Making a Space Your Own

Hello fellow readers,

I am typing this post in the comfort of my bedroom. Why is this important? 

Because I made this room my own space and once I did that I felt like I had 

a safe haven, which is what I would like to discuss today: making a space your 

own.

I shared a room with my sister all the way until senior year of high school and 

we did our best to make our room personalized. We painted, got some dividers 

to assist in privacy when we got older, and I stuffed my half of the room with 

a bunch of sentimental stuff. At the time I thought the more stuff I had, the 

better I would feel, but as I got older, it got more overwhelming to be 

surrounded by so much. Eventually I got my own room, and when I did, I tried 

to get rid of/donate a lot of clothes, unnecessary stuffed animals, and 

sentimental items. However, the room still felt crowded with my giant white bed 

frame and matching dresser, so when my sister’s co-worker told her he was 

selling a more modern bed frame for a good price I jumped on the opportunity 

and thus began my long, tedious journey of bringing my room together.

My room in 2018

 

I spent endless hours on Pinterest (my favorite app to scroll through for ideas and 

inspiration). I watched YouTube videos on decluttering and cheap organization 

tips. I binged watched Marie Kondo's Tidying Up on Netflix, and slowly I tackled 

my room. I have always loved soft lighting and since my room does not come with 

any built in lights, I bought string lights and some candles for my room. I 

rearranged my furniture time and time again, put up and took down photos or 

memorabilia and found alternative uses for my items. For instance, I made my 

bookshelf into a dresser and put it in my closet, which opened up the room. 

Then, I moved the books onto a shelf in the closet. 

Finally, 6 years later - after many trial and errors - I got my room nearly perfect. 

I still have some decluttering/rearranging I would like to do, but I feel so happy 

when I’m in my room. I’ve realized how much more productive and at peace I am 

when I'm there. I spent a lot of late nights at my desk studying, lying on my bed 

journaling, or sitting on my hammock swing reading. The lighting is calming and 

with less items in the room, the less overwhelmed I became.

My room as of June 2019 

The same thing can be true about your desk, office, or even your car! Bring in items

 that Marie Kondo would say, "spark joy," because that stuff is no joke. Being a

 college student with a part time job during most of my room “renovations” money 

was definitely something I had to work around. I kept my eye out for clearance or 

sale items, explored various dollar stores, and found myself in Target’s $1-$5 section 

often. When I felt like “treating myself,” I invested in nice looking desk materials 

that made me feel happy when I sit there. I even bought a jasmine scented car 

freshener that reads “don’t follow your dreams, chase them” that makes me smile 

every time I’m in the car (though it has lost scent over time, sadly). Something I 

realized was that the more I explored, the more I found what I like or dislike when 

it comes to decorating. For example, I find that I enjoy having dark wood furniture 

and it didn’t have to be real wood to gain the same satisfaction.

My desk 

If you're not happy with your space, make it your own! Explore Pinterest or YouTube 

for inspiration and slowly find your style. You'd be surprised by what you'll find! 

Don’t be afraid to spend a little more money than you expect because it’ll help you 

feel better in the long run, and taking care of your happiness is very important.

Live every day to the fullest.

Love, Damaris

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Traveling: Learning to be Humble

Hello fellow readers,

Today I want to explain how educational and life changing traveling can be. I love 

traveling; I have so many memories of being with my family and friends, all the 

jokes, photos, and all the sights, it’s all so fulfilling! I have been lucky enough to 

enjoy the luxuries of traveling which include nice hotels, eating out, and even a 

cruise, but I have also been blessed to have family both in Mexico and Colombia 

where I experienced their everyday lives, homemade food, and cramming into a 

small apartment. I love it all!

I’ll likely have a separate post specifically geared to going on and on about my 

recent trip to Europe, but for this post I want to focus more on the lessons learned 

from all my trips. I have walked away from every one with a new perspective. Of 

course if you’ve traveled before you’ve had the usual “I miss my bed” or “I miss my 

shower” or “there’s no place like home” - *clack ruby slippers together* - but I feel 

like I became really humbled after traveling to Colombia and Mexico. When in

 Colombia and Mexico, instead of staying at a hotel, we stayed with family where 

we truly got the experience of living in these countries. Our families are in no way 

rich in either country, but they do the best they can in their situations and they’re 

oh so kind and happy. And let me tell you, the food is FAN-tastic! But most of them 

shower in lukewarm or cold water and have old or stiff mattresses. The quality of all 

their items are handmade or hand-me-downs, linens and clothes that have been 

passed around from family to family, or sibling to sibling. Though they have very 

little, they are happy with their lives and feel blessed to have what they have.

