CO Blog

My dearest Ray,

I had a dream about you last night.

We were hanging out somewhere in the valley – loitering outside a coffee shop or a shopping mall. You know, what we used to do. At the beginning of the dream you asked me what’s going on

with me lately and I wanted to tell you all about the benefit. But for some reason, I didn’t because I thought it was a surprise. I immediately began panicking and freaking out telling you about how scared I was about this “project” I was working on. Mid-panic you interrupted me laughing and looked at me saying,”Ohhh Kissa, you always panic. But everything will be fine. It always is.” I stopped my usual rant, calmed down and then you said,”We’re going to be late for practice.” So we hopped into your Benz (that smelled like crayons), went to a parking structure (not CSUN’s which was weird), and saw everyone on VENT there already rehearsing. I knew they were there rehearsing for the benefit but no one was telling you why we were dancing. Then I just remember looking at you saying hi to everyone and giving them all a big hug, we made eye contact briefly and smiled at each other. Then I woke up.

It was so good to see you, Love. The fading image of you is now back and so clear. I love “seeing” you pre-leukemia which is exactly the way I remember you. I loved feeling your big bear hugs and your kisses on the top of my head. I loved the comforting feeling I felt when you were trying to make me feel better – cuz it worked. You always knew how to calm me down and make me feel better. The dream made me miss you so much more. I miss you, Ray. I miss you so much.

xoxo,

Kissa

I’m proud to say, dear friends, that this past weekend was a HUGE leap into paying

off my debt. To date, I went from over $10,000 in debt to only about $1500. I know, that number there is scary. I couldn’t believe that I allowed it to get that bad, especially when I’m such an obsessor over numbers.

It all started when I started my own business. I had a full time job on top of working on my business after hours. After about a year of doing that, my business had become steady enough for me to take the leap and venture into the world of self employment. Problem #1: I was 20 and didn’t know enough about finance to really understand what I needed vs what I wanted. Problem #2: I took on too much. I spread myself way too thin (and I still do this today). Because of this, my business suffered. I didn’t dedicate as much time to grow it because I didn’t have the time. Problem #3: Instead of investing into my business I was using credit to pay for things like gas and food. I should have been more responsible about setting up a budget for myself instead of spending and splurging so much. I should’ve lived within my means so that I can use the credit to grow instead of stay afloat.

But hey! Lesson learned. Those experiences that I had helped shape me into the person I am today. So here I am, sitting here and telling you not to repeat my mistakes. Live within your means. Work hard for a life that will make you happy. Don’t worry about how much money you want to make, with hard work and dedication that will come. 🙂