J. Isabel Designs

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Never settle.

Mar 19, 2018
3 min

Never settle.

Brave girl, never settle again. It has taken me years to love myself, to trust myself, and to be myself, and I am damn sure not going to let anyone talk me into accepting less than what I deserve, being treated as less than I am, and striving for less than what I am capable of achieving. Often we settle for friendships, relationships, and careers that are not for us, that do not serve us, and that do not make us happy. We must stop this pattern of settling for less! We deserv

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Letting go.

Jul 16, 2017
1 min

Letting go.

Letting go is never easy. Letting go of expectations. Letting go of hopes and dreams. Letting go of love. These things that we fear are what keep us up at night, and haunt our thoughts during the day. We fear losing. We fear missing out. We fear not being good enough or enough at all. Why do we fear these things? Is it because we want others to believe in things that we don't even believe in? Is it for the show? Is it for the false image we strive to create so that nobody see

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Feeling lost.

Jul 16, 2017
2 min

Feeling lost.

Some days you just feel lost. You are confused. You have no direction. You wake up with no intentions of getting out of bed, and yet you eventually manage to peel back the covers, roll over, and feel the cold floor beneath your weary feet. These are the days that lack motivation, inspiration and personal drive. It is nothing to be ashamed of, but you feel as though you have let everyone down. You feel like you have let yourself down. Things are not going well. Things are not

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Haters.

Jun 26, 2017
3 min

Haters.

What is a hater? Someone who doesn't like you? Someone who is jealous? Someone who doesn't appreciate your successes? This term means different things to everyone, but I think we can all agree that we have faced this negativity before. In everyday life, we may face haters if we are successful, if we are perceived as attractive, or if we are in some way intimidating to someone else. I believe this is a more positive perspective on this topic as others may think haters come fro

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The future.

May 25, 2017
3 min

The future.

Donut stop believing. Does anybody else sit and think about the future? What will I be doing in 5 years? In 10 years? What will I look like? Who will I love? Who will love me? Where will I be? I have been asking myself these questions a lot lately, and sometimes I get a little overwhelmed thinking about the possible outcomes. If you didn't already know, I am 25 years old, single, and do not have any children. My future is a book of open pages ready to be filled with new adven

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Missin' you.

May 10, 2017
4 min

Missin' you.

If you have experienced a great loss in your life, you know that most days are hard when so many things remind you of someone you love. When holidays and birthdays come around, it is another reminder that there is something missing. There is a place in your heart that cannot be filled. There is a place in your mind that forever wanders to the what ifs. What if this had been different? What could I have done? What if I could have a few minutes back to say what I no longer can?

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Keep in touch.

May 8, 2017
3 min

Keep in touch.

Keep in touch. We say it after long conversations with forever friends. We say it after a quick run in with an old acquaintance at the grocery store. We say it when we hope for a call back, but don't know how long that hope will hold out before we realize that the call will never come. When you say keep in touch, do you follow through? Do you update loved ones on the ins and outs of your daily life? Do you remind a friend how much you care, even when you don't see each other

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Moving on...

May 3, 2017
4 min

Moving on...

Ah, graduation. A time in your life that is both wonderful and scary. What's next? Do you have a plan? Now is when your future begins, they say. Whether you are fresh out of High School, or flipping the tassel after four years of College, the occasion deserves a grand celebration. Why is graduation so important? Because you did it! You made it! Against all odds. Despite a significant lack of sleep, moments that lacked focus or direction, and despite the days where you did not

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Finding your passion.

Apr 29, 2017
4 min

Finding your passion.

Hello world of opportunities. 👋🏻🌎 Whether you are still in High School, fresh out of college, or all settled into your new house with your new husband, there is always an opportunity to find your passion and chase it with open arms. Are you seeking something that makes you want to jump out of bed everyday? I'm talking about something more than your amazing family, or your adorable dog's wagging tail and smiling face in the morning, but something a bit more personal than th

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Why don't you believe in me?

Apr 25, 2017
4 min

Why don't you believe in me?

In life, there are people who believe in you, and people who don't. The only difference between these two sets of people, is who you choose to listen to. You can't do that. There have been many times in my life where people haven't believed in me. There have also been times that people said I couldn't do something. If I would have listened to them, I wouldn't be where I am today. When I was in 6th grade, we moved across states, and just before 9th grade, we moved again. I was

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Compassion, love, selflessness.

Apr 22, 2017
5 min

Compassion, love, selflessness.