Photo taken from the plane on my trip to Europe

 

When I came back from both these visits the whole “I missed my bed or shower” took 

on a new meaning. I no longer just missed the comfort of both, I realized just how 

lucky I am to have an extremely comfortable bed with new sheets and a shower that 

has quick adjustable temperature and water pressure. I’m blessed to have a household 

of only 4 people versus 10. If you need a good wake up call, visiting these countries are 

worth it, and if you have a family to stay with, even better.

I remember discussing this with a friend from college because he was sent to live with 

his grandma in Costa Rica when he was a child.He told me he had a huge wake up call 

while he was there. He was 10/11 years old, walking through the market with his 

grandma when he saw a toy he really wanted. He asked his grandma for it and she told 

him no. He said he never felt more embarrassed throwing himself on the ground to cry 

while his grandma (along with other older women) talked smack about him as if he 

wasn’t there. When he realized the disdainful crowd forming around him, he stopped 

crying and stood up. His grandma asked him if he would ever do such a thing again and

 he responded that he would not. He is now beautifully humble and kind, which is why I 

feel strongly that a young child or youth would learn to appreciate more of having less if 

they were forced into these situations. 

As a child, getting exposed to these things can be life changing, like what happened to my

friend or with me after visiting/living in these poor conditions. Most of my trips to these 

countries were for a month at a time, which is the reason why I was able to learn from 

 them. I truly believe that if I was only there for a week or two, I would not have learned 

 as much as I did.

As I mentioned before, I have made so many memories from my trips, good and bad, and 

those memories can never be replaced, so if you’re debating on taking a trip, stop 

debating! Make time to take that trip, gain those memories and experiences, you will 

not regret it! If your going to a poorer country, don't hesitate to expose your children to 

those conditions, it could change their perspective of life forever.

Live every day to the fullest.

Love, Damaris

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Swing On By!

Hello fellow readers, 

I want to introduce you to a glorious place known as swing dancing! 

I like to think of swing dancing as a way to describe any dance that 

can be done to big band/jazz music. I’m sure many of you have seen 

La La Land, so you may have an idea, but really, it’s nothing like La 

La Land. The music is there and so are some of the solo jazz moves, 

but it’s not the same as the community I want to describe to you. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve grown addicted to watching that movie, 

but the swing dancing I am referring to is typically: lindy hop, 

charleston, [Carolina/Collegiate] shag, and balboa. It is a big and 

ever-growing community full of amazing people! For a more 

in-depth background on lindy hop, I highly recommend watching 

the documentary Alive and Kicking (available on Netflix). I have seen 

this documentary so many times that I’m embarrassed to say how 

many, but there is so much more information on there than I could 

ever write for you, so please go watch it! 

If you are a YouTube person there are plenty of videos on all the dances 

I have mentioned. I prefer typing “Camp Hollywood” or “Lindyfest” into 

the search bar and see a ton of dance videos that range from team 

performances to couples competitions. Keep in mind, almost all 

competitions are IMPROVISED! Camp Hollywood and Lindyfest are only 

a few swing dance weekends out there which are an entire weekend full of 

dancing and classes! If you press the link below you will not be 

disappointed. It is the “open lindy final” from this year’s Camp Hollywood 

that just blew my mind! Please do not try this kind of dancing without 

years of dance experience, these people are all professional dancers who 

have been competing/dancing/training for years!

https://youtu.be/HPVLZcOGt_M

Little ol’ me have been dancing lindy hop for 3 years now and have dabbled 

in collegiate shag and balboa. I have competed in a few competitions known 

as a mix and match (video seen below), which I think of as social dancing 

that is judged. To get an idea of what the social dance environment is like, I 

suggest visiting my friend Paul who is an amazing person and incredible 

dancer who streams swing dancing on his twitch. (He even offers lessons, so 

please explore his webpage)

http://www.pauldances.tv/

If you would like to discover collegiate shag, I recommend following 

@live.collegiate.shag on Instagram! My wonderful friend, Kendall, posts 

weekly videos at different locations of collegiate shag and it’s beautiful to 

watch!

