THE ATTITUDE IS GRATITUDE By Sara Stepa

Hey Party People, It’s SUMMERTime!! I know it looks different than we’re used to, where we don’t quite have the same freedoms, but in my eyes, the sun doesn’t stop shining y ’all. I’ve had many people say (even before COVID happened) that there was nothing to do in Calgary. Maybe you’ve heard the same where you live, but I just don’t believe that’s true, there is ALWAYS something going on, you just have to look for it and want to find it. So why is it so hard to find things to do? Well, I think it’s because we’re often so caught up in or exhausted from our to-do lists. When we need to do anything above and beyond our daily tasks or things that might require a little extra effort it just isn’t happening. Its too much work. Or if you ’ re like me maybe you struggled with the work-life balance. I often shame myself when I lose focus or spend a day “doing nothing” when I could be knocking things off that or working towards my goals. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you l...

Hey Party People, Your Purpose. Your Dream. Your Calling. What are your heart and soul calling you to do? Since you were a young child have you had a vision or dream of who you wanted to be or where you wanted your life to go? I know many people who have known their path from early on, not all of them have achieved it (yet!) but they knew what they wanted. For me, I never knew, and honestly still don ’ t (yet!). I constantly change my answer to the question, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” I wanted to be a mechanic, a chef, a geophysicist, a travel writer, a social worker, a UN field worker, a CEO. I always changed my vision based on what was in front of me or what skills and knowledge I was gaining at the time. Overtime though, I’m started to pay attention to what lights me up. Maybe I’m a pie-in-the-sky millennial living on wishful thinking that I can have it all. A job I love, a partner who checks all my boxes, a life that brings me joy more days than not. A bel...

Hey Party People, Have you ever been called selfish? Has it stung or hurt like an insult that hits you at your core? I have a long time ago and it hurt my heart that someone would use this dirty word to describe me or my intentions. Now I have a very different perspective of the word. But first, let’s look at how selfish is defined. I looked up a couple definitions or meanings associated with the word and this is what came up.     Devoted to or caring only for oneself     Concerned primarily with one's own interests, benefits, welfare, etc., regardless of others      Manifesting concern or care only for oneself     Lacking consideration for others     Concerned chiefly with one's own personal profit or pleasure All of these definitions have two things in common. First, they are all centred around oneself. Second, they have a negative spin on them that only oneself is important. We associate this word as negative,...

Hey Party People, Life. Friendships. Work. Social Justice. Relationships. Health. Babies. Goals. Writing. That’s just a quick list of things that have been occupying my brain over the past month or so and I’ve felt incredibly sporadic. I felt like I constantly jumped from thought to thought to thought without being able to finish another or accomplish a task. My brain was scattered and sporadic, so my life felt the same. And honestly it was beginning to just piss me right off. I am a get things done type of girl and not being able to focus on something long enough to gain clarity or complete it began to cause frustration. I got to the point where because I felt I was being pulled in 10 different directions I just didn’t do anything. Anyone else get to this point? It could also feel like a sense of overwhelm where there is so much to do but you don’t know where to start, so we do nothing. I noticed these feelings a few weeks ago where I was feeling unfocused, or distracted but...