Time vs. Success

Time... 

Time is survival

Time is fashion

Time is culture

Time is patience

Time is rushed

Time is opportunity

Time is rushed .
-Amela Sandra


My little poem on time is another way of expressing how I feel about time which I think many people can relate to.

I've heard people brag and complain about their time.
It can be annoying but the most annoying is when people complain about my time.

I am not in a race with anyone,

I am strolling down the world of endless opportunities.

I am not in a race with anyone,

I am focused on my well being.

I am not in a race with anyone,

time is short but so is life.

That's exactly what I tell my family, friends and anyone else who has something smart to say about my time. 

The thing is, there isn't really enough time.

There are so many opportunities out there... Sometimes those opportunities turn to failures, mistakes or in brief.... they're a waste of time.

I don't regret the time it took for me to realize what I want to do with my life.

I would rather that I have been on the journey that I have lived through, the experiences I have learned and grown from than to quickly jump into a dream that I've worked so hard for only to realize that:

"Actually... Maybe I should not have spent $200,000+ on University to become a ________. Instead I want to become a painter."

I've heard stories like that endlessly!

In fact a few weeks ago I had met a woman who was just three years older than I am. We really connected and somewhere in the conversation I had asked her what she did for a living. She passionately replied "I'm just starting out my own interior design business." I was impressed and so naturally I had asked her: Which college did you study at? She had looked at me and then zoned off, most likely thinking about all of the debt she is in. She went to an Ivy League school and not that there is anything wrong with that, I respect and admire her dedication, motivation and willpower.... But I felt bad for her. She had wasted all of that time, but she actually didn't waste that time.

The thing is, naturally we are always ready to judge someone.

We are always ready to create some sort of assumption about a person.

And most of all, we shamelessly judge other people without even knowing their story, their situation and their struggles.

I had quickly changed the subject and we went back to speaking about architecture which I know nothing about but she took a class at her school and she was always passionate about the beauty of the relationship between structures and living.

My Personal Dilemma:

My mother always nags at me "Why can't you be like ____..." 

Ugh. It is very annoying. While I appreciate and respect my mother caring about my future. 

It is annoying to compare yourself or others with others.

It's just not natural to compare yourself to someone else.

It is impossible to be like someone else.

You could never be someone or anyone else, you can only be yourself.

Just as my favorite writer motivated me to be myself:

link to image source

So just be yourself because your life is your life.

No one will live your life for you so you must live your life for yourself.

No one will feel what you feel and experience what you're experiencing the way you are experiencing your feelings, your failures, your success, your life.

Just live your life.

& as for time . . . 

Time is just how much time you have to decide be who you want to be.

Time is a reminder that at any minute you can change.

Time is an opportunity to make your life better.

& let me explain why time is an opportunity to improve your life:

One evening I went to the store, the owner's son had asked me "How are you doing today?"

My frown was bigger than ever and I replied: Terribly!

He is about seven years old and his response was too funny and cute, as though I had told him that I've always hated getting free candy on Halloween. He replied "OH NO! THAT'S TERRIBLE! You're the first person to say that!"

So I looked at him and my heart broke, it was my opportunity to listen to what I had learned earlier in my life when my day was much more difficult than that evening. I looked at the time on my phone and enthusiastically told him: You know what, there is ten hours left in this day so I will make sure that today is a beautiful day! And he was happy.

Remember my loyal readers, and my newbies,

There are 24 hours in a day and you can make your every minute, every mili-second the most incredible time of your life!

Time is on your side if you want it to be!

Remember from my previous posts: it is your choice.

It is your decision how you view the world.

Time is on your side!

This time live the life you've always dreamed of.

Sending Good Vibes, x's & o's your way! 
Amela Sandra

Everything written on this blog post are my words unless in quotes.

All content is part of intellectual property, any distribution or repetition of my content will be pursued for rightful compensation to the fullest extent of the law.

Dream, Desire, Enjoy!

