Push the Priority Button

Readers, this is very different from what we usually chat about, but it’s equally as important! This past weekend I traveled back home to Atlanta to celebrate my sisters graduation from her master’s program. The occasion was exciting and inspirational, leading my mind to refer back to one word—priority.

In life we make choices on what is most important in our life. For some it’s family, other’s it’s their boo, but in this moment as my sister finished her masters degree, and I am in my last leg of my second degree, I kept wondering, have I prioritized my education and work over my personal life?

For those of you who do not know, I am pursuing my second degree in digital social media from University of Southern California. I am a full time marketing coordinator at a fitness apparel company. Additionally, I run my blog and my inspiration page, alongside one of my most fabulous friends’, @aftertheinterlude. And then the the word priority kept coming up. Why have I made my most recent priorities self-centered?

Let’s get personal here, because after all it is Life According to Alex! I struggle with prioritizing people and their feelings over my own to do list—whether that is mentally, physically, financially, or emotionally. My exterior is tough, but my interior is as soft as a cashmere Ralph Lauren cardigan. Therefore, I place my tangible aspects of life, like working and degrees, over my personal life to protect myself. I’ve come to realize that is common for my peers. We seem to allow outer situations to play a major role in our inner lives and with no consequence for the second party if they do not act in the same way. We speak that we want these certain attributes in a friendship or relationship, but some people just have that power to walk all over you.

I was on the plane returning back to LA, and a song by H.E.R. summed up that reoccurring word—priority. It’s called “Against Me” and in the closing part she says, “...but there’s a difference between understanding and honoring your word.” Explaining to your significant other, friend, boss, or even family member how you should be respected, treated, celebrated, and loved over and over and over again is a sign of disrespect and a sign of someone not prioritizing your happiness. They might understand that you always bend your back for them, but they are not going to honor it because you are not a priority.

My 20’s have been filled with “realizing stuff” *cue Kylie Jenner* and growth that comes from the signs that God reveals to me in the beginning, in the middle, and in the end. At times, I prioritize people who do not deserve it, I prioritize parts of my career that do not need it, but after this weekend that action of priority plays in my mind in a more real way than it ever did before. I am going to stop pushing my priority button for individuals and situations that do not reciprocate in a healthy way.

What are your priorities? What do you think you need to clean up in regards to not being prioritized from the influences in your life? I challenge you to push the button on making yourself a priority in your own life…

I might be having a Cher from Clueless moment, where I reflect on my priorities and failures to understand and appreciate certain things in my life. Too bad this moment did not happen at sixteen for me…