Hardships & Beautiful Moments: Turning 29

“Live your life and forget your age”

That is exactly what I plan to do, live my life and forget my age. Forever I will be 22 + (whatever number added to equal my real age) aka this year I am 22 + 7 :). I turned 29 today.

Each year I learn something different, I set different goals and I want to succeed at different things. This article I wanted to write for a while but I wasn’t exactly sure what to say….because sometimes I have a lot to say all the time and other times the words to not come out.

The age of 28 was very much a high and low year and four days before my 29 birthday I found myself up late working, exhaustion consuming my brain and the song “Warrior” by Hannah Kerr came onto my Spotify (I am a junkie for good music) and I found tears streaming down my face and then the ugly cry came. Even the puppy next to me trying to love on me, couldn’t help the tears from continuing to fall. I thought back to my week, there were so many ‘highs’, why was I feeling this way? What triggered it? Well it was the self-doubt that creeped up. Ugh, don’t you it? So I decided what better way to explain my year and what I learned was to write during a time of emotion.

28 was an extremely interesting year for me to say the least. I fought hard to become the woman I am today (don’t worry I still hate wearing makeup, only like heels/tennis shoes and my house/inbox/calendar are still not organized) but I am more ‘me’ than ever. But to get to where I am now, I had to go through some stuff….

• I lost some amazing friends due to changes in life. As as you get older things change. Change is good but also so dang hard! I resented a few folks and found myself extremely salty, thinking about how much fun we had over the years and how we were there for each other and it was poof gone with change like our friendship never matter. I grieved and moved forward.
• I had my first anxiety attacked since 2012. I had my first attack in 2012, 6 years ago and this was my first time having one since then. Over what? A woman of power completely shattering my confidence. I know there are still women out there that aren’t empowering…but thats a story for a different day because WE are working on changing that!
• I cried over a boy (okay fine two..ugh).
• I had some struggles with stress. It was the type of stress where you think you are ‘fine’ but your body and those closest to you feel very different. I definitely had to refocus this.
• I had to refocus my workouts: I tried the macro counting, honestly wasn’t a good experience. I couldn’t get my rhythm down and fought many injuries this year. I had to refocused to make a change (still scared of crossfit ha, but that is a 2019 goal – if you listen to my podcast you will understand!)
• I shed a lot of emotions that I didn’t think I would experience. I let myself feel pain, happiness, sadness and everything under the sun. I was so good for so long at letting it all hold me back. Now I shed it all.
• After more than seven years at the same corporation, I left. I have been pretty quiet about this experience because explaining it without being judged was something I didn’t want nor was I ready to share this story with the world just yet. But I will tell you, there was moments of fear, happiness, excitement and nerves. You never know what to feel with an experience you never had before.

So why did I start out with all the sad parts, the craziness and the nerves of life? Because I wanted to be real with you all. I am authentic in everything I do and want to be realistic that sometimes life goes WAY unplanned and we all have moments of screaming out loud behind the wheel unsure of his plan, moments of the ugly cries or trying to figure out what we are doing.

However in the mist of all the craziness and lessons learned I was able to see some truly beautiful things that happened at the age of 28 (like a lot of beauty):

• I became an aunt to another boy making me an aunt to two cute boys. Clayton (my buddy) will be 3 this May and Blake (my warrior) will be 1 in May. They have both taught me so much about the importance of family and how to be a role model. Blake for example taught me to be a fighter and to never give up.
• I brought home a golden lab named Denver who just turned 1 this week. He taught me that even when someone is mad at you, love them and to get excited over the little things, like a walk!
• Self Love Beauty became a non-profit, was named the #9 blog in the US for self-love, our podcast tripled in numbers, had our first ever teen conference and new programs, was featured in many articles/magazines, was a keynote at more events than ever, we received growth that I never expected and we received support that I didn’t know what was out there. (shoutout to our amazing ambassadors!)
• I made friendships I didn’t even know I would have. This was incredible this year, the connections and the people, I am forever grateful. I truly value the relationships built!
• I learned how to stand up for myself even more than ever before. I finally stood up to a few bullies that completely lowered my confidence but I came out stronger. I confronted many things in my mind to move forward.
• I learned to say yes to things and no to other things to make my life better and the life I wanted.
• I was accepted to the University of Pennsylvania for Social Impact strategy and plan to gradate in the fall. I now can help other businesses build strategies with a social impact in mind.
• I stepped on the Denver Broncos field and visit Denver for the first time (it was on my bucket list)!
• I joined a bible study group and started to trust God’s plan more than ever (how hard is that somedays?)
• I grew in grace and self-compassion (even wrote a series on it with Wellness with Molly)!
• I learned my body is freaking strong
• I watched many of my friends get married, have babies, get engaged, receive their dream jobs and become empowering people
• And the list goes on! I was overly blessed at the age of 28!

28 was hard…It was really hard but it was really beautiful. As I go into 29, I know I will be facing more challenges, some I know I will conquer head on and some I will take a moment to handle however I will come out stronger.

I am walking into 29 with a full heart and ready to see the impact Self Love Beauty makes. We are launching new programs with companies on confidence, working with new partners and creating a change in our culture more than ever and I am so excited.

Lastly, thank you to everyone who has supported me, whether that was taking my calls, listening to my ideas, volunteering, providing advice and donating. Because of you, I see the beautiful of change happening around me and I cannot wait to make even more of splash in 29.

Remember, you are powerful! You have the power to live the life of your dreams, to go after the things that you truly want. You have the power to rewrite your own story, to turn unexpected endings into captivating beginnings. You have the power to let go of the things that weigh you down. You have the power to choose what type of life you want to live!

Let’s go out and change this world together for the better!

Lisa Thompson is the CEO & founder of Self Love Beauty. She grew up in a small town in Michigan, where she was surrounded by fields, farms and great people. Thompson graduated from Michigan State University, with a bachelor in Communication and a specialization in Public Relations and is currently attending the University of Pennsylvania for social impact. She has more than seven year of experience in corporate communications, five years in freelance writing,  is a fitness instructor and is the Marketing lead for a non-profit called Reach Out LaFond to help a village in Haiti along with MMEDRA thats focuses on eating disorders. She is an avid runner and is training for another marathon. Thompson’s vision is to “Create a world where everyone feels empowered to love themselves and achieve anything they desire.”

Work directly with Lisa! Lisa is a self-love expert and coach, she works with individuals one on one, host confidence and empowering workshops, is a keynote speaker and emcee for many events and can help you grow in your journey. Email her at [email protected] to set up a meeting.