Make it happen

"Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely"

Happy Friday,
Nicole

On set!

You heard right. I'm on set today for NCIS New Orleans. Nothing fancy, I'm just an extra, but I like it. You see, being an extra is basically just based on your photo. So, when I get a call to be an extra, there's a little voice inside that goes, "well alright. I still got it".

After my accident, I didn't know if it would be possible to get acting work. To my surprise, I'm still in the game. Not by much, but hey...it's something.

I guess my point is, never say never. Sure things may seem and even appear to have no hope, but then again, perhaps they might, you never know...

Nicole 

Happy Birthday...May your Dream Come True

 

Happy Birthday to one very special and inspiring man.

    

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

  

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

  

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."²

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

  

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring

And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

                Free at last! Free at last!

                Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!³

Thank you

Nicole

Death? Destruction? Fear?....

Hello there!

Every morning, I have a small routine. I usual turn on the news and shuffle around, just getting my day started, and while doing so, I hear updates on the weather (which is what I'm usually listening for), and whatever else is going on in the world.

As I went to make myself breakfast this morning, the news blaring in the background, twice I stopped dead in my tracks due to what I was hearing. "Bombing here", "guy gets shot in broad daylight", "huge robbery here", "terrorist attack there", and so on and so on. It was just one thing after the other. Before I new it, I was reaching for the off button on the television to just shut off all the death and destruction. If only life had an on and off switch.

 

Bad things happen everyday. Sometimes they happen when we least expect it, and there is no shield to protect us from the craziness of the world. However, there is a ray of hope out there. My point is, amongst all the madness of the news, society, the world, find your own way through that jungle. I promise you, it's absolutely possible not to get swallowed by fear. Now, that doesn't mean go walk down a dark alley to prove a point, it just means to live your life knowing there isn't this huge shadow of fear following behind you or propped on your shoulder.

It's easy to turn off the noise of media "fear". Go ahead...try it ☺️

Nicole

Well...

"You can go your own way..."

                                       

                                        Fleetwood Mac

"Let's get it started!"

Wooooooohooooo!!!! It is January 12! Right on. Why so exciting you may ask? Because, it's a new day, and a new week ahead of us just ready for us to tackle. It's pretty much the second week of January and any New Years resolutions you had, keep them up and just know you got this!!!

I was crusing the World Wide Web over the weekend and came across a few different running marathons that happened. Hundreds of photos were posted of different runners smiling, laughing, and just happy that they were there. The best part about these photos is that every smile on these runners looked completely genuine. 

Seeing those photos was extremely inspiring. One, these different fun/marathon runs were this past weekend. Folks its January, so it's COLD, and yet there were smiles all around. Two, talk about inspiring. Hundreds of people who probably didnt know each other, and yet were all united by excercise? That's pretty amazing.

So, like I said, it's Monday, a new week, a new year. Let's give it all we got! Kick butt, take names, and be the person you KNOW you can be!

Nicole

2015

It's 2015...wow. Another year, another chapter, another unknown list of adventures ahead. As we kick off this new year, there are specific things we all want and specific things we all want to change. I know I certainly do.

This past Christmas (2014)  I received an amazing gift. I got a set of ballet bars. Ballet bars!! It may not seem like a big deal, but for me, I looked at them and could only think of the possibilities.

When you almost die and are allowed to welcome life back in again, you might as well/should make the absolute most of it. Instead of talking about what you are going to do and change, just do it. Don't cut yourself short of the potential you posse. The person you want to be and create in your head, can actually be the person you can be in real life.

Of course to start this year out, I have a new song that I've been listening to Id like to share. A song that really sets the tone for what I want out of this year. I'm sharing this with you, because one, it's a cool song and two, because I feel the chorus is a great motivator not just for what I want, but for others out there as well. Check it out:

For once, once in your life

Won't you do what feels right
Instead of waiting for the next big compromise
Stop running your mouth
Get out of the house
Get yourself downtown
And shake it all out tonight

Now, the last two ending lyrics "Get yourself downtown, And shake it all out tonight" is a good way of saying "get off the couch/butt, and get yourself moving in this life". That may not be what the song writer meant, but it's my interpretation and I'm running with it. 

So, even though it's Wednesday (hump day), try to make it a freak'in good one 😉

Nicole