December 2010
31 posts
My first official blog on leadership on... →
#reverb10 post 30: The Gift
Prompt: Gift. This month, gifts and gift-giving can seem inescapable. What’s the most memorable gift, tangible or emotional, you received this year?
I love any kind of gift. No matter what it is, it is just nice that someone remembered you and kept you in mind.
It’s tough to pick one gift. I’m very fortunate and receive many great things from my family and friends.
One thing...
#reverb10 post 29: Defining Moment
Prompt: Defining moment. Describe a defining moment or series of events that has affected your life this year.
My defining moment of the year came kind of late in the year. Maybe i’ve already even written about it. Who knows.
I started working at Roswell Park Cancer Institute on November 8. It hasn’t taken too long for me to feel at home and happy with my fellow coworkers. ...
#reverb10 post 28: Achievement
Prompt: Achieve. What’s the thing you most want to achieve next year? How do you imagine you’ll feel when you get it? Free? Happy? Complete? Blissful? Write that feeling down. Then, brainstorm 10 things you can do, or 10 new thoughts you can think, in order to experience that feeling today.
Ive really been blessed with great achievements, friends and opportunities this year, so I’m not...
#reverb10 post 27: Ordinary Joy
Prompt: Ordinary joy. Our most profound joy is often experienced during ordinary moments. What was one of your most joyful ordinary moments this year?
Anytime I can get a few hours to myself and open a book that I’m really into, I experience ordinary joy. it is quiet and my mind goes elsewhere and stops running. it’s hard to find a really good book that you can get lost in. So...
#reverb10 post 26: Soul Food
Prompt: Soul food. What did you eat this year that you will never forget? What went into your mouth & touched your soul?
Ooh this is tough. I LOVE food. All kinds of food. I’ve had so many good meals this year it is so hard to decide. From lobster dinners in Nantucket, to the best sauce I ever had at wolfgang puck’s restaurant at the venitian, to my grandma’s apple pie and...
#reverb10 post 25: Picture Yourself
Prompt: Photo - a present to yourself. Sift through all the photos of you from the past year. Choose one that best captures you; either who you are, or who you strive to be. Find the shot of you that is worth a thousand words. Share the image, who shot it, where, and what it best reveals about you.
This was a tough post. Going through all the photos of the past year, it is hard to not...
#reverb10 post 24: Everything's OK
Prompt: Everything’s OK. What was the best moment that could serve as proof that everything is going to be alright? And how will you incorporate that discovery into the year ahead?
I am a perpetual worrier. I may appear as cool, calm and collected, but I’m always thinking, my mind going 1000 miles an hour. Did I make the right decision? What if I was wrong? What if this is the...
#reverb10 post 23: Naming rights
Prompt: New name. Let’s meet again, for the first time. If you could introduce yourself to strangers by another name for just one day, what would it be and why?
I’ve always wanted to be a Charlotte. My grandmother’s name was Charlotte and she was a very mystical person. I’ve always wanted to know more about her. From what I do know she loved theater, fine food and...
#reverb10 post 22: Travel Plans
Prompt: Travel. How did you travel in 2010? How and/or where would you like to travel next year?
Travelling in 2010 was pretty awesome. I got to go to a place I had always wanted to visit and loved it. I also fulfilled a goal by being able to rent a house in a place that I have always loved.
In March I went back to Riviera Maya Mexico, which I had gone to the year before. It was beautiful as...
#reverb10 post 21: Future Self
Prompt: Future self. Imagine yourself five years from now. What advice would you give your current self for the year ahead? (Bonus: Write a note to yourself 10 years ago. What would you tell your younger self?)
As a child, I constantly daydreamed, imagining my future life. I would marry the stars on the covers of Bop, become a pop star like Mariah Carey, wear beautiful gowns and model for the...
#reverb10 post 20: Beyond Avoidance
Prompt: Beyond avoidance. What should you have done this year but didn’t because you were too scared, worried, unsure, busy or otherwise deterred from doing? (Bonus: Will you do it?) hahahah oh if i could really write the true version of this post I would love to do it, but I won’t….alll I’ll say is it has to do with the opposite sex.
anywho.
I pretty much don’t...
#reverb10 post 19: Healing
Prompt: Healing. What healed you this year? Was it sudden, or a drip-by-drip evolution? How would you like to be healed in 2011?
Healing is difficult. I think I am a long way off before I’m truly healed as a person. But I also believe that our whole being is never truly healed. There are always things we carry with us, but as we get older we just find more constructive ways to deal with...
#reverb10 post 18: Try it!
Prompt: Try. What do you want to try next year? Is there something you wanted to try in 2010? What happened when you did / didn’t go for it?
Every year I promise myself I am going to try skiing/snowboarding. I’ve been putting it off for too long. January, I promise I’m doing it! Even though I’m scared out of my mind.
#reverb10 post 17: Learnin me
Prompt: Lesson learned. What was the best thing you learned about yourself this past year? And how will you apply that lesson going forward?
The last few months of the year I went through a lot of changes in my life. Some self-induced, some not so much. Some were happy changes, some sad and most, necessary.
