KNOW. LOVE. INSPIRE.

It all started after a few eye-opening months living Illini-style with my older sister (and best friend) Brooke. I guess I was on the hunt for collecting experiences I had never had before, truly searching to expose myself to different cultures and views - Champaigne, Illinois was my first taste of extended-stay living outside of the "Utah Bubble."

When May rolled around, it was off to the place of my dreams for a color-changing, island experience like no other. I spent the next four months in Maui, Hawaii selling T-shirts, making family out of roommates and getting to know myself a little better.

From the moment I arrived, there was so much to see, so much to experience and accomplish. Life was intriguing, curious and relaxing - well, at least until the cockroaches showed up. I immediately developed my independence, taking risks and trying new things. I parasailed, surfed, jumped off waterfalls, snorkeled near sharks and viewed the sunset and sunrise from the top of a 20,000-foot dormant volcano way above the clouds. Now, I'm not saying I'm a daredevil, but each of my new experiences transformed my personality as I embraced the accepting, easy-going Hawaiian culture.

A life lived on Maui (at least under my circumstances) is not hard. Perhaps that is the reason for my inability to move forward at times. Not a day goes by that I don't reminisce, picturing myself, secluded in my mind, looking off into the ocean, my bare feet hiding in the soft, warm sand. So many of my moments alone were spent contemplating the significance of my very existence, my future and my aspirations. It was in Maui that I truly FOUND myself, LOVED myself and INSPIRED myself to celebrate life. 

An experience like this is impossible to convey to others unless they've experienced it themselves. I can speak of its impact, the excitement of specific journeys and how incredible it all was, but because my experience uniquely influenced the person I've become, it cannot be translated to others who would reach different conclusions from the same encounters.

And so I will leave it at this: 

Take the time to separate yourself from the NOISINESS of the world. Be in your OWN head. Love the life you are faced with and remember that you have control over where you place your significant self. Open your mind to different cultures and points of view. You don't have to embrace them, just know of them. Let your experiences and observations lead you to thoughts of deep contemplation and discovery. KNOW yourself. LOVE yourself, and let your heart be INSPIRED by the people around you. We all have a story to tell. Make your story one that can't be contained inside your heart alone. Share your thoughts and beliefs - we all have something to learn. Don't ever let FEAR hold you back. 

CREATE

My beautiful sister, Brooke, just shared this empowering message with me. I am constantly in need of pick-me-ups and reminders about who I am and where I came from. How quickly I forget. I hope you enjoy this and pass it along. We could all use the reminder that our divine nature and potential gives us the strength to accomplish all that we desire.

I'm Back

I didn't realize how much time had passed since I first attempted to start blogging. Wow. Well, since July 2008, I have been more loyal to my blog Sanchez Thoughts, however, I'm not sure "loyal" is the best word to describe it - I've posted twice.

I wanted to resume my efforts to blog on Chocolate Pukini, because I've had a few issues with our Sanchez Thoughts blog. Mainly, I've been lazy and allowed Matty to manage it and do all the posts, therefore making a name for himself as the blogger in our family (even though posts say "by Matt and Amanda"). When people comment, like our friend Kelly for example, they assume they are having a conversation with Matty because he is the one who posts the most. I started feeling left out and a bit camouflaged by the whole thing and wanted to break away to show my individuality. There really was a lot more to it than that, but to keep personal things personal, let's just say it ended in a very important lesson on marriage.

Without much intended direction for this post, I'm feeling like I can get back in the swing of things to share my own thoughts without confusing Matty's groupies.

More to come.

Isn't it Interesting?

Isn't it interesting how different we are? How easily we can connect with someone and still be so unique? It's funny, really, how life works, how we get to that point where we feel like we finally understand. We finally know ourselves, and yet, somewhere in the process of getting there, we end up right back where we started - unknowing and uncertain of everything. It's interesting, that even in a life filled with achievements and progress, we can feel so insecure and unaccomplished. Life never waits for us to be ready, to get everything right the first time. It's interesting that some lessons are so easy to learn and others take so much time to accept. Change can make a fool out of each of us. We feel content, and then something humbles us, knocks us to the ground. Sometimes, for a while, the ground is all we see. But simply wondering if others have seen it too, doesn't change the ground to blue skies. We have to do that part ourselves. And often, by doing so, we can help others to understand. We call this life. Isn't it interesting?