Just my final thoughts before I fell asleep last night combined with my favorite photo I've ever taken. Music makes me feel free and capable of anything. There's a sense of magic that takes me to another level. The photo was taken at Ghostland Observatory's 2009 concert at The Valarium in Knoxville, TN. I thought it was a perfect fit from a perfect evening.
Last night I discovered this list among many others for January Photo Challenges. What a great new way to start off a new year! Simply tag #JanuaryPhotoChallenge to your photos everyday and join the photo fun! It's only day 3, so it's not too late to catch up! There are quite a few options to choose from. Find your favorite and CHALLENGE YOURSELF! Start your year with a simple and self-gratifying accomplishment!
Lauren Grady (@sunshine_dayydream) is a 22 year old Hooper and Graduate Student at Sage Graduate School in Troy, NY. Currently working on her doctorate in physical therapy, she eventually plans to specialize in pediatrics. Not only does Lauren love children, she also loves cats, hula hoops, and music festivals. During her senior year as an undergrad, she was a team leader with a group who taught the younger generation how to hula hoop in order to relieve stress and become more physically active. Aside from hooping, she spends her time reading, learning, making hemp jewelry, helping others, dancing, and enjoying the great outdoors.
Lauren's Hoop Journey started in July 2012. In preparation for the All Good Music Festival, she really started dedicating herself. For Lauren, hooping is more than a circle that spins 'round and 'round. It has become a form a physical fitness she looks forward to, meditation, confidence, and an excellent way to bond with others. In an email Lauren stated, "It makes me so happy to hand a hoop over to a newcomer and watch them light up when they can do it. I have now gotten many friends into this lovely lifestyle, and they are so grateful. I held a World Hoop Day at my college with a bunch of my friends this year and they all have gotten so good. Now that just feels amazing."
This little ray of sunshine is all about sharing her love and gift, and I simply wanted to return the favor. Look up her instagram and YouTube. It's a haven of happy hooping!!!
If you haven't noticed, Hula Hooping has become one of the largest influential factors in social media's creative spectrum. YouTube and Instagram are filled with millions of videos and photos expressing and teaching the art. Surprisingly, the only network somewhat lacking in this trend is Facebook. However, Instagram's@dreamr89(a.k.a. Jenni D) noticed the absence of unity and took it upon herself to make the change. She recently started a new Community Page called Hula Hoopersin hopes to bring even more people together. Hoopers are connecting all over the world through social networks and thanks to Jenni there is another link!
Thanks to the magical concept of hashtags, networking oneself in social media has gotten a lot easier. People from all over the world are connecting at a much higher rate because they are able to find other people who are interested in or doing the same things. Clicking a single link that consists of anything from a single word to an entire sentence takes us to a place where thousands, if not millions, of people have posted statuses, images, and/or videos in the same category. I suppose hashtags are the inspirational root of this blog. Somehow, (I'm assuming it's hula hoop hashtag related) I recently accumulated over 1,000 followers on my Instagram. I find this amazing and extremely humbling. People constantly communicate with me about similar interests and random topics. The small town I live in doesn't really coincide with my personality, and social networking seems to be the only outlet for my eccentric side. Due to the amount of photos and hula hooping videos I post, people started asking me the infamous three questions: "Where did you get those pants?"
"Where did you get that shirt?"
"Where do you get your clothes?"
The answer to these three questions hasn't changed in approximately 10 years. I'm used to random people asking me at the store or a concert, and I've always told them the same thing: At least 98% of my wardrobe consists of one distributor--Soul Flower. Their 'cool threads for kind heads' have provided me with more clothes and compliments than I can fathom. Now that I answer these questions at least once a day, I started tagging Soul Flower's Instagram in my comments in order to provide people with the proper link to their website. They can only be found online, which makes shopping for clothes with them more exciting. You see things you've never seen anywhere and you won't even know what it's really like until you get it. The only guarantee is that you'll fall in love. It's like Christmas every time the mailman delivers a Soul Flower package. Soul Flower noticed my consistent referrals and actually thanked me. That alone was good enough for me. As the compliments and questions continued, my responses did as well, and the next thing I knew, Soul Flower offered to feature me on their blog. I definitely wasn't looking for any recognition. Their company has been so good to me over the years, I thought I was simply returning the favor. They've sent mixed CD's of live shows, thank yous for being a dedicated customer, buttons and magnets, etc. Little did they know that this customer was the same girl advertising them on Instagram like she was in a catalog. (Not that I'm catalog material, but you get the point.) I couldn't believe that an online company could be as personable as they already seemed. They posted my feature on Thursday and I still can't believe it. I never imagined myself actually connecting and communicating with them on a personal level. I just wanted to say thank you again, and remind them how grateful I am; not just for the feature, but for all the years of excellent Customer Service and clothing that I still own and wear. If you're someone who likes to dress a little differently than what may be considered the 'average' person, you should really check them out. They never disappoint! Smiles are guaranteed!
