Showing posts with label opinions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label opinions. Show all posts

10 Things I Wish Someone Would've Told Me When I Was Young

Posted by Michelle Welch In | 1 comments»

1. You Are Worth So Much
With all of the awkward moments, all of the disappointment, with everything you've been through- you might not believe it but you are worth so much. You are worth happiness, you are worth joyful moments, you are worth loving! It's true! When you understand just how important and beautiful you are to this world- you'll know what to expect of yourself and others. You are worth waiting for, worth being told the truth, you are worth eating right for & taking care of your needs. You are worth a million hugs & kisses! Don't ever forget it. 

2. Your Friends Now Aren't Your Friends Forever
This is much less tragic than it sounds. You're going to grow & it's healthy for you to make new friends and slowly move away from the old. It's simple evolution and it's good for you. You'll keep a handful of them & continue to talk as you grow up but it's unlikely you'll always see them the same way your whole life. Take some comfort in this fact- you were exactly what the other person needed and vice versa at that moment in your life. 

3. Don't Take Relationships Too Seriously, Ok?
A lot of the times when we are young and feeling a lack of connection or attention at home- we seek it elsewhere. It's easy to take on the first guy who shows you attention because you long for it so deeply without an understanding of why. The truth is that love comes over time because experiences are what lead you to it. When you're a young girl you don't have a lot of experience to go off of- just your fluctuating feelings. It's easy to convince yourself that what you feel is love because the though of losing it is so miserable. Enjoy boys- listen and talk- but remember that love is for later.


4. Stop Trying to Be Sexy
You're young, be silly! Sexy is reserved for those more mature relationships! And who wants that kind of pressure?


5. Take Pictures of Everything
You'll be so happy you can look at them later and remember where you came from. You can visually see the amazing things that happened to you that makes you the awesome person you are today!

6. Fous on Making You Great and Someday You'll Meet Someone As Great
I am a true believer that you can offer nothing to someone else if you're not totally great on your own. You can take Jr. High & High School to learn & experience things- the more you learn the better you become. The better you become for you, the more you'll love yourself. Your standards for a person to share yourself with will be higher and someone as confident and who loves themselves will find you. You can have a healthy, fun relationship based off of real love- not desperation. 

7. Never Stress About Being Pretty
You ARE pretty. You really are... believe it. It's true. 

8. Don't Learn For The Grades, Learn For Your Betterment
There's so much pressure put on young people to get good grades & get into an amazing college and then your life will just fall into place. I wish someone would've suggested that I learn in order to better myself. If I would've read every book in english class for me- or learned geometry because I thought it was interesting- or taken physical education because it would help me to be more active: that would've changed all of high school completely. It's too easy to lose focus of what school is really supposed to be doing: helping to make you a more well-rounded person. 

9. College Is Not Your Only Option
College is definitely an option but the I think one of the worst choices you can make in your life is to waste that much money on a standard that has been set for you if you really don't want it. If your heart is telling you you want to be a doctor- than your option is obvoiusly college. But if you're feeling like you don't know what you want or you'd like to challenge yourself by being out of school for a little while- than set your plan and put it in action. Never live by anyone else's standards- only your own. The more confident you become with you- the easier this will become. 

10. One Day, You'll Look Back on This Time and Laugh
I'm serious. It's but a moment- make it count.


Five Dream Jobs

Posted by Michelle Welch In , | 0 comments»

Sometimes my mind wander and I wonder what I'd be doing if I wasn't a skin care therapist. I think that it's always a good idea to keep your heart open to new ideas and that we're not always meant to do one thing for our whole lives. We're supposed to change- people are supposed to come in and out of our lives and I believe that the second we settle down is the beginning of the end. I change my makeup, my clothes, my hair color, my dinner ideas, my shoes... I change so much in my life & continue to dream. I've put together a list of five dream jobs (other than the one I have now), maybe it'll inspire someone else as well. 



Traveling Vintage Seller
photo via

I've been thrift store shopping since I was 11. My friends and I would get on our bikes and pedal over to thrift shoppe on 50% off day, with our $10 a week allowance to buy strings of pearls, lace up boots, instant cameras or whatever treasures we could dig up. My habit has naturally evolved into picking through every rack to come up with original and incredibly affordable fashion ideas and home decor. If I could take all of my years of experience, pair it with my unavoidable need to decorate everything & put all of that on wheels! By golly, I'd be the happiest cookie! I believe my wanderlust might finally be satisfied as well... hmm.

Roller Skate Shop Owner
photo via
My area needs an amazing place to buy/sell/trade rollerskates! I've been skating for a year now and I'm no where close to being able to provide the level of service I'd need to provide yet but it's a dream of mine to own and operate a roller skate shop in the inland empire. Boots, wheels, trucks, mounting, bearings, vintage skate wear, toestops, hardware, you name it! I'd love to put together a delightful place for the amazing inland empire roller girls to put together the best package for their needs. I'd also like to do planned roll-out parties, promote my team & have barbecues out front on hot summer days!   