During this time of change in my life which included moving into a new apt, starting a...
#reverb10 post 16: Friendship
Prompt: Friendship. How has a friend changed you or your perspective on the world this year? Was this change gradual, or a sudden burst? A lot of times in my life, I have felt lonely. It’s the burden of being an only child. You are independent, your parents don’t need you that much, you occupy yourself. I’ve done a lot of things alone in my life and have no problem with that....
#reverb10 post 15: Memory Loss
Prompt: 5 minutes. Imagine you will completely lose your memory of 2010 in five minutes. Set an alarm for five minutes and capture the things you most want to remember about 2010. The Haiti Earthquake: Although a dismal memory, I never want to forget the images and pain and helplessness I felt while watching the Haiti earthquake coverage. It made me realize how truly lucky I am and that while...
#reverb10 post 14: Appreciate.
Prompt: Appreciate. What’s the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year? How do you express gratitude for it?
I’ve come to appreciate the path of life. Everything truly does happen for a reason. I am so grateful for the place I am in my career at this moment. And I know it will only get better. I know this only happened because of the sometimes difficult times I had...
#reverb10 post 13: Action, Action, We Want Action
Prompt: Action. When it comes to aspirations, its not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen. What’s your next step?
I’m an extremely impatient person. I think I get it from my mom. Either way, I don’t like waiting around for things to happen. Especially in the past few years. If I want to go on a vacation, I plan it. If I want to make a purchase, I do it. If a...
#reverb10 post 12: The Body Politik
Prompt: Body integration. This year, when did you feel the most integrated with your body? Did you have a moment where there wasn’t mind and body, but simply a cohesive YOU, alive and present?
This wasn’t exactly an existential experience, but it certainly was a shock to the system. I’d have to say the part where i felt my mind and body go numb, was experiencing the...
#reverb10 post 11: Eliminate
Prompt: 11 Things. What are 11 things your life doesn’t need in 2011? How will you go about eliminating them? How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life?
These just keep getting more difficult, no?
11 things I don’t need…hmm…5 might be easier…
I’m a person that hangs onto a LOT in my life. I have a hard time throwing stuff out. I’m not a...
#reverb10 post 10: Wisdom
Prompt: Wisdom. What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out?
I feel that every year, day, second I am alive I become wiser. I have learned some slick lessons in the past few years, but I have become better for them. Sticking things out really brings out who you are as a person, and demonstrates to the world that you, too, have a soul.
Probably the wisest decision I...
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#reverb10 post 9: Party Animal
Prompt: Party. What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans.
I gotta say, I really enjoy planning parties and 2009 had some crazy ass parties in vip areas, people puking outside of my doorway, etc. etc.
2010 there were some good ones. But the best? That is a toughie. The best is maybe yet to come lol.
I just had to take...
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#reverb10 post 8: A Different View
Prompt: Beautifully different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different - you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful.
I’m always ashamed to admit that I don’t find myself physically beautiful. And in the grand scheme of things, that is not what really matters. But I do wish I had the...
#reverb post 7: Finding Community
Prompt: Community. Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011?
This one is easy. The place I have found community…and on two levels is through the powerhouse of Twitter. I have found a social media/pr international community through Twitter where we share ideas and news of our media...
#Reverb10 Post 5: Make Yourself
Prompt: Make. What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it?
Make something. Hmm. Well honestly, the last things I’ve made this half an hour have been blog posts. I consider anything I write, crappy or not, to be a product of time and effort. Sure, it’s not something you can physically hold,...
#Reverb10 Post 5: Letting Go
Prompt: Let Go. What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why?
Honestly, there are a few people I have let go in my life this year. Some completely, some in a different way…
But I don’t want to talk about that. I’m honestly not ready to.
So I’m going to talk about something else I let go of that was really dear to me.
It may be annoying or sound shallow, but I...
#reverb10 post 4: Wonder
Prompt: Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year?
This is a tough one.
As you get older, wonder becomes more and more difficult to grasp. Earthly practicality is the norm. Planning and schedules and chores take over daily life. There is little time left for wonderment or chance. There is usually only the here and now and doing what needs to be done in order to keep...
#reverb10 post 3: moment of feeling alive
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#reverb10 post 3: moment of feeling alive
Prompt: Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors).
They say dance clubs play music so loud because the bass activates dopamine sensors in your brain, allowing for that feel-good high feeling. Even though going to concerts can be a chore, one of the...
#reverb10 post 2: writing, why not?
December 2 – Writing. What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it?
Everyday I struggle with this. Growing up, I discovered that the only thing I was partially proficient in was writing. And I love it. And I had planned to become a novelist or reporter when I became a ‘grown up’.
Now I’m ‘grown up’ and things...
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#Reverb10 Post 1: One Word, Change
My friends were tweeting about the #reverb10 business. I thought it was another useless marketing conference (there are OH SO many, who knows which ones are even worthwhile anymore!). I took a look at one of the links. It’s brilliant. Every day this month they will give you a blog prompt that directs you to write about one thing in reflection of your life over the past year. Love it. I...
