Tackling Life and Culture in Your Grit and Grace Life

2 Simple Secrets to Long-Term Success

By Jenni Catron / Life & Culture, Work & Money

Success is harder than it’s ever been and actually easier than it’s ever been. I’m not sure I’ve met a person who doesn’t want to succeed. We might want to succeed at different things but whatever your standard of success may be, you’re desperate to achieve it. And yet many of us live with a gnawing ache of feeling unfulfilled… angst just below our carefully crafted exterior that torments us with fear of not succeeding. This is compounded by social media’s wonderful ability (insert sarcasm) to point out the success of every other human. It’s for this reason that I think success may be more difficult to achieve than ever before. We cannot focus on our own priorities and purpose because we’re […]

2 Simple Secrets to Long-Term Success Read More »

For the Girl Who’s Forging New Friendships in a New City

By Barbara Hill / Life & Culture, Relationships

How many of us have sheepishly walked into a social event as the “new girl,” our hearts beating out of our chest as we cling to our phones for some semblance of comfort and security? One of my good friends and I had a conversation recently around this topic of making new friends, and how difficult and oftentimes awkward it can be. When I moved from my hometown on the East coast three and a half years ago, and drove across the country to build a whole new life in California, I was struck with the reality that I literally knew no one here, and no one knew me. It was simultaneously exhilarating and terrifying. From moving coast to coast, to then

For the Girl Who’s Forging New Friendships in a New City Read More »

Married to the Badge Not Your Typical Life

Married to the Badge: View from a Police Officer Wife

By Kristi Neace / Best Of, Life & Culture

Growing up, I could never have imagined that I would one day be a police officer’s wife, married to a walking badge in polyester black. No, the silly games I played pointed to my future husband as a banker or a doctor, someone who made a decent living working a “normal” job like everyone else. I guess I wore those same rose-colored glasses as I imagined and planned out dinners at 5:00 PM each day, holidays with family gatherings, spur-of-the-moment get-a-ways, sleeping blissfully in my lover’s arms at night without a care in the world, and a “Better Homes and Gardens” type boudoir with not a stitch out of place. What I received? I received the polar opposite of my imaginary dreams.

Married to the Badge: View from a Police Officer Wife Read More »

Do I Have to Act Like a Man to Be Successful at Work?

By Darlene Brock / Work & Money, Life & Culture

Do you ever wonder if you will make career strides in the workplace as a woman? Is it necessary to compete as your male counterparts do, adopting the nature they exhibit in order to succeed? Do you have to act like a man to succeed at work? According to McKinsey & Company, studies on the impact that diversity of employees has in corporate America have shown surprising results. Corporations have achieved significant financial and productive gains to their companies when they are diverse. With racial, ethnical, and gender diversity they have achieved 15 to 35 percent more success. This type of workforce brings with it a range of talents, natures, and life experience. If we, as women, disguise our nature to emulate that of our male counterparts,

Do I Have to Act Like a Man to Be Successful at Work? Read More »

I Thank My Twenties for These 10 Lessons

By Jordan Hawkins / Life & Culture

Foreword: One of fellow #gritandgracelife contributors recently wrote an article about why it is important to share your story. My 20s helped shape me into the woman I am now–a woman I am proud of, although I took some tumbles and falls and made hard choices to get here. So with that said, I’m sharing 10 lessons I learned in my 20s… Age 20: You can “go your own way…” As an undergraduate in my junior year at Appalachian State University, I was catapulted into my twenties with a new fervor for life. The first few years of my college experience gifted me many life-shaping experiences that helped mold me into the adult I was becoming. The road was a little messier than I had

I Thank My Twenties for These 10 Lessons Read More »

9 Awkward Moments in a Woman’s Life

By Darlene Brock / Life & Culture

Life is full of great moments, but there are also the ones that find us looking around to see if anyone else noticed. It’s the awkward moments that land a permanent place in our memory bank… 1. When crumbs fall in your cleavage and you just have to dig them out. 2. When you wear a wrap skirt on a windy day. 3. When you rub your eyes forgetting you’ve worn eyeliner. 4. You wave back at someone, then realize they were waving at the person behind you. 5. Type a lengthy text and send it to the wrong person (and they were mentioned in said text). 6. Asking someone in a store for a different size, then realizing they don’t work