Dream about where you want to be.

Desire the type of person you want to become.

Enjoy living the life you have always dreamed of.



We tend to forget who we truly are underneath all of the propaganda we have been over exposed to. I remember when I was a teenager I had five magazine subscriptions, I would watch MTV shows every night and slowly I forgot who I was.
I was becoming someone else.


The transition of going from the person I had created as a result of being over exposed by the images which were sold to me to the person my heart desired for me to be... it made me depressed.


I had began to rely on expensive products.
I wanted to do whatever was cool.
I wanted to be current with all of the latest trends.
As a result I had begun working at a young age at part-time jobs as a cashier for luxurious pastry shops.

The years went by and I began developing, going through the phases a teenager goes through. Finally by college I had absolutely no idea who I was but I had a sense of what I had enjoyed and the people I had wanted to be around.
Eventually, I had realized that those people were not really the type of people I had wanted to be around.
The things I was doing were fun, going out, going to college and doing the things that normal college freshmen do.

What I had realized was that I had lacked a lot.
I'm not talking about I didn't have certain things but I had lacked certain qualities.

I honestly think that at every phase in our lives we began to question our actions.
This to me is healthy!
If you just live your life without examining your life every now and then you will never realize that your life is a never ending cycle. It is as though you are a hamster on a wheel running, and running into nothingness.



I began to dream... bigger.
It wasn't an easy process but I had re-evaluated myself over and over which is healthy and normal.

My dreams became my desires. My desires became my determination.
My determination was hard work. Finally I enjoyed what my hard work has provided me with.


To succeed on your own, simply by being yourself is one of the greatest accomplishments you could ever have in life. 
That's the way I see the world.



Here's a Tip for You:
Don't be afraid to look at where you are now, 
where you're going and 
where you might end up. 

Now re-evaluate why you are where you are now.
What were the actions you had taken to bring you to this place?
What were the failures that had brought you to this place?

Where do you expect those actions/failures will take you?

Did you know those actions and results would take you where you are today?
Where will these actions and experiences take you tomorrow?



Think About it!
x o 

Amela Sandra



(all material on this blog was written by Amela Sandra, please ask for permission before referencing any of the content of this blog. Failure to ask for permission will result in a legal liability.) 

Independent Woman: Finances

I am not the most frugal woman in the world but I try my best to save as much money as I possibly can.
This year I have promised myself to become frugal and own it!
Here's what I do:
First, I would like to share that there are some incredible apps that I've uploaded onto my smart-phone to help me keep track of my finances.

One of the apps that I absolutely love is Mint  !
This app helps me keep track of how much money I'm spending on what on a graph.
It also helps me create a budget per expense for the week which is a great way for me to keep track of my spending habits. 
The app shows you how much you have available in your bank accounts, student loans, etc...
I know exactly how much student debt I have and how many bills I have to pay as well as how much money I have left per expense so I don't go over budget and when I do go over my budget, the app shows me just how much I went over and if it is necessary for me to adjust my spending or my budget I can do that on the app too. I absolutely LOVE this app! It also sends you notifications! How awesome is that? I can keep track of how broke I am via Student Debt and also see how much money I have left via my bank accounts.



Another app that I've just recently uploaded is called Expensify which has many options to get myself organized. They have great options for people who buy things for work and need to get reimbursed for the purchase via their reports options. The app also has a Trips option which lets you see your flight status and alerts you, it has a quick itinerary overview and auto-created expenses for your trip. That's great in case I start traveling soon and need to keep track of my travel expenses which is important to me because I spend wayyyy too much money, carelessly, when I travel. Another option, which is my favorite, the app lets you take pictures of your receipts! That's PERFECT for me! I am a receipt hoarder! So this is the best thing ever for a receipt hoarder!!! Receipt Hoarder NO MORE ! I'm excited!



