I came into May stylin’ and profilin’. Despite a whirlwind month emotionally, I have no doubt that June will be a better month and the start of a great summer.
May started out sunny and warm. The first of the month we had a perfect night for a Toastmasters meeting and I was able to finish my blog and send it before I had to go to work that night. I got a compliment on my outfit which I appreciated as I continued to smash the status quo. The next day I celebrated Mr. Clougherty as he turned 60 years old a week before. We had dinner at Primanti’s and he loved his gift cards.
The Spring Conference was that weekend. I’ve said a lot about it in blogs this month so I don’t have too much more to add. It was nice to be back in person for the first time since 2019 (I worked the last two years and the two before that, well you know). I did attend online in 2021 but it was a hard weekend as my uncle had just passed. If you think about it, 2019 was pre-blog and pre-journey for me. So this was the first conference since those changes were made.
I had fun but I wasn’t all that happy. Was it the hotel? Was it the conference agenda? Was it how the contests were run? I could have given myself a better tour of the hotel and checked things out. I could have sipped that mint julep like I wanted to but didn’t. I loved that we had some people dressing for the Kentucky Derby since that was going on over the weekend. The conference agenda was good. I’m glad the DEC meeting and elections went Friday night instead of Saturday. I learned a lot from our keynote speakers and enjoyed the speeches. The Sunday morning breakfast was a nice treat and a great way to end a nice weekend. So what went wrong for me in May?
May was Mental Health Awareness Month. Throughout my gender nonconformity journey, people have complimented me on what I’m doing. However, I still feel the need to defend myself. Despite all the great remarks I’ve gotten, I wanted validation from someone and I never got it. They don’t get on social media much and I’m on there all the time and it seems that I always want to crave attention from everyone. Like the last two Mays, I felt that self-doubt once again that accompanied the discouragement and depression. But, I did better this time and as we turn to June, I’m not letting the nasty shit take over. I’m also not going to think about giving up like I almost did last year. I need to learn to love myself more plus, be more confident in myself. Also, I need to not worry about what others think.
An unprecedented event occurred in PA last month and that was the amount of tornado touchdowns we had in southwestern PA. 16 tornadoes were confirmed during the month, a record that smashes the previous record of 11 from 1985. One such tornado event made national headlines and that was the one that hit Washington County on May 11. A week later, a tornado touched down in Highland Park near the zoo. Recently, Latrobe saw one that was weaker. Nevertheless, the weather has been crazy this Spring.
Enough about the weather and my sob story, time for some positives from May.
Benny came home on Gram’s birthday and we all celebrated. They’ve made a few trips down to visit and recently, we all got together to have a picnic over Memorial Day weekend. He had his high school graduation Friday night and it was well-attended. A graduation party will take place later this month.
I let go of the negative emotions holding me back this month and when I did, it really showed. My mood changed and I felt much better.
I rediscovered my love for podcasts and found a great rewatch podcast that looks back at the classic ’90s TGIF show Boy Meets World. I’m listening to their interview with Lisa Loeb right now and have some blog inspo in mind for tomorrow’s post. I’ll preview a couple more podcasts this month centered around classic ’90s TV and look for a food podcast as well.
I’m at the halfway point of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It’s a much better read than Order of the Phoenix and not as dark. I’ll have this one done by my birthday and should have all seven books done by the end of Summer. I’ll watch the movies after I finish each book.
As I close off this recap, I’m looking ahead to vacation at the end of June and my agenda is looking great. There’s a coffee stand I want to try called Latte Lane in Harmarville. I also want to drive up to Slippery Rock and check out my old campus. Even though I’ve gone up multiple times, my perspective has changed drastically since I graduated. The blog and the journey have changed things for me. I’ll check out the Greensburg Night Market which is that week and, I have plans to shop at Tanger and go to Market District (either Robinson or South Hills). It’ll be a great week for food and fashion as I think about buying a new bag.
Stylish 🍒 