i go for it in the end (though all signs say yes).  [Read more…] about #yearonpaper | 03: big ideas

Filed Under: writing & inspiration Tagged With: #yearonpaper, big ideas, journal, journaling

#yearonpaper | 02: New spaces

January 21, 2016 by Angela

hope you got a chance to join me in journaling in 2016! last week i posted my first entry, on the topic of following your curiosity. if you want to receive those entries, prompts, and inspiration in an email each week (give or take), you can use the cute signup form below that jennifer of earl grey creative whipped up for me. she also wrote this great post on the blog market yesterday on finding the perfect workspace outside your home, which inspired me to make spaces the theme for today.

[Read more…] about #yearonpaper | 02: New spaces

Filed Under: writing & inspiration Tagged With: #yearonpaper, journal

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