It’s My Birthday! What I Learned This Past Year:

It’s my birthday!

I’m 29 and feeling fine. Or something like that 😂 Every year for my birthday I like to sit down and write a blog post about the previous year and the things I’ve learned.

28 was a lot of things.

Finishing up grad school.

Traveling. To Copenhagen and Stockholm. To Costa Rica. Two trips to LA. And my recent trip to the British Isles and the Outer Banks with my parents.

Starting my job at Y7. And leaving my job at CorePower Yoga.

Auditioning at The Bar Method. Going through the extensive training process of becoming a bar method instructor. And at last becoming a certified Bar Method instructor.

28 was a lot of early mornings. A lot of sleep in Sundays. 

Simply put, it’s felt like a lot at times. Not always in a bad way. But it’s definitely been a year of transitions. Of being in transition. Of feeling unsettled. Which for someone like me is super scary.

Without further ado, here’s what I’ve learned from 28:

What I Learned This Past Year:

Everyone is on their own timeline.

My boyfriend and I have been together for over 7 years. I cannot tell you the amount of times I’ve been asked “So, when are you moving in together?” or even better “When are you going to get engaged?”

Writing this blog post reminded me that we are all on our own timeline. There is no set age you need to be married by. And there is also no set age you need to have your life / career figured out by.

We’re all doing things at our own pace. And that’s okay.

 

You gotta do you.

I will never be a beef broth slurping, CBD consuming, all natural make-up wearing blogger. That’s just not who I am. But if those things are your jam, that’s awesome. What works for me might not work for you and vice versus.

 

We are all figuring it out as a we go.

Some people are just better at pretending they have their shit together 😂

 

Choosing adventure over fear is always worth it.

The night before I left for Costa Rica to co-lead a retreat I had a full on meltdown. I hate to say it but when I called my mom sobbing she said she wasn’t surprised. It was pretty typical Kayla: I get really freaked out about the unknown. My comfort zone is teeny tiny and anything outside of it makes me want to panic.

But of course the experience was amazing. Really and truly. In the future I just need to keep reminding myself to choose adventure, even when I want to give into fear.

 

Not everyone is going to like you.

As both a yoga teacher and blog I’ve had to learn: Not everyone is going to like you. This one is SO hard for me as a people pleaser. I’m finally starting to learn to not take this so personal and realize that you can’t make everyone happy. After all, I’m not an avocado

 

Don’t read reviews

When I first started teaching at Y7 I found myself obsessively reading class reviews. Reading those comments from random people that had taken my class really started to mess with my head. In class I found myself feeling self conscious and thinking “Omg, is someone going to write about me mixing up my rights and lefts or stumbling over my words???”

So, I stopped reading reviews. I legit told myself I was not allowed to read them. Don’t get me wrong, I’m ALL for feedback and constructive criticism. I am SO grateful for feedback from management, other yoga teachers and even when students come up to chat after class. But reading class reviews from some random person? Not helpful.

 

Figure out who’s opinion matters. And ignore the rest.

Have you heard of Brene Brown’s Square Squad concept? I heard about it on a podcast a while back and it’s really really changed how I listen to feedback. The idea is you take a 1-inch by 1-inch square sheet of paper. In that square you write down the people who’s voice and opinion matters to you. Anyone outside of the square? Don’t feel like you have to listen to their feedback.

Obvi I take this idea with a grain of salt. I work at multiple studios and have multiple managers so can’t fit all of their names necessarily 😂 But I love the idea behind this practice. It’s been really helpful for me as I follow my own “non-traditional” career path which not everyone is going to necessarily “get”.

 

Everything happens for a reason and when it’s supposed to.

I’m really open about the fact that the first time I auditioned for Y7 I was not hired. It was the end of summer 2017 and I was just entering my last year of grad school.

It ended up being a blessing in disguise. Instead I got hired by CorePower that same month and was able to focus my energy on growing as a Yoga Sculpt instructor. In reality I would not have been able to juggle both studios at that time alongside school.

Roughly one year later I decided to audition again at Y7. I went in feeling SO much more confident in my ability as a yoga teacher. And it must’ve been true — I got the job and started teaching there shortly after finishing up my masters.

In many ways it felt meant to be.

 

Stop saying yes to shit you hate.

For me that’s networking events and anything that requires me to awkwardly stand around making small talk.

 

My voice is my strength.

I studied theater in college as most of you probably know. As a theater major I was required to take various voice and speech classes. Oh man did my teachers destroy me thanks to my valley girl accent. It’s something I really struggled to correct.

Flash forward to now as a yoga teacher. When I first started teaching yoga I felt really self conscious of my voice and in particular the valley girl accent. But then I started receiving positive feedback from my managers about how powerful my voice is. While teaching on the microphone at Bar Method today someone even said they loved listening to my voice. It sounds so silly but I tear up just thinking about this. Something I’ve always been SO self conscious of has turned out to be my strength.

 

Fiction books are bae

Nothing makes me happier than ending my day reading a novel in bed. I used to feel like I had to always be reading personal development and girlboss, business-y books. But now I say fuck it. Imma read whatever makes me happy. And right now that’s ALL the trashy fiction.

 

I am totally addicted to RuPaul’s Drag Race.

I’m sure you all already know that by now 😂

 

It’s important to have fun.

Sometimes I feel like I’m constantly saying “no” to plans so I can instead get some writing done or focus on other work related things. Yes work things are super important (I gotta pay the bills somehow!) but it’s also important to have fun. Go get dinner with your girlfriends, the other work can wait.

 

I learned to feel confident make-up free.

Okay, some of this is thanks to having an incredible dermatologist who has helped clear my acne. But even so, I never ever ever thought I’d feel so confident going make-up free.

As a yoga teacher I rarely wear a full face of make-up. Most days I’m only wearing a few swipes of waterproof mascara and that’s it. A LOT of my photos on instagram I’m just wearing mascara and that’s it. Including the photos used in this post.

 

No one gives a fuck what you look like in your sports bra.

I teach in just a sport bra 99% of the time. It took me awhile to feel confident teaching with my pale, bare, belly out and about. Now I’m just like fuck it, it’s 90 degrees in here and I’m sweating buckets over here. The fact is we are all SO focused on ourselves when we work out, no one is paying attention to what I’m wearing — both when I’m teaching and when I’m taking class.

 

You’ve grown SO much more in the last 12 months than you give yourself credit for.

Some days I feel stagnant. Like nothing has changed in my life — I’m 29 and still feel lost more often than not. But when I actually take a step back and take stock of what’s gone down this year, I remember I’ve grown A LOT. As a yoga teacher. In my career. As a person. Give yourself some credit.

Cheers to you, 29. I’m so excited to see what you have in store for me 💗