It is 11:39pm, May 14th, 2014. I just got back from Zumba (which I haven't done in ages!) and pressed send for a second paper draft. In this moment, I can truly say that although I'm still working on a client project that won't end until late June, building Seeds Studios & DIRTfoundation, and have no idea where I will be living in the Bay come July - it is okay - because I HAVE CROSSED THE FINISH LINE OF GRADDDDD SCHOOOL!!!!

I started this journey of completing my dual-degree with an MBA in Strategy & MS in Human Resources Design after being rejected from the CGU PhD program I had applied to. I remember feeling crushed when it happened, yet hopeful that I had been accepted to the masters programs. In retrospect, it was the biggest blessing in disguise. I took this journey of higher education all because Mrs. Swieck pushed us to think of "working hard while your young, so you can play hard for the rest of your life" and the late Dr. Linda Evans exposed me to the idea of going to graduate school. She instilled the thought that higher education would help you to "do what you got to do, to get what you want to get, to be where you want to be." I, being the child of first-generation immigrants, had started painting a picture of success that meant I had to get my PhD.

I was lucky to have gone to universities that had great mentors and programs. Shari taught me the power of positive psychology. Connie Shears pushed me to do my own research, and my leadership professors at Chapman challenged us to self-reflect, meditate, and think about the legacy we wanted to leave behind when we died. This started the path of more self-discovery, in addition to all the psychological tests I put myself through for fun. However, it wasn't until I got to CGU and switched from the Positive Org Psych program to the MBA program that I learned that no matter how much research you do or how you calculate your estimates, you will never have all the data to be 100% precise in your calculations to back any decision - whether they affect your life, your business, or others. Life is just not like that - life does not have fool-proof right answers. Sometimes, you just got to take what you know and move forward and do! Life is an iterative process, you can try something and change course. You don't need to know everything, as long as you surround yourself with people that are willing to question your decisions and offer their expertise in specialties, you can go forth and be a force.

It wasn't until this year through my MBA classes, coaching, and introspection that I found I am a Doer. I have a natural inclination to do something to make a positive difference everywhere I go. Hence, constant research and studying wasn't always fun because rather than read and then write about what I read, I wanted to just read and APPLY what I've read. It also wasn't until this year that I realized I was too end-goal oriented to enjoy the process and was chasing an end-goal vision of success that, at my core, wasn't me. Had I been accepted into the PhD program, I may have been unhappy not doing what was natural to me. My true vision of success is still being painted with the lifestyle I want to live, and I'm doing my best to rid it of associated labels. However, I do know that I want to continue traveling, learning, creative writing, and making a positive difference no matter what I do or where I go.

I'm grateful for all the growth and the learning this pursuit of higher education has offered me. It wasn't always easy doing two degrees in three years and there was a lot of sacrifice that went into it (financially, socially, and sleep-ly!), but I am so glad I did it. I thank everyone amongst my family & friends that stuck around and still love me despite how much I was a hermit behind my books. I plan to make up for lost time!

My advice to others, if you decide to go to grad school - do it. Not for a label of success, but for the opportunities to surround yourself around like-minded people who will push you to be a better version of yourself, the opportunities to learn more about subjects you're crazy interested in, and the opportunities to stretch yourself and grow.

As for me, it's time to stop being a Student by occupation and start being a life-long learner in the class of Life! La'chaim!

Today is my 24th birthday!   

I want to share the reason for my blog, but before I do let me digress for a second and direct attention to the picture below. 

My mother is 24 years old in it! Look how beautiful +Emilia Roldan is and how small and duckling-looking I am! I can't believe I'm now 24 myself because time has flown by so quickly. I hope to age like my beautiful mom =)


Anyway, one of the goals I had for myself this year was to start a blog. So, as a gift to myself, here it is! But you're probably asking yourself, why should I write a blog and why should you read it? 

Because although I'm 24 years young today, I've gone through quite a bit in my short life that has forced me to grow up quickly and wise up. I learned through life experiences, wise mentors, and positive psychology researchers (some of which I've had the honor to meet and take classes with!) that many people have been living their lives chasing an artificial image of what constitutes the "good life" and ultimate happiness.

The "good life" chase, which is technically termed the Pleasant Life in positive psychology research, is characterized by elaborate spending, hedonism, and the never-ending hunger of wanting more, and it leads one to live a substantially meaningless, cluttered life. This may resonate and sound like common sense to some people, but for others who are so used to chasing the next thing - from the next look, to the next expensive toy, to the the next fling in hopes of the happiness of honeymoon love - this may sound a little disconcerting. No one who cares about the impact they make in their lives voluntarily wants to lead a meaningless, cluttered life, but unless they're willing to move against the current - against popular demand and the voice of mainstream mass media and advertising - they are most likely living the consumerist life prescribed to them by our big business-biased society. It takes constant effort to choose to live the ultimate good life, which positive psychology researchers consider the Meaningful Life.

The Meaningful Life consists of pursuing actions that directly relate to one's well-being, such as actions motivated by personal growth, personal excellence, and contributing to the lives of others. Hence, to contribute to the lives of others, I'm sharing what I know and learn on my own personal journey along my Meaningfully Simple Life. (I added Simple in the title to remind myself to not always feel like I need to complicate my life with more, but rather to have a "simple by design" mindset. Very Zen Buddhist of me, I know.) I share different aspects of my journey from daily living, to juicing, to planning a meaningfully simple wedding.

The idea of starting the blog first came when I was initially planning my wedding, and as I looked online for ideas I realized that the majority of people had bought into the idea that to have a normal wedding you had to either have $25,000 on average to spend or be content with starting a marriage off in debt. I personally didn’t buy into it, and my fiance and I felt as though we'd rather use that money toward our own place. Hence, we set out to throw a wedding celebration together for approximately $5,000. People thought it was impossible, so I wanted to start a blog to illustrate my journey toward the impossible. Also, I wanted to use my blog space to share juicing recipes online, since I'm a big advocate for living a healthy lifestyle and juicing!

If you're interested in the concept of or living a meaningfully simple life, and you'd like to see how a fellow meaningfully simple lifer is doing on her journey feel free to follow and connect.