Gold in the Air of Summer

Not only is this a good Kings of Convenience song, it is my mantra for these next couple weeks. I recently did a colors personality exercise at a retreat and learned that I embody the color GOLD, meaning that I live by to-do lists, thrive in organized environments, love shopping for planners, feel most comfortable when things are planned out, and am extremely detail-oriented. For those of you who know me, this description fits me to a T. In addition to the golds, there are the Oranges: the energetic, competitive, constantly up-beat people who always have their hands raised in class and have a random idea for what to do on a Friday night, the Blues: the calm, caring, compassionate people who will always be there to listen with great advice and a shoulder to cry on, and the Greens: the analytical, logical people who weigh every option before making a decision and are great in leadership positions. I think it's so important to remember that there are these differences amongst people: they determine the way we learn, the way we think, the way we handle problems, and the way we see the world. Too often we are tempted to mold ourselves to fit whatever group of friends or social environment we are in, and although this is important to a certain degree we still have to know the kind of person we are inherently and embrace that.

Yes, I am a bit of a nerd. Yes I LOVE school supply shopping and getting a new planner is like Christmas for me. Yes the idea of doing something completely out of the blue kind of freaks me out. But these qualities make me a responsible person and a loyal friend, two things I value highly. So my advice: know your color and embrace your color, because it takes a little bit of every color to make anything work and luckily, we all go together quite nicely :)

Another thing I learned during this exercise was that when you are stressed your second most prominent color comes out--mine is blue. With the end of the school year rapidly approaching and deadlines piling up I have been beyond stressed and very emotional, which is where the "air of summer" comes in... It helps so much to remember that in a couple weeks everything will be finished and I will embark on my last real summer break, which is already filled with promise and opportunity.

I have plans to share an apartment with a great friend, work full time in the Marketing Department at Fairmont and really be able to feel more integrated in the department, experience new places in Orange County and LA, take a trip to San Francisco, celebrate one of my best friend's wedding, and, most importantly, RELAX! Summer is truly a magical time of year, and the promise of the coming months is a great motivation to keep you going. What are your summer plans? Let your Gold side shine through and make a list :)

<3 Lyssa