9 Awkward Moments in a Woman’s Life Read More »

3 Reasons You’re Unhappy and How to Make a Change

By Stephanie Ramos / Life & Culture

Although I’m only in my late 20’s, I’ve been around long enough to acquire some toxic mindsets that have tainted my perspective. It’s not something I’m particularly proud to admit, but more often than not I can trace back the root of my unhappiness or discontentment to unhealthy thought patterns I’ve adopted without exercising self-awareness. But here’s the upside: once I take responsibility for my thoughts, I have the opportunity to grow in both grit and grace. Here are 3 of the biggest battles I fight in my quest to be happy, content, and healthy. Maybe they’re stumbling blocks for you, too: 1. Comparison to others. Wow, am I guilty of this. With social media so easily accessible, there’s never a shortage of women

3 Reasons You’re Unhappy and How to Make a Change Read More »

A Woman of Grit Without a Hard Heart

By Darlene Brock / Purpose, Life & Culture

The ability to push through, face hardships, and confront challenges requires a quality we refer to as grit. We’re not talking about the irritating piece of something that gets in your eye or the type that is on sandpaper to wear down or smooth out a piece of wood. Grit is courage, fortitude, and determination. How do we take on life challenges without hardening the heart? How can one master what’s ahead without becoming that difficult, worn-down kind of person? Therein lies the battle. Here are five things you should never forget when life requires grit: 1. Grit does not mean aggression. The strongest ladies possess quiet, confident strength—picking up the gloves only when necessary. 2. Move forward. Proceed with calm thoughtfulness, never quick reactions.

A Woman of Grit Without a Hard Heart Read More »

7 Apps You’ll Want to Download Now

By Megan Miller / Life & Culture

Apps are a daily, often hourly, part of our lives. We all have a bunch on our phones and tablets that we rarely (or never) use, but there are some that we just can’t live without. Here are seven of mine: Netflix: Did you know you could download and stream Netflix episodes and movies off line? It’s a game changer! Simply download the app, log in with your credentials, and search for the series you’re binging. Maybe this is a bad thing that we’re enabling our addictions… but maybe this is a great thing for me on the elliptical. 45 minutes on the elliptical sounds like death but an episode of Blacklist on the elliptical… best of both worlds. VSCO: I know

7 Apps You’ll Want to Download Now Read More »

Exhausted From Work? 5 Ways to Refuel During Your Day

By Catie Welvaert / Work & Money, Life & Culture

No one had to teach me how to rest. In fact, I could be a professional relaxer (if you happen to hear of any opportunities in this field, please hook a sister up). I’m a beach aficionado and I thrive on Saturday mornings with no alarm and no schedule, just the people, places, and things that fill me up. If only the entire week was made up of Saturdays and Sundays… But there are five other days, and they consist of nearly the exact opposite happenings—work, hustle, errands, lists, spreadsheets, computer screens, phone calls. Are you feeling tired yet? I’m new to the full-time workforce. This will be my first year ever without a summer break (shed a tear for me). While transitioning from free time to full-time,

Exhausted From Work? 5 Ways to Refuel During Your Day Read More »

Can I Be a Hippie in Heels? Balancing a Healthy Lifestyle

By Ashby Duval / Health & Beauty, Life & Culture

In my family’s eyes, I am their resident hippie. However, in my eyes, I don’t even scratch the surface of what this could entail; my dabbling in probiotics and essential oils hardly makes me a hippie. I have friends who grind their own wheat for crying out loud! But after the birth of my first son, I admittedly took off my stilettos and dipped my toes into the cool and fascinating pool of holistic living, and I’ve been wading in deeper and deeper ever since. Short of an extreme health crisis, I’m not sure anyone jumps into the deep end all at once and so my hope is to encourage those who are making small steps towards holistic health to continue to do

Can I Be a Hippie in Heels? Balancing a Healthy Lifestyle Read More »

