Welcome to Los Angeles

August 27, 2016August 27, 2016Leave a comment

For months I’ve been anticipating this move. Before we left for tour Dan and I sold all our furniture, donated everything except for just a few boxes to Goodwill, and packed sentimental items and clothes away in preparation for when tour was over. My free time on tour was spent looking at houses on the computer, looking at new cars, discussing options with the guys and getting so excited to decorate our new place in LA. After tour,
we stayed in LA for a week to look at homes, cars, and locations. We fell even more in love with LA and the excitement built more. This past week in FL saying goodbye to our families and friends was bittersweet, but we were still ready to get back to LA. Now— as I sit here in the truck packed in next to the boxes, I find myself immediately feeling emotional— LITERALLY only 2 minutes after driving away. Staring out the window I feel tiny tears run silently down my cheeks. One at a time, then faster and faster until I’m pretty positive my eyes are now red and my makeup ruined. Thank the Universe for big sunglasses.

Don’t get me wrong— I am still SO incredibly anxious to get to LA and start this new adventure. Although I’ve spent so much time away from home traveling and branching out— I was always coming back to Florida, near our family, after however long. Now, this is different. This isn’t a trip, this is our new home. This is where our belongings stay when everyone is gone. This is where our car and bills and driver licenses point to. This is where we will be starting a whole new chapter.

Mom & Dad: Thank you for everything you’ve done.
Thank you for your love & support over the years and especially these last few months while we have been gone on tour. Mom, I’m so proud of you for staying strong during chemo and radiation this summer. You’re so beautiful inside and out & words cannot express how thankful I am that you’re a fighter. I cannot wait to share these coming adventures with you— I promise I’ll call. Dad, Thank you for taking care of mom every day, but especially while I was gone. The love and strength you have given her during all of this does not go unnoticed.

Dan and I are opening our arms to life and keeping our faces tilted to the sun. This will not always be easy, but I believe it will be worth it and I’m so thankful we have each other to lean on. To all our friends in LA who have helped us move and find a place and of course put up with us— you’re all so very much appreciated— moving across the country is….hard. The page is officially turned: Here we go Cali! Time to make some memories….

Sixteen Yr Old Me in the Crowd

March 16, 2016March 16, 20161 Comment

16 year old Sydney

One of the first shows I ever went to was actually a Set It Off show— when I was in high school. It was when they were first starting out and at a small venue in our hometown. I was just a 16-year-old girl in her vans and her favorite T-shirt jumping around with her friends. You could feel the atmosphere around you hang heavy with the weight of our youth and our whole lives ahead of us. The future was unknown, but all that mattered was feeling the music and mentally escaping for the night. I remember us holding each other close and screaming the lyrics back with giant smiles on our faces. There is no better feeling than bonding with a crowd of people and letting go. I think so many people forget what that is like as they get older or especially when they start dating someone in the music industry.

I love watching Set It Off play & am so proud of them. Seeing my love and my friends up there doing what they love—and doing it so well— always makes me so happy. Seeing the crowd line up outside the venue for hours rain or shine and showing me all their tattoos and laughing— bringing people together— its a wonderful feeling. I attend a lot of shows with Dan and also tour with them in general, but I rarely go out into the crowd and usually watch from side-stage because it’s easier & I’m normally alone.

At the Orlando show on the Fight for Something Tour I decided to stand in the crowd with my girlfriends rather than stand side-stage like we usually do. As I was standing there with my best friend Crystal— singing every word, falling over laughing, jumping around and having such a wonderful time— it reminded me of why I first started going to shows and brought back so many memories. It was honestly very sentimental for me because we had friends and family there and here I am getting reminded of something that used to be so important to my sanity. When I heard Dan over the mic mention me, my heart stopped and I thought, “Dear Universe, thank you for giving me what I never knew I was asking for all this time. Thank you for giving me the gift of this man who brings such love and music to my life every single day. And thank you for putting me in this crowd to remind me of who I am.” I realized halfway through the show as I looked down at my feet and saw my dirty black vans:: that no matter where life takes us I am proud to still be that girl in the crowd who can let loose and let the music lift me up. We live in a world that is constantly trying to tell us what is supposed to be important & as we grow up we start to listen– make time to clear your head and find what lifts you up . Things have changed and I know they are only going to keep changing, but it’s important to remember who you are. I never in a million years expected to be on this insane journey with Dan, but here we are. Life is not easy and there is no way to tell what is coming next, but staying grounded is the only way to make it through successfully.

I really love all of you that come to the shows and are always so kind & wonderful when you see me— I really appreciate it– it’s so uplifting to meet you and feel your support for the guys. I get a lot of messages on Facebook or Instagram saying that some of you see me at shows and wanted to say hi or take a picture, but didn’t know if I would care or be annoyed. Honestly, I love meeting you guys and taking pictures. To those of you that I saw in the crowd on Saturday: Thanks for letting me jump around, sing, and be uplifted along-side you— see you next time!

