Reverb 10: At my core

Prompt: Core story. What central story is at the core of you, and how do you share it with the world? (Bonus: Consider your reflections from this month. Look through them to discover a thread you may not have noticed until today.)

At my core: I am stronger than I though I was. I have an amazing support system. I am worth it. I am loved. I can do anything I put my mind to. I am amazing.

Reverb 10: Gift

Prompt: Gift. This month, gifts and gift-giving can seem inescapable. What's the most memorable gift, tangible or emotional, you received this year?

The most memorable gift I received this year was the gift of freedom. The gift to be who I really am. The gift of amazing friends. I could not have asked for a better gift this year.

Reverb 10: Defining moment

Prompt: Defining moment. Describe a defining moment or series of events that has affected your life this year.

I think my defining moment for 2010 was my breakup. I know I talk about it a lot. I feel like I not only broke up with him but also with a version of myself I didn't recognize. I feel like I lost myself. I need to take time for me and reconnect with myself. I know it will take time, but I know I will get there.

Reverb 10: Believe to achieve

Prompt: Achieve. What’s the thing you most want to achieve next year? How do you imagine you’ll feel when you get it? Free? Happy? Complete? Blissful? Write that feeling down. Then, brainstorm 10 things you can do, or 10 new thoughts you can think, in order to experience that feeling today.

I need to get off my butt. I need to do so much. I just need to move. I need to get a new job. I need to stop being lazy. I just need to do. I think I'll just keep moving forward. I'm scared I'll never feel complete. I need to believe in myself.

Reverb 10: Oh so oridnary

Prompt: Ordinary joy. Our most profound joy is often experienced during ordinary moments. What was one of your most joyful ordinary moments this year?

The sun isn't up yet, but he's ready to go. He knows we can't go anywhere until he has the leash on. Once he sits down, it goes on and off we go. We live right across the street from a park so walks are easy. I enjoy being outside, just the two of us. I feel peaceful and ready to start the day. So ordinary.

Reverb 10: Soul Food

Prompt: Soul food. What did you eat this year that you will never forget? What went into your mouth & touched your soul?

This one was tough for me. I cannot think of anything I ate that really touched me. I really hope to start cooking and exploring food more in 2011. Food is such an important part of where I live.

Reverb 10: A photo is word a thousand words

Prompt: Photo - a present to yourself. Sift through all the photos of you from the past year. Choose one that best captures you; either who you are, or who you strive to be. Find the shot of you that is worth a thousand words. Share the image, who shot it, where, and what it best reveals about you.




I took this photo right after I got my hair done. I also got contacts that day. It was a new beginning for me. I strive to me, always better, always learning.

Reverb 10: Everything is OK

Prompt: Everything's OK. What was the best moment that could serve as proof that everything is going to be alright? And how will you incorporate that discovery into the year ahead?

Nov. 24, 2010 at about 7 pm. She opened the door, and I sort of tackle hugged/fell into her arms. She let me cry in her shoulder for five minutes. That was really all I needed. I looked around the room, into the faces of people who are now family, and knew that I was going to be okay. No one said it was easy, they just said it would be worth it.

Reverb 10: What's in a name?

Prompt: New name. Let's meet again, for the first time. If you could introduce yourself to strangers by another name for just one day, what would it be and why?


heath·er [heth-er]
–noun
1. any of various heaths, esp. Calluna vulgaris, of England and Scotland, having small, pinkish-purple flowers.
–adjective
2. (of a yarn or fabric color) subtly flecked or mottled: all-cotton turtlenecks in your choice of five solid colors plus heather gray and heather green.
[Origin: 1300–50; sp. var. of hether, earlier hedder, hadder, hather, ME hathir; akin to heath]

—Related forms
heathered, adjective

That is what my name means. I tell people I'm named after a shrub. Growing up, I knew lots of girls with my name. I hated it. When there was more then one of us together, it was confusing because you had to figure out who they were talking to. Over the years, I have grown to like my name. Not love, just like.

Enter belly dancing. Heather is not the most exotic stage name out there so I won't be using it. This has been a topic of discussion since solo night. I don't have a stage name and am having a hard time coming up with one. I want something that stands out and embraces me, not only as a dancer, but as a person. Any suggestions?

Reverb 10: Travel

Prompt: Travel How did you travel in 2010? How and/or where would you like to travel next year? (Author: Tara Hunt)

I didn't do much traveling in 2010, unless you count going to RenFest traveling, which I do. It was like a mini vacation. So much fun. I would love to travel more in 2011. I need to stop saying I want things to happen and actually make them happen. I want to make for time for travel in 2011. Let's see if I can actually make it happen.

Reverb 10: Past and future

Prompt: Future Self. Imagine yourself five years from now. What advice would you give your current self for the year ahead? (Bonus: Write a note to yourself 10 years ago. What would you tell your younger self?) (Author: Jenny Blake)

Dear future me-
Take time for those who matter. Love with all your heart. Forgive freely. Stop worrying so much and just do. Work will always be there. You need to live. Don't regret decisions you have made; they have made you into the person you are. Tell people you love them all the time. Take time for yourself; go the movies, eat dinner, just be. I hope you have figured out who you are and love her. Stop beating yourself up. Life happens. Let it happen and love the journey. It's not about the destination.

Love,
Me

Dear younger self-
There are people in your life who love you more than anything. Turn to them. They will be there for you. Learn to love yourself. Learn when to shut up. I know a lot has happened to you but you are so much stronger for it. You have made your own family. It's okay to take time off of work. It will always be there. You will grow up to be headstrong and very giving. It's okay to take time for yourself. You will need it.