4 Ways You Can Join A21 in the War on Human Trafficking

By Barbara Hill / Life & Culture, Purpose

For many of us living in the United States, the idea of human trafficking happening in our corner of the world seems hard to believe. Sadly though, this issue is just as pervasive here in the U.S., as in places like South East Asia and Eastern Europe. Human trafficking touches every part of the globe, from small villages in Africa, to major cities like Bangkok or London, and upper middle class cities in America. We may have watched Liam Neeson in the movie, Taken, busting down doors to rescue his daughter who was captured and about to be sold into the sex trade, and wish we could channel that heroism and go fight some bad guys. Well, I’m sure for most of us

4 Ways You Can Join A21 in the War on Human Trafficking Read More »

The Bachelorette: A Romantic Culture in a Feminist World

By Darlene Brock / Life & Culture, Relationships

This is my first season watching The Bachelorette. Yes, I know, I’m behind the curve. I haven’t watched any season of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, determining it had nothing to do with lasting relationships, choosing to use the space on my DVR for something else. The goal of finding a man who desires a lifelong marriage commitment and is willing to propose at exactly the right moment on camera, well you understand my skepticism. But recently my daughter was visiting when the new season began. She, along with my other daughter and the girls who work with me, are ardent viewers of this series. Convincing me to grab my bottle of water and sit down with her on the sectional, I decided to

The Bachelorette: A Romantic Culture in a Feminist World Read More »

3 Big Do’s and Don’ts of Skin Care You Need to Start Now

By Barbara Hill / Health & Beauty, Life & Culture

In the last six years of being a licensed Esthetician (which, just to clarify is not to be confused with a statistician or Obstetrician…yup, that’s happened), I have heard some pretty interesting skin care routine stories from clients. I’ve heard everything from clients washing their face with acetone, to using hand sanitizer on their face throughout the day, because they were convinced it would help with their acne (to which I then considered referring them to me for counseling services). All that to say, I thought it might be helpful to share 3 brief do’s and don’ts as it relates to the world of skin care, and some best and not-so-best practices. 1. DO: Always wash your face at night. If you were going

3 Big Do’s and Don’ts of Skin Care You Need to Start Now Read More »

What to Do if Plan A Looks like Plan F!

By Darlene Brock / Life & Culture

You’ve finally landed your dream job, adopted that foster child you knew was meant to be yours, moved to the big city leaving the small town behind, or finally made your way into the college of your choice. Plan A has been achieved and all is well. Or maybe not… The thing in life about Plan A, if you’re so fortunate to find it, is that it does not answer all of life’s woes. There is very little in life that lives up to our expectations. Yes, I had to say that… Now, before you jump off that proverbial bridge of defeat realize this: whatever follows the failure of Plan A can often become so much better than what you had hoped for in the

What to Do if Plan A Looks like Plan F! Read More »

How Can We Be the Bridge to This Great Divide?

By Darlene Brock / Life & Culture

My heart continues to hurt because of the weeks we recently suffered; for the loss of life—all lives. I have never understood the lens that views humanity and focuses on our differences. Why do some individuals want to divide us, to pit us against one another? I don’t understand any of it today. I know we are unique; our life experience defines much of who we are and how we think… Yet I believe that creates an opportunity for us to offer a wonderful, rich perspective to one another. Yes, we do live in neighborhoods that are different from one another, with cultures uniquely our own, but in the uniqueness of our worlds there is a true treasure to be shared. What I do not believe is that

How Can We Be the Bridge to This Great Divide? Read More »

Do Women Need to Be "Empowered" in Order to Display Strength?

Do Women Need to Be “Empowered” to Display Strength?

By Darlene Brock / Life & Culture, Purpose

When speaking to the world of women’s issues, one of my least favorite words in the entire world is empowerment. Not only do I find it entirely overused, but I believe our gender already has within us an enormous amount of innate power. However, I don’t think we always understand what that means, and I certainly don’t think we draw from it as often as we should. When discussing the second movie installment in the Fifty Shades trilogy, Dakota Johnson (the actress playing the role of Ana Steele), was asked by Entertainment Tonight what she did to prepare for the sex scenes. Her reply, “ shot of whiskey… mints.” She also said, “He does pushups and I just like lay there and drink whiskey.” As

Do Women Need to Be “Empowered” to Display Strength? Read More »