More To Offer

February 23, 2016Leave a comment

bod·y im·age

noun

the subjective picture or mental image of one’s own body.

“Approximately 91% of women are unhappy with their bodies.”

When sitting own to write this blog post, as I began really thinking and considering viewpoints, I became very torn on the subject. On one hand I am a firm believer that we should be trying to break the rules that have us, as women, thinking our looks are the most important thing we have to offer— on the other hand, it’s hard to ignore the fact that negative body image is a prevalent issue. I’m going to focus this post on overall body image and feeling good about yourself. But I want to go on record first to say::

Inside each of you is something so much more important than what you see in the mirror. Inside each of you is a beautiful miracle in and of itself. Your capabilities to be a thinking, hard working, kind, hopeful, learning, emotional being that impacts this world are so far above and so much more valid to define you than the size of your waist. That is what makes you beautiful.

After the incident last year the positive body image I hard worked so hard to achieve took a dive. I began to see my body as a dirty or inappropriate thing and no longer felt like my confident self. I stopped caring about my health. I didn’t feel beautiful or sexy because I didn’t feel like I deserved to & that my previous confidence somehow made the incident my fault. I began to hate my body and that’s wrong. Our bodies are beautiful amazing things, especially as women. As someone whose college degree focused heavily on science, even without talking about aesthetics or physical looks— the female body is an amazing thing. We are beautiful inside and out and until we begin to truly believe that we will not be happy. With the help from my significant other and meditation I am starting to be back to my old self and refusing to be ashamed of my body because of someone else’s misconduct. Loving yourself and your body is a daily choice and it’s worth it. People always say to choose your battles wisely and this battle is worth fighting.

We cannot change the world over-night. But we CAN change our outlook and refuse to internalize these negative feelings about our bodies. We are all guilty of focusing on the physical traits about ourselves that we dislike or letting others make us feel badly, every single one of us. So my take on body image is this: there will always be negative things out there— people preying on our deepest insecurities & ready to point them out– so why do we do it for them? Let’s project out enough love, enough kindness, enough joy, enough acceptance— that it comes right back to us. At the end of the day happiness is an internal journey, not a result of our surroundings.

I want to encourage you to pause reading this and do the following::

Look in the mirror or selfie camera from your phone.
Find 3 things about yourself that you love. Three positive things and make one of them not something about your looks. Be honest and don’t try to just get it over with. Really consider yourself and then compliment yourself on these three things.

For some people this may be very easy, but for others it may have been a bit of a challenge. Keeping that in mind I want you to consider how often you genuinely give compliments. How often do you honestly and sincerely compliment yourself, friends and family on positive traits? I am of the belief that kindness and love are contagious. There are a lot of negative things in this world and we should get in the habit of counteracting those negative experiences any way we can— spreading love and giving thanks is a start. The mantra is simple, Love & Light, but the daily practice can be hard— so here’s a little help…

Alright, Love & Light Challenge, time to help uplift!

My Daily Alarms

I want you to set a new silent daily repeating alarm on your phone (so you’ll get the notification, but not the sounds) for about 3 hours into your daily routine. This alarm title should be “Compliment.” Whenever this alarm goes off during your day I want you to stop and give a fellow woman nearby a genuine compliment— it can be about anything— and then give yourself one too! I also want you to set a second silent daily repeating alarm (towards the end of your day, maybe near dinner time) with the instructions “Thank You”. When this alarm goes off I want you to verbally give thanks for something. You can tell your mom thanks for cooking. You can say I’m really thankful that I passed my math test today. Literally anything you are thankful for that day— but make it genuine and make sure you verbalize it to someone else. These two simple actions will help you form positive habits that help ensure you don’t become focused on negative feelings— I know it helps me.

I really want to make Love & Light challenges a consistent thing. I want to make them spontaneous, random, uplifting and fun— so make sure to follow me on snapchat to stay in the loop:: Sydney4065. We can make this world a better place and it all starts right here. You can always message me anonymously through the Wondr App if you need some extra motivation.
Remember— there is so much more to you than what the world expects you to look like— positive body image happens when you stop focusing so much on trying to be something you’re not and focus on loving yourself & who you are. At the end of your days it won’t be how “perfect” you were that matters. It will be the things you experienced, the lives you positively affected, and the love you gave that matters. Laugh with friends, read a good book, enjoy the sun on your face, eat good food, and get some exercise so you can stick around on this Earth as long as possible. Stop worrying about being thin or looking like your favorite celebrity and instead make health your goal— mind and body both.