0 why I will never support goodwill again

Sometimes we see something that bothers us enough to make us pause but not enough to make us speak up about it. Such was the case for me about a year ago when I was doing my normal rounds at a Goodwill store in the Atlanta area. As I was perusing one of the racks near the perimeter of the store, I heard what appeared to be a manager speaking very intensely to one of his subordinates. The store design was set up with a tall half-wall which separated the shopping area from the receiving and sorting area. What I heard was coming from this blocked off receiving area. The manager was speaking loud enough that his voice traveled over the wall and smacked me in the ear. I don't remember the exact words he said, but his tone was as if he was speaking to a disobedient dog and the words basically summed up to calling the intended recipient an idiot.

What I overheard was enough to make me stop what I was doing and frown. I did not, however, do anything about it. At the time, I thought, "Maybe that manager is just having a bad day..." and remembered that there is always a bad apple in the bunch. Since then, there have been a few more times when I went to a Goodwill store and behavior or working conditions stuck out to me.

But after seeing this video, posted by one of my Facebook friends, I have decided to no longer support Goodwill stores with donations or my money. I cannot support a company that calls themselves a non-profit and pays disadvantaged/disabled workers pennies per hour while their leadership makes 100s of 1000s (in some case millions) of dollars!

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This really hit me deeply as I am such an avid thrift store shopper. (About 60% of my wardrobe is thrifted!) You may remember that I even dedicated a Design Talk webisodeto it. And being that Goodwill is probably THE most popular thrift store I feel like in promoting the fun of thrift store shopping I have inadvertently helped their business. What they are doing is disgusting to me. The gentleman in the video said it best, by paying these individuals next to nothing to come to work everyday, Goodwill is telling them that they are not worth it. Every human deserves to be compensated fairly for their work & especially those who have limited capacity to make more. I will no longer be supporting Goodwill, and I encourage you to do the same.

Here are some of my favorite thrift stores in Raleigh that you can enjoy instead:

Cause for the Paws (benefits SPCA)
1634 S Saunders St
Raleigh, NC 27603
(919) 755-8906
http://cfpaws.com/

Father & Sons Vintage
107 W Hargett St
Raleigh, NC 27601
(919) 832-3030
Father & Son on Facebook

4 2013: putting in work

So what am I doing back in Raleigh, being that my heart is in Atlanta? Well if you've been reading SBP since it's inception, you know that this blog started when I began my interior design degree at Meredith College. (5 years ago!!) In order to understand where I am now, I have to remind you where I was then. I was so passionate about digging into art & design fully, as it was a complete shift from the pre-med track I'd followed during my first degree at Carolina.

I spent the first year at Meredith soaking in as much as I could and then spent an amazing semester in Florence, Italy. I came back to Meredith and the feeling just wasn't the same. I wasn't happy at school or at home, and I wasn't even sure if I needed the (very expensive) degree I was pursuing to do what I wanted to do.

So I left. I packed as much as I could into my car and drove down to Atlanta to crash at my (then) boyfriend's brother's house. I worked very part-time at Old Navy for the 4am - 10am shift until I found a full-time position and literally did nothing but work, apply for jobs, eat and sleep for about a month. Talk about taking a leap of faith... It was the best thing I ever did.

Flash forward through 3 amazing years. I've well established myself as a residential designer, boyfriend is long gone but I have amazing friends and have fallen in love with the city of Atlanta. I am living in my dream little studio apartment, immersing myself in the fabulous Atlanta design & blogging community, having TOO much fun at times and I even finally met a guy that I think is everything.

And then somewhere around the time the leaves began to change and the temperatures dropped this fall, it was as if God clapped his hands really loud and yelled "Time's up!" I suddenly looked around and realized that the way I was living was not going to get me to my ultimate goals. Coming to this conclusion was THE hardest thing I have ever had to do. I feel like everyone spends their 20s figuring out what it is they want in life and what their individual path will be to get there. And the clearer what you want becomes, the more you want it, and the more your habits align with your goals.

At that moment, it became so apparent that my habits were NOT aligned with my goals. You see, although I believe that a great deal of my purpose lies within the interior design profession, my ultimate goal is to be a dynamic impact on my greater community, as a wife, mother and professional. I cannot do that by playing small or safe. I cannot do that without finishing what I start, and I cannot do it without fulfilling all of my potential.

So for me, that means finishing my degree at Meredith + getting myself in a better financial place. This entire year will be devoted to doing just that. And of course, having a little fun along the way.

Thanks for taking this ride with me!

3 working smarter

"Oh! It's Monday again?" That's exactly the words that popped into my head as my eyes peeled open this morning. Where did the last week go? I have a confession, since leaving my full time job my weekly schedule has become more and more unpredictable, and I don't feel like I'm using my time in the best way I could.

I'm all over the place. Designing, teaching, working a part-time job, teaching and splitting my time between friends and family. I feel guilty for just taking time for me! Why? Because I feel like I'm not working smart enough in my productive time. At the beginning of the year I had such a tight schedule that I knew exactly when I had time to work on my business, when I had to work my "day job", and when I had time to play.

Today, I'm determined to start working smarter instead of harder. I need to find that balance between doing what I have to do, need to do & want to do. I have a tendency to go go GO without being strategic and I recognize that I sometimes need to take a moment to think.


Dayka posted this awesome video on Friday and I think it's a great way to start of the week! Check out the video below for a little Monday Morning Motivation.

17 happiness is a form of courage

It's been 20 days since my last post here on SingleBubblePop and that's because I do my best to blog my true self here. Since it's inception in 2007, this blog has been a reflection of my life in every aspect. Those of you that have been following since the beginning have witness me go from a student, to traveling abroad, relocating, starting my career, and becoming a business owner. I've shared my family and friends with you and my love as well, right along with all the beautiful things that inspire me. I feel connected to every person who takes the time to read and for that reason I always try to give you a real reflection of me. This month has been a roller coaster like none other I've ever experienced. While not feeling grounded, I lost my voice for a moment, and didn't feel comfortable writing.

At the beginning of the month, the man who I've spent the last 5 years loving and growing with decided that we are no longer. I had no idea this was coming. Talk about having the rug pulled from under... It took me about a week to literally get it together. I'm not a person who has breakdowns; instead I experience kind of a slow-burn intense anxiety that permeates every moment & breath. I won't get into the logistics that this ending affects, but it changes a lot. Some may say everything. But once I could wrap my head around the idea that the life I envisioned for myself had come to a screeching halt, I picked myself up and chose happiness.

I spent as much time as I could with my amazing friends. Partook in a little retail therapy, because I am fortunate enough to be able to. I got back to work, slowly but surely, on my awesome client projects.

And then a amazing thing happened. The blessings started rolling in. People that I hadn't talked to in months, who had no clue I'd been down started to call. New unsolicited clients. Opportunities I only dreamed for myself came to fruition! I've been oscillating from feeling sadness & uncertainty to joy & hopefulness for the last 20 days.

The thing is, I choose to be happy no matter what. Even when I'm hurt. Life is way too short and I'm overwhelmingly blessed. It's taking me a few weeks to get back the courage to be happy but these few weeks will be a drop in the bucket to my long life. I still have a lot of decisions to make about where I will go & what I will do next, but I'm taking my time to figure it all out. I feel like God is stirring things up in my life right now in preparation for something big.

Thank you so much for bearing with me, and I'll be back to my regular blogging schedule by next week! I have some really great things going on that I can't wait to share with you. I'm also going to update the look of the blog so pardon any mess you may see in the process.

Love,

Niki