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With Hope Anything is Possible

Here's To Hope In the New Year! Description: Happy New Year 2016 on top of a green decorative medallion graphic

Times Gone By, Farewell 2015

Hope is such a powerful thing and looking forward to the refreshing and re-energizing possibilities of the New Year is one of the most exciting components of the holiday. Whenever I think about motivation I remember it’s because of hope that I was able to overcome many trials and through it all this one biblical passage kept me:

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. ~Philippians 4:13

Even during my rebellious stage or stages when I came to my senses He did not reject me. I wish I could love like this, however, I realize I am a broken human being but with hope, I will continue to strive to be more like Him.

While I do not make New Year’s resolutions, because I’m a goal-tracking fiend, the one thing I anticipate is the annual year-end wrap-up. It’s during these self-assessments that I can see what I initially hoped to achieve at the outset of the current year and where I’ve landed at year’s end. Some notable achievements:

Top 10 Posts:

  1. Ankle Boots Outfit Combos
  2. Is It Magic? Nah, Just Color Adjusting Foundation
  3. The Black Blazer
  4. The Eye of the Tiger. er, um, Leopard
  5. Bountiful Boots
  6. Raising the Blind on Sight Loss
  7. Perfectly Pointed Pink Pumps
  8. Shoe Lovin’ Saturdays: Weigh In #7
  9. Is It Boring Being Blind?
  10. The Unveiling of a Stylish Icon

Collaborations:

  1. Glenda Harrison, So What to Twenty
  2. Mel Scott, BlindAlive
  3. Audrey Demmitt, Seeing Possibilities
  4. Jennifer Barrile, jennifer barrile

Interviews:

  1. The Bold Blind and Beautiful – Tom Reid, Reid My Mind
  2. Quick Q&A | Stephanae of Bold Blind Beauty – Susan, Adventures in Low Vision

Articles I Wrote for VisionAware.org

  1. How Can I Be Fashionable in the New Year If I Am a Blind or Visually Impaired Woman
  2. Living With Glaucoma
  3. Experiencing The Magic of Eye Makeup While Practicing Eye Safety

Special Projects:

  1. Created Month in Review newsletters
  2. Development of the fabulous “Woman on the Move” Fashion Icon (collaboration with Jennifer Barrile)
  3. Achieved my Image Consultancy certification

Community Activities:

  1. Created Golden Triangle Council of the Blind (GTCB) Bowl-A-Thon fundraising website
  2. Participated in the fundraising effort enabling GTCB to surpass our $2,000 goal
  3. Board Member of the Blind and Vision Rehabilitation Services of Pittsburgh

Upcoming in 2016:

  1. “Women on the Move” Monthly Series featuring blind and vision impaired women
  2. Jenelle Landgraf, Double Vision Blog will become a regular monthly contributor
  3. Exploring the world of organic cosmetics and body products
  4. I will share more of my favorite outfit combinations and how to do it on a fixed income

Interesting Takeaways:

  • I am not and will not be perfect but I will continually strive for improvement
  • I cannot excel at everything but what I choose to do, I’ll do to the best of my ability
  • Overthinking is a motivational killer. Simplicity is key.
  • Losing vision has taught me that appearance is only part of the story. As humans, we are so complex and so much more than how we appear which is one of the main reasons I will continue to provide inspiration whenever possible.

When I review my activities for 2015 I can see that while I may have felt at times I was on a hamster wheel, in reality, I was productive. Is there room for improvement? Most definitely, but as long as I continue to track my progress I can rid myself of the unnecessary burden of thinking I am insufficient.

Happy New Year Everyone!! I love you all!! ~Steph

“We spend January 1st walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives…not looking for flaws, but for potential.” ~Ellen Goodman

 

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