Author: Chante Owens

WHY YOU SHOULD GO CAMPING WITH YOUR FRIENDS (EVEN IF YOU THINK YOU HATE CAMPING)

/ Chante Owens / 1 Comment

There are few things in life that work the same kind of magic that sunsets and fresh air do. Whether you’ve had a hard day, a hard month, or a hard year, you can usually find some temporary reprieve from all the heaviness by letting the setting sun captivate you in stillness, by breathing fresh, unadulterated air through your lungs.

As a mountain-and-desert girl who is currently working in urban San Francisco, I’ve learned the importance of experiencing nature, and doing so often. Stealing away for weekend camping trips with my closest vinas has been the sweetest form of therapy. It’s a remedy packaged in expansive redwoods, scintillating lakes, roaring fires, and star-studded skies.

You don’t have to be a rugged outdoors-woman to access the bliss that comes in getting your shoes muddy. Camping is for every vina, even those who’ve sworn off the great outdoors and chosen modern luxuries. Don’t believe me? Here are 10 reasons to dust off the old backpack and pack yourself in a caravan full of vinas on its way to some remote piece of delicious nature.

shutterstock_fotovika

📸:: Fotovika

1. UNINTERRUPTED CONNECTION

Camping provides a unique opportunity to connect with your vinas without the distractions of electronic devices.

2. DISCOVER YOUR EXPLORER SIDE

We’re all curious explorers at heart. Going camping is a chance to explore new terrain and let your adventurous spirit run free while in the presence of strong women.

3. LEARN SOMETHING NEW

Oftentimes, stepping outside of your comfort zone means that you’re guaranteed to learn something new. Camping offers endless lessons for both the novice and veteran camper.

4. FIND INSPIRATION

Your creative spirit will thank you after a camping trip. Taking a brief hiatus from the world’s modern conveniences forces a girl to get creative and rely on her own ingenuity. Camping is a perfect space to allow your creativity to roam.

5. GETTING CREATIVE WITH GRUB

There are fewer things more fun than cooking with your vinas. One of the best parts about camping is planning the menu. Brainstorm some ideas with your fellow warrior women and make the woods your very own kitchen.

6. GROW CLOSER

Camping is an intimate experience that brings people closer together. Something incredible happens amongst the trees, guards begin to fall, hearts open up, childlike wonder blooms again. What a beautiful space to grow closer to your vinas.

7. GO BARE

Indulge in a cosmetic break. Facing the raw earth as a bare-faced goddess is both freeing and powerful.

8. SLOW DOWN

You’ll experience the magic of slowing down. Time moves at a slower, richer pace when you’re not always rushing from one meeting to the next or incessantly glancing at your phone. Let yourself be still in the slowness and see what wonderful things come to you there.

9. WORK WITH YOUR VINAS

Camping with others is all about teamwork. You have to work together to make your stay both possible and comfortable. It’s a great opportunity to nurture support, inclusivity, and collaboration with vinas.

10. FEEL REINVIGORATED

You’ll return back to everyday life feeling more refreshed and invigorated. Camping allows for a perspective shift and connectedness that you can’t easily find in the day-to-day. Re-entering the world after stealing away for a nature weekend can help you have clearer focus and feel more motivated.

What are your favorite things about escaping to nature with your vinas? Let us know in the comments!  (Feature image via Rawpixel)

(Featured Image via @xcerin)

IMPOSTER SYNDROME? WE CAN HELP

/ Chante Owens / Leave a comment

Even life’s most empowered moments can be undermined by the toxic voice of self-doubt. If you’ve ever stood at the cusp of a great achievement or grand endeavor only to catch yourself casting furtive, unsure glances over your shoulder as if you’ve made it this far by chance and it’s only a matter of time before you’re exposed, you’re not alone. Women of all calibers of success struggle with feeling like frauds every now and then. Even the woman who runs her own company can find herself wrestling with that annoying voice accusing her of being an imposter. The caustic whispers that try to reduce a woman’s achievements to mere flukes love preying on any and everyone willing to lend an ear.

 The root of this unfortunate, yet widespread phenomenon has been researched by both men and women, and while the large scope of causes is multi-faceted and dense, there is one overarching theme that surfaces when it comes to explaining this imposter syndrome: confidence. 

In Katty Kay and Claire Shipman’s book, “The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance,” confidence is defined by one expert as “the purity of action produced by a mind free of doubt.” The authors cite, on more than one occasion, research illustrating that the undermining of one’s confidence was not only highly prevalent in women, but downright rampant. 

As vinas, it is difficult to authentically support and encourage fellow women in all the ways that we should when we can’t find that source of confidence in ourselves. To combat the prevalent, yet totally vanquishable imposter syndrome we need to remind ourselves of a few things. 

1. We are enough. Even without the decorations, degrees, and fancy titles, we are enough as we are. 

2. It is an unfortunate, yet common tendency to compare our own achievements to that of our male counterparts and end up feeling insufficient. We have the power to take command of our own narrative. We can author our own story, and script an anecdote of success, failure, or self-pity. Choose to be kind to yourself. Choose to see all the ways in which you have achieved and overcome, then write your narrative from that beautiful, bountiful space. 

3.   Take a pen to paper and brag about yourself for a moment. Something powerful happens when thoughts are put into writing. Make a list of all the things you love about yourself and get #LadyBragging. Remind yourself of all the magical things that make you uniquely you.

4. Get to the heart of the matter. If you feel imposter syndrome setting in, ask yourself why. Ask yourself what about the task at hand is causing you to feel like an imposter. Maybe you’ve just taken a new management position and you’re feeling like a complete fraud who managed to land the job by some kind of trickery. Are you feeling overwhelmed? Underqualified? Get to the root of the issue and then reframe it from there: I recognize that this new opportunity comes with more responsibility and foreign territory, but I was hired because people believe in my skill-set and qualifications. I am excited to embark on this new challenge.

5. Nothing beats talking to your closest vinas 👯. When you hear that malicious voice getting louder, threatening to expose you, find comfort and strength in your fellow vinas. Let them tell you all the ways in which you rock and then carry on, emboldened and empowered.

Do you have any other advice for fellow vinas suffering from imposter syndrome?

(Featured image via kinarino.jp)