Women Taking Leaps: Interview with Michaela Cisney

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Women Taking Leaps: Interview with Michaela Cisney

To start, tell us a bit about your organization, Priyam Global:

Priyam Global is a movement to affirm the value of children affected by disability. We are a registered nonprofit with the mission of improving the quality of life for children with disabilities in poverty by investing in the women who raise them. Currently, we work in Chennai, India, where we are running a comprehensive economic empowerment and family support program for mothers of children with disabilities.

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How I Plan for a Trip (Especially to NYC)

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How I Plan for a Trip (Especially to NYC)

New York is my favorite place to go alone. To be completely anonymous, not just in a foreign place but among so many strangers who respect your space in response to you respecting theirs. Moving fluidly from metro stop to destination, one neighborhood to the next, a new world opening up before me as I climb the stairs from underground. 

In this post, I detail how I plan for my trip, the details I've arranged, and some special events I'm excited about. 

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Women Taking Leaps: Interview with Arielle Zadok

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Women Taking Leaps: Interview with Arielle Zadok

Share a bit about your life before you decided to move your whole life to New Zealand:

Before I moved to New Zealand I literally had no idea where it was. I actually thought it was a Scandinavian country (don’t tell my Kiwi mates that!). I had a friend who did a semester abroad there in college but besides a few MySpace photos (yes, I’ve just dated myself) of her having fun at someone’s house saying it was New Zealand, I had no idea it even existed.

I would never have thought of myself as adventurous or as a risk taker throughout my life, but I think at heart I always had it in me. I’m the daughter of two immigrants, and even more immigrants before that. It’s in my blood.

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Wildflowers100 - A Tranformative Experience

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Wildflowers100 - A Tranformative Experience

The first 100 days of 2017 proved to be a beautiful example of a life-in-progress. I pursued many things that weren't in my plans, looked at the world through new eyes, and found comfort in a new relationship with the word peace. This project, inspired by fellow blogger Mari Partyka, is a departure from New Year Resolutions and goal setting; instead, it's a clearing for a list of activities (big or small) that will breed joy in your heart. 

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Women Taking Leaps: Interview with Livia Gil

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Women Taking Leaps: Interview with Livia Gil

Share a bit about your life before becoming an international dancer:

I always wanted to explore more than my own country in the arts scene. In Brazil, there are few possibilities for dancers, while in Europe there are so many ballet companies and lots of investment in the arts and culture. I knew giving up living at home would be a challenge, but if I wanted to make a more interesting career in dance, with better opportunities and to gain more recognition, coming to Europe would be the right choice for me.

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Creating a "Capsule Wardrobe"

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Creating a "Capsule Wardrobe"

There are a lot of blogs out there that are entirely about capsule wardrobes.

You can find innumerable tips and lists and videos all about the creation of a capsule wardrobe. However, going through it is messy - a list doesn't prepare you for that. For years, I was "trying" to minimize and simplify my wardrobe (for the psychological/performance enhancing benefits alone), be more conscious of my consumption (buying quality, choosing a classic to wear long-term, etc), and to be truly voting with my dollars. It's clear to me that I was expecting a list or a worksheet to tell me everything I needed to know, how to budget for it, how to let go of pieces you love but never wear, and how to allow myself to feel comfortable in my own skin.

This is how I'm starting to create my capsule wardrobe. I'll write posts along the way, share what worked, what didn't, and what I discovered. 

Photo credit: Atelier de Curiosite

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Women Taking Leaps: Interview with Manuela Baron

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Women Taking Leaps: Interview with Manuela Baron

About the Women Taking Leaps series:

This blog - my life - would not be what it is today without the inspiring women in my life. Near and far, close friends and new acquaintances, incredible women have come into my life in my later years and opened a realm of possibilities for me, simply living by example. This blog series is the first of (hopefully) many to highlight the females that are forging onward, creating lives they love, and making a positive mark on this world.

To start this series, I am proud to introduce Manuela Baron, also known as The Girl Gone Green. Manuela hosts a thriving YouTube channel and Instagram community about conscious living through minimizing waste and being mindful of our impact on the environment.

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Acknowledging (and Henceforth Knowing) My Worth

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Acknowledging (and Henceforth Knowing) My Worth

Yesterday, I caught up with Meg of Root for Food, an Insta-famous food blogger I had no idea lived right down the street from me until we got connected. We met at Love Food Central with her pup Iroh and though we hadn’t hung out but once in a group before, we clicked immediately like old friends.

We touched on a lot of topics - some health and nutrition, the book Better Than Before which we’re both reading, and largely: running online businesses. 

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Landmark Forum Changed My Life

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Landmark Forum Changed My Life

The farther away from it I get the less it seems real.

What I felt in that room, when we were all coming to terms with the fact that all the drama, all the stories, all the negative emotions and preconceived notions - we made it all up. It wasn’t actually there. We certainly CAN feel and others CAN feel in reaction to our behavior - but we can’t know it for certain, ever. Even if they say “what you did made me sad”, it isn’t true. It’s their own story.

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When I Feared Food

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When I Feared Food

When I was younger, I was a competitive baton twirler (AKA pageant girl). It's a hostile environment for young women who are just learning to determine their worth. In this world, worth is determined by strangers based your talent and your appearance, compared to the other women in your division. You are watched, criticized, sized-up, scored, and placed in order of value with your peers, often girls you know and like, who you may (often) end up being "less than". 

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Wildflowers100 - A New Year Project

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Wildflowers100 - A New Year Project

In our own ways, 2016 was quite a year. Whether you're into astrology, politics, religion, finance, education, or the state of the human race - we had a lot going on last year. Lately, I've found it more difficult to keep my chin up and going into 2017, I metaphorically "cancelled" January so I could slow down and focus on healing. My new year technically starts February 1.

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