I'm still a loyal user of RetailMeNot -- I think this app is great! I've heard of another app called Coupon Sherpa which I haven't used yet ! But RetailMeNot hasn't disappointed me yet, it's saved me a lot of money! It shows me what's on sale online and in-store however I feel as though many more of my favorite stores should be part of the app and I also feel like more stores should have discounts as much as possible because living in NYC is too expensive as it is!!!


The KeyRing app has seriously helped me on so many occasions for one, having ADHD means forgetting your keys. So whenever I forget either my keys or my phone at home, I know that I have my "key-rings" available with either one and if I forget both which has happened before... Then I'm just... I hate ADHD. But when I do bring either one I save so much money! 


Other ways that I save money are:


- Grocery Lists: when you go grocery shopping without any plans or a list, you tend to spend recklessly and then you forget about buying the things that you've originally went to the store to buy in the first place.

- Recycling: There are many ways in which you can recycle: 

• Visit your local thrift shop and donate, some places even give you a receipt which you can use for your taxes and when you give that receipt to your accountant or tax preparer you can get reimbursed if completed properly
• Trade-In Store Events, some stores have trade-ins it is a great way to recycle your item and get a discount for it but sometimes it isn't worth it if you can just exchange it within a community or sell it for example, my son's car seat is too small for him and babies r us is having a huge trade in this week until february, the event is great but I'm not interested in giving up my almost $300 Maxi-Cosi car seat for a 25% off coupon. THANKS but, NO THANKS!
• Swap-Parties: Get your friends together and swap your clothes with other! I know you have piles and piles of clothing lying around in your closet which you remind yourself that you will wear someday but end up never wearing it five years later and then it just sits around in your closet collecting dust or you eventually convince yourself that it's time to throw it out... five years later.

If you have any ideas or tips you'd like to share please comment below!

Happy Saturday! 

x o

Amela Sandra

Good Vibes: Relationships

How to Create a Positive Lifestyle through Good Vibes
There are many ways to create a positive life.
One of those ways is by looking at the people that are in your life and re-evaluating their purpose in your life.

I have met so many women and men who range from 20-something and up who have decided that they need to be detached from their family, certain relatives, friends and any other specific people.
There will be some people in our lives that we meet and then later must avoid.
We don't avoid those type of people because we are greedy or have the esteem that we are much better than they are.
Actually, it is completely healthy and okay to avoid certain people.


If someone makes you feel:
- weak
- miserable
- upset
- like they're constantly calling you just to use you
- when you call them they never answer your calls
- when they call you, you answer and say that you are sorry and can not help them they don't call back for weeks, months or years and then again they only reason they suddenly call you is because they need something from you
- people who put you down
- people who speak badly of you behind your back to your friends/family
- people who write negative things to you on facebook whether they are a friend/relative or a friend's friend; ignore them & avoid them and block them if necessary

The negative people in your life bring stress into your life.
Why add stress into your life if you already have enough to be concerned with?
Stress is not healthy for your mind or your body.
Cut any and every negative person out of your life.
It is 2015 and at this time, at the beginning of the new year many people are searching for people who share the same interests as they do. These people are very positive and they will welcome you with open arms. Stick around with the positive people, the people who make you feel good about yourself. Keep close to you the people who truly care for you, not those who pretend to do. No one is perfect, of course, but if a person betrays you more than once, it is very rare that they will not do it again.



So today, re-evaluate the people you have chosen to be part of your life, your mind & your emotions.
Choose wisely.
Be brutally honest with yourself.
Remember, I was born an only-child so I know that being alone does not mean you are alone.
It means you are in solitude.
And it is better to have part-time companions than people which you dedicate your time to and call friends who simply do not care for you.
Get to know those part-time companions and if they are worth while, as in they bring good vibes into your life than replace those old negative crappy friends with new positive, loving & caring friends! 

Always stay with people who are honest with you and respect you for who you are!
It will be painful and lonely but if you immerse yourself in the activities you enjoy, you will attract those who share your interests. 


Yours Truly,
Amela Sandra