Creative & Organizing Consultant
photo via
I'm not sure if this is a real career yet. Let me check... Okay, thank you wikipedia- I guess this title belongs to screenwriters who doctored a movie screenplay. Yeah, I'm talking about something totally different. I would like to be hired by individuals or companies to consult on all aspects visual. For example, an individual might hire me at an hourly rate to help them put together outfits for themselves, decorate their home with what they already have and put together an organizational system for their closets, cupboards, office etc. I would go in, take a look around, take some pictures and come back with with ideas on how to make their lives more aesthetically pleasing and organized! I know it sounds silly but I was born with the talent to re-decorate and re-organize. When I was a little girl into my late teens I would take everything out of my room, move all the furniture around, vacuum & dust and put everything back more efficiently than before. I love label makers, organizing bins, rubber bands and those ties that make chords shorter. I would love to make a career out of cleaning and prettying everything up!

Pastry Chef
If you can't tell by now- I love to make pretty things. Baking has always come naturally to me and when it comes to food display is just as important as taste. Pastries are perfect little powdered, sweet drops of heaven. I would use as much fresh, seasonal fruit as possible and keep everything displayed like a candy shop. I would create a whole new world of food and bite size delights. I often have dreams in pastry shops where the walls look like peppermint candies. Ah, heaven...

Tattoo Artist
photo via
There's only one real catch to this one... I won't be choosing the tattoos. I'll get 99/100 people coming in asking for flash, or tribal designs & I'll politely smile and take the deposit and put my heart into something unoriginal & trite. Yes, I suppose I am a snob... I had recently written a post about why I've never wanted to make 'artist' a career - it's a flaw, I know. But hopefully it won't hold me back too much. I suppose I should call this job idea "Tattoo Artist (who gets to choose your tattoo)". That sounds hilarious. I want to tattoo bright, colorful, original tattoos on fun, creative, interesting people. I want to travel and work with other artists. I'd love to be drawing all day. I think I've got the coordination that it takes and I definitely have the understanding of the surface down. I guess this one is impossible for me, but I like the idea of tattooing professionally. 

It's so strange that they ask you between 18-25 years old what you want to do or be. I learn more and more about myself everyday and I don't think 17 year old me would have any idea what I'd grow up to love and appreciate. All of the these ideas are integrated somehow. Maybe I should sell rollerskates, vintage & pastries in a tricked out airstream with a tattoo artist on staff? Ah, the places I'll go...

Why I Choose Not Pursue Art As A Career

Posted by Michelle Welch In , | 0 comments»
I know there are some things I’m good at, and some that are just not in my “skill set”. I’ve learned the hard way that it’s not my talent to take another person’s ideas/dreams/concepts and channel their energy into something that embodies who they are. 
- Katrina of Pugly Pixel

This is personal. Did I mention how personal this is? I think sometimes I make a statement like this and people believe that I'm commenting on some kind of choice that they're making. Like when I say, "I don't want children" some people hear "no one should want children".  This is truly coming from my heart based off of my life experiences, introspection and coming to terms with what is. Since I was young, adults have been telling me that I am a natural artist. "Oh, she's a natural... she'll want to do something with that when she grows up...". Hearing this for so long, I naturally assumed I'd be some kind of artist when it came time to get an education and eventually a job. I went to Orange County High School of the Arts for their visual arts program as a teenager & eventually looked into attending FIDM or Pasadena college of art & design for college. 

Being the terrible, self-destructive teenager I was, I opted to move to Los Angeles, party and pursue a career as a makeup artist. Eventually I got back to reality and thought that the practical thing to do was to finally go to art school to become who I truly was. "The money is in the internet" my Dad would say and I believed him. I'd taught myself photoshop when I was 17 and learned HTML in order to decorate my myspace page and livejournal. It just made sense. It took one semester and about three paid web design projects for me to instantly learn that I did not want to be the hand that knows the programs. Turning other people's visions into a reality was never for me & anything commissioned was going to my sponsors input. The oatmeal makes a hilarious comic about How A Web Design Goes Straight to Hell & so far I haven't had an experience very far off from this one. 

I learned a long time ago that my creativity can only be used for one thing: making myself happy. If others enjoy what makes me happy, awesome! I'm certainly not going to depend on it especially when it comes to making money. I love taking photos, painting, knitting, cooking & doing many, many creative things- but I know it has to be on my terms. If this makes me a control freak: so be it. 


I am an esthetician by day. I pay monthly rent but all of my clients are mine and it's up to me to rule my business. People come to me for my expertise and no one tells me how to do what I do. I keep my own hours, organize my own marketing and do my own taxes. I really don't have to answer to anyone which is my ultimate goal. It took me forever to get here, but I don't feel guilty about it anymore. And I certainly don't feel a lack of art in my life. On the contrary, my life is full of live shows, classes, photographs & amazing experiences. I am truly grateful to be where I am and to know myself enough to choose art as my pleasure. 

Xoxo Goodnight