I have made so many friends through swing dancing, and they are the nicest 

people. Being in Southern California, I have been blessed with so many swing 

dance venues that are within driving distance where I can take lessons and or 

dance with so many friends and strangers! It’s such a great way to socialize 

and relieve stress. I have met lawyers, engineers, doctors and people visiting 

from other countries, just to name a few. I started learning how to dance from 

my college swing dance club, which so many people do not realize exists! If 

you're a college student, I suggest checking your school's list of clubs, maybe 

there's a club on your campus as well!

Video featured was taken from a recent Mix and Match competition I was in. Location: Pasadena, California. 

Video credit: Michael, my boyfriend. Song: Cole Slaw (sorghum switch) by Jesse Stone

No matter where you live, I’m sure you can look up the local swing dance places 

and, hopefully, go out and experiment with the dance! Don’t get me wrong, it may 

not be for everyone, but I always tell people, “just try it once and see if you like it or 

not.” I never judge anyone who dislikes the dance, but I definitely benefited from 

joining the community. Granted, starting is the most difficult time because you’re 

scared to dance with strangers and don’t feel good enough to get out there (or maybe 

it was just me), but once you really get into it, stop over analyzing the dances, and 

simply have fun, it’s the best feeling in the world! So look up swing dancing whether 

it is videos or venues nearby, and then go out and take a lesson, see if you like it as 

much as I do!

Live every day to the fullest.

Love, Damaris

P.S. I am required to mention that my blog may incorporate the use of cookies such 

as Google Analytics, AdSense, and other data collecting cookies.

Welcome Party

Hello and welcome fellow readers,

Thank you for checking into my blog! If you used to read my previous blog, 
thank you so much for transitioning with me, I really appreciate it. For a 
while now, I had been playing with the idea of starting a new blog because 
I felt like I needed something creative to do in my free time but that also 
made me feel like I was making a difference, so I started making a list of all 
the topics I would discuss on said blog and found that I have a lot I would 
like to share. After running the idea by some family members, one of them 
gave me the wonderful title “Keep Pace with Damaris,” and I absolutely fell 
in love. “I suppose, I thought about the idea of keeping up with you physically 
as you live your life through dance and travel but also as you discuss your 
experiences and topics, or essentially bringing people up to speed or ‘up to 
pace’ with you.”

So here I am, starting a new chapter in my life by starting this marvelous 
(or so I hope) blog! To start, I want to let you know that I will attempt to 
keep most of my personal information on a need to know basis. I’m sure 
over time my personality and life will start to show where my avid readers 
(if there are any - *fingers crossed*) can piece me together. I will state 
some of my personal opinions and do not expect everyone to agree. Please 
note that I do not wish to offend anyone, so if something comes off as such 
then I have done so unintentionally and hope that you will let me know.

As for some things about me: I recently graduated from college with a 
Bachelors in Chemistry and went on my first trip to Europe soon after. 
I have previously traveled to South America, Mexico, and a few other 
states within the U.S. I currently reside in Southern California. Some 
of my hobbies include swing dancing, reading, and creative writing, 
which is one reason I was drawn into starting this blog.

Featured photo taken by Jennifer, whom I met on my Europe trip; photo 

location: Snowdonia in Wales

I decided not to focus on just one subject but to touch upon a wide variety of 
topics that I have contemplated often and wish to share with others. Some 
topics may not be as interesting as others, but I hope that you will stay with 
me every step of the way! I am not writing to make money, so if I give a shout 
out, suggestion, or post a link, I am not getting paid to do so. I look forward to 
informing you of all the hullabaloo that has gone or is going on in my life. I will 
officially start my blog with a post about swing dancing some time today, so 
please come back then! Thank you all so much for joining me!

Live every day to the fullest.

Love, Damaris

P.S. I am required to mention that my blog may incorporate the use of cookies 
such as Google Analytics, AdSense, and other data collecting cookies.