 |
| Artie and Willa - united in their love for me |
***NOTICE - I AM NO LONGER DOING CARD READINGS, BUT AM HAPPY TO HEAR FROM YOU OR RESPOND TO EMAILS/COMMENTS***
Let's start with the most important information in this section: Artie and Wiletta. Artie and Willa are my cats (picture on right). I am madly in love with them. Does that make me a crazy cat lady? Most likely. Does that bother me? Please - it's a title I aspire to! Nothing in my life experience yet beats the warm, furry goodness of a cat curled up in a perfect circle under my blankets next to me, purring. It's so unnatural ... but somehow happens to me every day.
 |
| This is my professional picture |
I'm a Utah native and currently am back in the old homestead. I hope to stay here forever. I spent much of my life thinking I wanted to "get away" from this beautiful, religious state ... only to leave and miss it terribly. I have never been married and have no children. Here, at my current age of 30, that truly makes me an old crazy cat lady. :)
I'm a Sagittarius Sun with a Virgo Moon and Virgo Ascending sign. I don't really know what that means, despite having taken an Astrology class a few years back. I think it has something to do with my passion (Sag) and neurosis (Virgo) with things of a spiritual and ethical nature. Even when I was very little, I liked to just sit and think about things, often staying up until 2-3 in the morning as a pre-teen, just sitting and thinking.
 |
| Me as a Mormon missionary in Santiago, Chile |
I was raised Mormon, or LDS, and remained an active member of the religion until I was 24. I began to question and have issues with the religion when I was about 15, but just plunked forward with it, hoping my questions would resolve themselves. They didn't, and stepping away from the religion has been one of the happiest decisions of my life.
Um ... what else? I have two Bachelor's Degrees from Utah Valley University: one in Business with an emphasis in Marketing, and another in Economics. Last year (2011) I attended grad school at Columbia University in NYC (studying Public Administration and International Development, the MDP program) for one semester, but actually found the experience super anti-climactic and hella expensive, so I withdrew. Another big decision in my life that I'm pretty happy with. :) I recently applied for a Master's Degree in Education, Culture and Society at the University of Utah. Please feel free to send their Admissions Committee some good juju for me!
 |
| Me in Kenya with a gaggle of happy faces |
Professionally, I have worked most of my life in business administration and entrepreneurship/business development. I have worked for a lot of start-up companies, and owned a new-age/metaphysical shop with my two sisters for a few years. After that I worked for three years with my parent's international charity In Our Own Quiet Way, serving for two years as Executive Director (CEO), with a focus on water resource management programs in Kenya, Africa. I also spearheaded the development of The Princess Festival, which is an event company that started as a fundraiser for our charity, and has now branched out as its own organization. I learned so much from these jobs, and really developed as a person ... but I really hated the stress and pressure, and constantly felt pressed into ethical dilemmas, like "How can we accept a sponsorship from a bank that just screwed us over in fees so we closed our accounts to stop supporting them?" ... and... "Is what we're doing in Kenya actually helping people, or just making us feel good about ourselves?' ... and... "How can I support and condone economic development in lesser-developed countries when I believe our own economic system is a plague and should definitely not be perpetuated?" Fun stuff like that.
When all was said and done ... I ended up in my sister's house, unemployed, and working to figure out how to live a meaningful, contributory, but ethical life. That's what this blog is about. I hope you enjoy it.
 |
| This is what I look like now. Yay dreadlocks! |
Well, that seemed like a lot of tactical information ... what about me? I love to sleep! I love to read books, allllll kinds of books. I love to drink wine and have drawn-out conversations with my sisters and cats. I love running, but never go anymore. :) And as boring as it may sound, I just like to philosophize and contemplate the meaning and purpose of life. I also love airports. And Gandhi, Jesus and Chuck Norris. People in general fascinate me, and I teach classes on crystals and card readings, and spend a lot of time at a local crystal/coffee shop where I chat with people - and I like that a lot. I hope to continually see the world become a better place, and feel strongly that I first have gotta focus on being my truest me. I'm super close to my family and daily draw on their support, love, and optimistic community values. I think the world would overcome all pain and suffering with the wholesale application of simple family/community values like sharing, nurturing and acceptance.
I would love to know if you have any more specific questions. Then I can blog about them or include them here. Please contact me with questions, comments, or ideas for blog posts here: xhollysue@gmail.com.
Namaste!
