Be Prepared for the Life You Want

Bonjour mes amies, be HER, HIM, or THEM, NOW.

Because, why wait?

What life do you envision for yourself? Frequent travel? Wholeness, mentally, physically, and emotionally, luxury goods or entrepreneurship?

Whatever life you have envisioned for yourself, begin creating that life now. As un jeune fille, I knew I wanted to travel the world, eat at the most expensive restaurants, and have Louis Vuitton luggage. Think I’m kidding about the Louis Vuitton luggage? Click here to read a bit more about jeune fille Jessie. Did I wait until I could afford to travel the world, eat at the most expensive restaurants and own Louis Vuitton luggage to begin living the life I envisioned pour moi? Absolutely not.

I did everything I could to position myself for the life I wanted immediately. As une jeune fille, I read every book I could find in my school’s library about customs and cultures worldwide. Ma mere et ma soeur still laughs until this day that when I was cinq ans during a trés, trés rare occasion, we were able to “dine out.” While strolling through Union Stations (a train station in DC), food court oui mes amies (where I grew up, the food course was luxury), ma mere gave me the honor of selecting what we would have for lunch. At cinq ans, jeune fille Jessie, who had never dined in a restaurant (the Ward of DC that I grew up in only recently began to have dine-in restaurants), suggested that we go to a sushi bar.

Ma mere et ma seour instantly looked ill.

“Are you sure you want to eat at this place without a stove” ma mere inquired. “Oui, sushi is a Southeast Asian stable from the third century.” Ma mere et ma soeur laughed, and seaweed, fermented rice, and nigiri we ate.

The moral of that flashback is that I was prepared for the life I wanted to live. Did I ever think while sitting crisscross applesauce in my local library on Sat. mornings reading Bon Appetit magazines that I would dine and a “fancy” Japanese restaurant (et oui, that food court sushi experience was the ultimate luxury, clearly, because I vividly remember the feeling) in mere weeks? Absolutely oui, because I knew the life I was going to live.

I had always wanted to live abroad. I had absolutely no clue how I would make that possible, but I prepared. Beginning in primary school, I signed ma mere‘s signature (things were different then, no one checked anything, I’m surprised millennials are still alive) and enrolled in a worldwide afterschool language exploration course.

By sixth grade, I tested for high school language courses in German, Italian, Spanish and French.

Fast forward to university, when I majored in Fashion Design. There was a study abroad program in Milan, Italy. Ranking for the opportunity was intense. Barely having enough money to attend the private university I was enrolled in, adding additional costs was not an option.

But I wanted this so bad, and I had been planning for this day since I was une jeune fille. While at my third job, in addition to taking 22 credits in uni, a group of tourists came into one of the shops I worked in. Amongst themselves, they were speaking Italian. I walked out and greeted them in Italian, and inquired if they needed assistance.

The look on their faces, when they turned around and saw moi, a trés, trés “un-Italian” (and much less polished than I am today) girl standing there avec the grandest ‘fro ever.

I soon learned that they were visiting with their parents who were keynote speakers for a lecture at an internationally recognized institution.

Guess who was not only invited to dinner but was introduced to a board member of an Italian art school. When I mentioned that I wanted to study abroad in Milan, Italy, I was suddenly connected with someone who “found” a scholarship for students with basic Italian skills who are interested in continuing to learn the language. That scholarship financed a massive portion of tuition.

As une jeune fille, forging ma mere signature to learn languages, did I think I’d ever live abroad? Absolutely, oui!

If I were a betting woman, I would wager that if you are reading this blog post, you are not une jeune fille. But that doesn’t mean you can’t prepare for the life you want now.

Travel via foreign films, local festivities and books. Click here for more Wanderlust inspiration.

Want a closet filled with designer goods? Thrift and consign your heart out, I have beaucoup blogs on this subject, but I’ll link one here. Consigning (which can get expensive) isn’t your budget? Create vision boards, subscribe to a fashion magazine, and learn about your favorite designers. Learn all you can about the luxury item of your dream. Let’s say you want a Birkin. Know the size, leather, and hardware you plan to get said Birkin in. Oui, I also knew those details by the time I was a teen. Desire to return to school but don’t have the time or resources to do so? The internet is vast; find courses or videos on the subject/major of your choice and learn all you can.

Desire to purchase your first home? Take care of the space that you’re in as if it’s yours. Make minor modifications to make your space feel more like a home. Don’t think you make enough money to save? Click here to read how I did so when I earned less than $19,000 a year.

The only person stopping you from preparing for the life you want to live is you.

Be ready mes amies, greatness is heading your way.

Ciao for now 💋