TORONTO GIRL CHRONICLES

Last night Kathryn Bigelow became the first ever woman to pick up the coveted Best Director Oscar for The Hurt Locker. I haven't had a chance to check that movie out, but now I have to.
Congratulations!!!

So my Monday notes are supposed to be a bit of a pep-talk to get you all inspired into kicking some ass this week. Here's my confession, they are more of a pep-talk to myself as well. Because the truth is, whether you are at the beginning of your journey or towards the middle or towards the end, it is never easy pursing what you love. Yes, you do it out of love, which is what keeps you going, but also because of this you put everything on the line. You work long hours, you study hard, you sacrifice sleep, family time, you name it. You know what you want so you go and get it.

Well, today happens to be Women's Day, and I would like to acknowledge all the women that have given me pep-talks before, and the women that have led by examples.  These have taught me about kindness, perseverance, hard work and  pusuing your dreams. We all have women in our lifes that have accomplished something that has inspired us, whether they raised 5 kids, or got a Phd,  so go out there and celebrate these great great women! and in the process celebrate yourself, yes you. You great woman you.

xoxo

Toronto Girl

P.S - Who inspires you? what inspires you about them? What makes a woman a great woman?

Its days like this when I want to throw in the towel and call it a day. I feel like I've had to sacrifice too much, and its going to be years before I see results, and well, what do you do when you want it all now?
All these efforts and no results... but then I found an old e-mail, from my dance director, when she let me know I had made her dance team. I remembered the joy I felt, and I remembered all the great things I accomplished (personal accomplishments) while I was part of the team. But I also remembered the sacrifices I had to make. Before the audition (months before) I started training, working out in the morning, taking dance lessons everyday, I took ballet (ok, one class, but I can say I took ballet) and afro cuban classes, and I went out and danced, just to practice. I gave up sugar, and I drank tons of water. It was months before I had another slice of pizza. Sure, these don't sound like great sacrifies, but at the time they were. I really wanted to dance. So I went all the way. In the end, I got what I wanted and it felt so good.
So maybe this is one of those days, you know, one of those days that I am really craving pizza and one of those days that I don't want to work out. What can do I do? what do I want? What's the big picture? Its so big that sometimes I lose sight.  The most frustrating thing is that its just the beginning. Maybe one day today's sacrifices will seems like nothing, although at this time they do.  So what will I do?  Go all the way I guess, keep on running, keep on training, because if you are persistant, there will come a day when you will get what you want and it will feel so good.

x0x0

Toronto Girl

My friend sent me this e-mail. I found it inspiring. I hope it inspires you too.
Happy Monday, Go out there and kick some ass!!!

An Excerpt from The Achemist: The Introduction

Whenever we do something that fills us with enthusiasm, we are following our legend. However, we don’t all have the courage to confront our own dream.

Why?

There are four obstacles. First: we are told from childhood onward that everything we want to do is impossible. We grow up with this idea, and as the years accumulate, so too do the layers of prejudice, fear, and guilt. There comes a time when our personal calling is so deeply buried in our soul as to be invisible. But it’s still there.

If we have the courage to disinter dream, we are then faced by the second obstacle: love. We know what we want to do, but are afraid of hurting those around us by abandoning everything in order to pursue our dream. We do not realize that love is just a further impetus, not something that will prevent us going forward. We do not realize that those who genuinely wish us well want us to be happy and are prepared to accompany us on that journey.

Once we have accepted that love is a stimulus, we come up against the third obstacle: fear of the defeats we will meet on the path. We who fight for our dream suffer far more when it doesn’t work out, because we cannot fall back on the old excuse: “Oh, well, I didn’t really want it anyway.” We do want it and know that we have staked everything on it and that the path of the personal calling is no easier than any other path, except that our whole heart is in this journey. Then, we warriors of light must be prepared to have patience in difficult times and to know that the Universe is conspiring in our favor, even though we may not understand how.


Paulo Coelho - The Alchemist
November 2002

P.S - This book is next on my list. I was told it would change my life...

I personally have never understood why being single is such a bad thing. Mind you, I'm twenty-five, I have two jobs, go to school, have a lovely family and friends and a list of extra-curriculars that keeps me fairly busy. I guess I've never had a chance to ponder on being single . However, I've always made it mandatory for me to spend quality alone time. Yes, I've been to the movies by myself, dinned alone, shopped alone, gone to a concert alone, attended a summer festival alone, even travelled alone. I had so much fun doing it, sometimes I think it will be hard sharing these things with someone else.
I think spending quality time with yourself is so important. Its so empowering to know that you don't need anyone to be happy and that you can make yourself happy. Getting to know yourself can be fascinating and sometimes you just need to be alone with your thoughts.

I found this lovely little blog post on dinning alone. I know exactly what Ellie (the author) means.