How do you stay inspired? Who inspires you the most?

I love this prompt and at the same time I don’t even know where to start! I am constantly inspired by the world around me, to the point that putting it into words is going to be a challenge – but then, that’s the point, yes?

I stay inspired by…

Exploring the city I live in. I live in NYC, my very favorite city in the world, and it is constantly blowing my mind. I have my favorite spots to sit and read and ponder – along the Hudson in the West Village, Rockefeller Plaza, the Brooklyn Heights Promenade – but I also love to visit and explore new-to-me neighborhoods and sites. There is always something new to see or do here – how could one not be constantly inspired here?

Traipsing around the world. As much as I love NYC, sometimes a change of scenery is necessary to shake things up and remind me just how much I love my home. Whether it’s exploring a new city as I did in Toronto last weekend or re-visiting an old home as I’ll do in Dallas next week, it can be so refreshing to be in new surroundings, if only for a couple days.

Listening to music. I have Spotify playlists for basically every mood – songs that make me happy, songs that remind me of Texas, songs about following dreams. I constantly have music playing when I’m at work, when I’m writing, when I’m cooking – OK, all the time.

Learning as much as I can. I read books, and I’m in a book club so I’m not always confined to my favorite genres (historical fiction and memoirs). I’m a magazine fiend – I subscribe to Afar and my roommate gets Bon Appetit, plus I usually pick up one or two others throughout the month. I have something ridiculous like 200 blogs in my feedly. I just love to learn about the world around me.

Surrounding myself with people I admire and respect. My friends are awesome, y’all. They own their own businesses, they are pursuing degrees in subjects I can’t define, let alone study, they do crazy things like quit their jobs and move across the country to chase their dreams (sound familiar?) But the best thing about these people is that they are kind and supportive and they love and respect me as much as I do them. So that’s who I’m inspired by – the people in my life who aren’t afraid to take a chance. You all know who you are. (Hint: If you’re reading this, you inspire me.)

What inspires you?

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