2014 in Review

Wow, it's December 31, 2014! Tomorrow is a new year – a time where I set new intentions. But first, I want to take today to reflect on 2014.

January – March 2014

• It snowed and snowed and snowed. I shoveled a lot of snow.
• There was no balance in my work-life balance. The scales tipped strongly towards work.
• As a creative outlet, I began writing this blog!

April – June 2014

• I began to burn out from all the stress and was diagnosed with adrenal fatigue and high inflammation levels.
• I decided to address my work-life imbalance by taking a trip with my best friend to Las Vegas to see Britney Spears in concert!
• I took a 3-week basic cooking class at CulinAerie. Now I know how to use a knife properly and how to julienne!

July – September 2014

• Ben and I trekked to Jiffy Lube Live to see KISS, Def Lepperd and Lynryd Skynyrd in concert!
• I turned 43! For my birthday, my best friend gave me a copy of Thrive by Arianna Huffington. It helped change my life!
• I spoke at the White House. Seriously! It was amazing!
• Ben and I took a week-long road trip through New England. I crossed off my bucket list visiting Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.  Only 16 more states to go!
• I spent a weekend with Oprah and 10,000 others during Oprah's Live the Life You Want tour in Washington, DC. Seeing Oprah - another item crossed off my bucket list!

October – December 2014

• I attended Emerging Women Live 2014 in New York City! I met some amazing women, including Arianna Huffington, and decided I needed a lifeshift after doing a meditation with Gabrielle Bernstein!
• I became a blogger at the Huffington Post Blog, reaching thousands of people so far and hopefully inspiring them! Another bucket list achievement!
• To help reduce stress and my fatigue, I began taking Kundalini Yoga and started seeing a nutritionist. I even braved a 10-day detoxification cleanse!

In a nutshell, I worked a lot, got sick, and then remembered the goal that I set during my cancer journey to balance work and life and get healthy. I believe that everything happens for a reason. Once I refocused this year, amazing things began to occur. I had some kick ass experiences and met some awesome people, all of whom have touched my life in a special way. 2014 was a great year with a few not so great moments. It was a year that I needed. 

I can't wait to see what 2015 holds! Happy New Year!

Blogging Success

I am excited to share my first post in the Huffington Post Blog: 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tanya-rasa/reclaiming-my-voice_b_6117858.html!

Last month, I attended Emerging Women Live 2014, at which Arianna Huffington spoke.  I approached her to thank her for writing Thrive and mentioned that I only learned to really thrive after having thyroid cancer and losing my voice. She graciously listened, gave me her business card, and asked me to share my story. During the conference, Tara Mohr encouraged us to Play Big and set an intention to do one thing that would move us forward toward our goal within two weeks.  I set my intention to send Arianna my story. Then, Gabrielle Bernstein led us through a powerful yoga meditation, where she encouraged us to focus on positive thoughts because whatever we were thinking would be magnified.  One of my visions during that meditation was seeing my story on the Huffington Post Blog!

Yet, did I immediately send an email to Arianna when I got home? No. Life got in the way. One week went by.  And then those pesky fears began to show themselves. You know the ones: Who am I to think that I can get published on the Huffington Post Blog? Was my story really that inspiring to get that type of coverage? As the second week drew to a close, I sat myself down and gave myself a "talking to," in my mother's words. And in that meeting with my inner voice, I made the following statement, "I won't know if I don't try. I can't succeed if I don't try. So try already!"

So, I poured out my story in an email to Arianna and hit send. I assumed it would be a long wait and that I would get a response from an assistant eventually. Imagine my surprise when I received a lovely response from Arianna within the hour! And now my story is published on the Huffington Post Blog! Freaking amazing!

The responses that I have received to my post have been so uplifting! Friends who were my voice when I couldn't speak sent me messages about how I inspired them while I went through my cancer journey. My family spoke of the strength that they've seen in me my entire life. A childhood friend thanked me for the lesson that she received from the blog, and another thyroid cancer survivor recounted her story of overcoming her vocal cord struggles by singing. And my EW sisters continue to give me support and encourage me to use my voice!  Thank you all!
 

Life Shift

I had the pleasure of attending Emerging Women Live 2014 in New York City on October 9-12. It has taken this long for me to process my thoughts because EW is that powerful! According to Wokie Nwabueze, a speaker at EW, communication is the pathway between your soul and the world. For the past 3 months, I've let my communication channel -- this blog -- atrophy. My motherboard got fried in a storm...I went on vacation...work got busy...I experienced a health challenge. I had plenty of excuses, but if I'm being real with myself, I needed time to focus on the inner me because putting my life in a blog is being extremely vulnerable. It left me raw with emotion, and I needed to give myself TLC. Yet, all the while, I still had a deep need to share my story.

EW rejuvenated me. The positive vibes coming from the speakers and participants were crackling in the air! Most powerful to me was when Gabrielle Bernstein led us in a Kundalini yoga meditation. As the chant began, I was bathed in the love and positive energy in the room, and when we finished, everyone was crying. Yes, it was that powerful, and that's why I'm attending my first Kundalini yoga class this evening. And, Arianna Huffington packed a big punch with a simple statement: "However, great your job is, who you are as a person is more magnificent."

After EW ended that Sunday, I walked around Times Square and processed. I sat on the train back to Washington, DC and processed. In the weeks following, I went about my days, all the while still processing. It was like my brain was a giant computer which had important information input into it at EW, and it was going through a logarithm to spit out exactly what I would take away from the conference. And then on Tuesday evening as I was headed home, it hit me -- I need a life shift!

I've spent the past few days thinking how this life shift will occur and what exactly I will do. Simply put, I need to live the vision that I saw during my yoga meditation, pursuing both happiness and spirituality. I need to embrace love and not be afraid of fear. I need to strive for a healthy living. I need to help others. I need to have fun! And last but not least, I need to continue to tell my story in my authentic voice on this blog!

I can guarantee you that my life shift will be messy and funny. It will also be beautiful and life-changing. It is my life!