Compassion, love, selflessness. What do these words mean to you? Do you believe in them? Do you feel them? There have been times in my life where I have felt these toward other people, but the other day I felt them in a whole new way. Tuesday April 18th, 2017 Tuesday April 18th, 2017 started out as any other day. I woke up a bit tired, and I had some things on my mind, but I hopped out of bed and got the day started. Had some breakfast, took a shower, worked out, then got sta

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Mar 29, 2017
4 min

Truth: I don't know what I am doing with my life.

So here I am, 25 years old. I have a small business, I have three degrees, and I have no idea what I am doing with my life. I have always pushed myself harder than most, and I have always aspired to do more and to be more. When I was younger, I was very ambitious, and that attitude carried into my adult years. Part of this relentless need to be successful or to "find my way" as they say, has led me to question so many things that probably should not have been my concern at th

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Dreams don't always come true.

Mar 6, 2017
3 min

Dreams don't always come true.

When you are younger and someone asks you want you want to be when you grow up, your first response might be a doctor, or an astronaut, or a dinosaur. When you get into high school and when you go off to college, they ask you again. This time you might respond with a teacher, a marine biologist, or a systems analyst. When we are children, those around us let our imaginations run wild and allow us to believe in whatever we wish. Once we get older, they put limitations on us an

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I am an overthinker.

Mar 4, 2017
5 min

I am an overthinker.

Dear diary, My mind runs a thousand miles a minute, all hours of the day. From the first moment I wake up, to the last seconds before I fall asleep, and within every moment and during every conversation in between, my thoughts are running wild. I am here, but my mind is elsewhere. I promise I am not the type to ignore someone. I promise that although my resting bi*** face states otherwise, I am not a mean person. I promise that when I forget something that was said a mere thi

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Healing a broken heart.

Feb 27, 2017
4 min

Healing a broken heart.

When a broken heart is mentioned, many people first go to the thought of lost love and broken relationships. Truthfully, it is much more than that. A broken heart can come from severed ties and the loss of a loved one, but it can also come from disappointment, self doubt, and the insecurities of a single person. Sometimes in life we find ourselves disappointed and at a loss of words, direction, and emotion. This emptiness can lead us to question our very presence on this Eart

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So much to do. So little motivation.

Feb 25, 2017
2 min

So much to do. So little motivation.

Not every day starts inspired. Some days I need a boost of motivation. Sometimes I am little discouraged that day. Sometimes it's an entire week. A week of wondering what am I doing with my life, or is what I am doing working? Being a small business owner is a lot of work. Definitely rewarding and awesome, but still a lot of work! There are good days and bad. There are tears, laughter, and immense joy. ( Sometimes on the same day!) Although these emotions are fleeting, when I

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Best week ever! Naturally, I cried.

Feb 17, 2017
3 min

Best week ever! Naturally, I cried.

Dear diary, Today was interesting. I cried. The problem is, is that this week, this week has been the best of my life. Wonder why? This week was the best, because this week, I finally felt like a business owner, I finally felt like I had some control, and I felt like things were looking up. This week I received a lot of praise for the things that I have done. The compliments, reviews, and sweet messages affirming that my creativity was well received and people actually enjoy

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Twenty-Five

Feb 10, 2017
2 min

Twenty-Five

The Early Twenties Notes to myself. So 25, here we are, two months in. No longer in the 18-24 age range category. Ok, moving up in the world. 1 year older, 1 year wiser. I'm sure of it. I'm sure I've learned more in the last few years than the previous 20. What did my early twenties teach me though? So many tough, but valuable lessons. So many tears, so much laughter, and so much heartache. It is really true that as you get older your friends become few, but even more valuabl

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Im not successful because I'm not...rich?

Feb 7, 2017
4 min

Im not successful because I'm not...rich?

Cash. Money. Bills. Stacks. Whatever you refer to the green stuff as, we can all agree that society feeds off of it. Society tells us that we need more, that if we have more, we are superior, and that if we have less, we are lesser. I like to apply a lot of my understanding of these topics to my business because that is what I am currently enthralled in. The first thing that people say to me when I tell them what I do, has been weighing on my mind quite a bit lately. First I

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Feeling uninspired.

Feb 2, 2017
3 min

Feeling uninspired.

Feeling stuck. Not every day is going to be a good day. Some days you feel uninspired, unmotivated, and simply put, tired. These are the days where it is hard to push, hard to move forward, and hard to feel like anything is worth your time. There doesn't always have to be a trigger for days like this. It could be a long time coming, completely random, or it could be the result of a particular event or encounter that leaves you feeling utterly let down. In the past, it seemed

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