Love,
Me

Reverb 10: Avoiding things

Prompt: Beyond Avoidance. What should you have done this year but didn’t because you were too scared, worried, unsure, busy or otherwise deterred from doing? (Bonus: Will you do it?) (Author: Jake Nickell)

Well, I didn't go to RenFest like I wanted every weekend because of work. I still haven't left me job because I'm scared I won't find another one. There aren't many things I didn't do this year. That's good, right?

Reverb 10: Healing

Prompt: Healing. What healed you this year? Was it sudden, or a drip-by-drip evolution? How would you like to be healed in 2011? (Author: Leonie Allan)

My healing this year was slow and steady. I'm still going at it. I'm still healing from a broken relationship. It was nothing we both did, it just wasn't working. I'm still trying to find myself and am having fun doing so.

I would like to go into 2011 knowing that I learned from my mistakes and taking those lessons with me.

Reverb 10: Try

Prompt: Try. What do you want to try next year? Is there something you wanted to try in 2010? What happened when you did / didn’t go for it? (Author: Kaileen Elise)

This is short and sweet: I'm going to try to be a better version of myself in 2011. I have no other choice but to be better than what I am right now. I have to much life to live to anything but my best self.

Reverb 10: Lessons learned

Prompt: Lesson learned. What was the best thing you learned about yourself this past year? And how will you apply that lesson going forward?

I am very happy to say that I have learned a lot about myself this year. As the new year gets closer, I can only hope to take what I've learned forward.

I have learned that I have to do what is right for me, even if it hurts someone else.

I have learned that I have a lot of practicing to do if I want to be an amazing belly dancer.

I have learned that I am a lot stronger than I thought I was.

I have learned the value of true friendship.

I have learned that I am crazy beautiful and that I am loved, regardless of my flaws.

I have learned that I love hard and fight for what I believe in.

I will take these lessons and move forward, toward a better self and better year. I am so thankful to have learned all of these things and more.

Reverb 10: A little help from my friends

Prompt: Friendship. How has a friend changed you or your perspective on the world this year? Was this change gradual, or a sudden burst?

I'm 27 years old and have never known the value of true and loving friendship until this year. They have pushed me, listen to me complain, comforted me when needed, let me be my crazy self, let me grow and learn but having my back the whole time. I have found the most amazing group of people to surround myself with. They think my obsession with Twitter and Facebook is funny (I heart social media hard!), they think I'm hilarious to watch football with (I yell, scream, jump up and down, do my little dance.....all at the TV; I get that from my dad), they take care of me when I'm sick (Wild Blue.....not for a very long time; just thinking out it makes my stomach turn), they let me sleep on their bathroom floor, we cheese out over photos, they let me say what's really on my mind, they encourage me, they let me know when I've taken it too far and when I'm being the drama lama. They let me be me. They are my family, my heartbeat, my life.

They love me unconditionally. They take all of me, even the not so nice parts. I could not ask for better people to be part of my life.

I love you all from the bottom of my heart, more than you will ever know.

Reverb 10: 5 minutes

Prompt: 5 minutes. Imagine you will completely lose your memory of 2010 in five minutes. Set an alarm for five minutes and capture the things you most want to remember about 2010.

There is so much about this year I want to remember. I want to remember the nervousness before I stepped on stage for the first time in a very long time. I want to remember what an honor it was to audition and make troupe. I want to remember my first actual performance as a troupe member. Music stopping and starting, us finishing strong. I want to remember that I am a fighter, I fight for what I believe and love. I never give up. I want to remember her hugging me hen I told her it was over, letting me cry for 5 minutes then it was over. I want to remember how much I've found myself and lost myself at the same time. I want go remember the amazing friendships that I have. Helping my sister cook dinner and my pants getting ruined in my washer/dryer. I want to remember every good thing, and bad, for they have shaped me into the person I am today.

Reverb 10: Appreciate

Prompt: Appreciate. What's the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year? How do you express gratitude for it?

I have come to appreciate my friends more than ever. They have been there for me like never before. They have seen my happy, sad, angry, stressed, crazy. You name it, they've seen it. And still, they are here. I've come to appreciate their honesty and love. I don't know what I would do without them.

Reverb 10: Making it happen

Prompt: Action. When it comes to aspirations, its not about ideas. It's about making ideas happen. What's your next step?

I'm not the greatest at making things happen. I really should be, though. There is so much I need to get done. I need to find a new/better job. How am I making this happen? My friends are getting me interviews because I have given up. I know that's lame. It's high time I get my butt in gear. I need to make this happen.

I want to be a better dancer. Yeah, that requires practice. Me = dance slacker. I've even written about it. I want to be a better dancer. I need to make this happen.

I want to be better at a lot of things. I need to make them happen. I need to feel better about this.

Next year will be better.

Reverb 10: At one with my body

Prompt: Body integration. This year, when did you feel the most integrated with your body? Did you have a moment where there wasn't mind and body, but simply a cohesive YOU, alive and present?

It happened by the fire. Drummers behind me. Fire in front. Me in the middle. That night, I danced like I was the only person there. Something wonderful grabbed me and didn't let go. I let it run through me and out through my dance. Hips shimming, body moving. I felt more alive then than ever. It's magic, and I love it.

Location:Doucet Rd,Lafayette,United States