I had an idea to select a topic, or prompt, each week, and write about it - whether it be a story relating to the term, or an opinion on it. Then, I wanted to have a few people, close to me, do the same. The idea is that sharing a few thoughts about a similar subject, from people with completely different backgrounds, careers, ages, and ideals could create a bit of perspective.

We are living in a world, and time, full of division. Contrary to a world we lived in only a year ago, full of diversity. The two can often be confused, but they could not be more different. My hope, with any conflict in the world, is that we can all sit down, talk through it, and perhaps leave with a little bit of perspective. So, this personal project is my contribution to that goal.

NINA POLO WIEJA , 33
BORN IN NICARAGUA
GERMAN-PANAMANIAN

Balance. For a long time, this was a foreign concept to me. One of my earliest memories is of a conversation I had with my mom. She was trying to explain the concept of balance to me. She seemed concerned that there was not much between incredibly angry or sad and hysterically joyful. But not living in the world of extremes sounded so… boring. It certainly didn’t sound like the high-intensity life I was craving. I didn’t understand that it is an adventure in itself to find balance. I have a tendency to feel strongly, for better or for worse, but there are a lot of feelings inside of me and they really want to be felt. So ‘extreme’ is easy for me, balance, however, is not. I have since come to understand what balance means to me. It’s a sense of feeling energized and completely calm at the same time. Like you could climb a mountain without making a sound. My friend Kelsey often speaks about how much she appreciates quiet confidence, THAT is what balance means to me.
blog: ninapolo.com/blog
instagram: instagram.com/ninamaderita/

RACHAEL CHARBONNEAU, 27
NISKAYUNA, NEW YORK
AMERICAN

Balance is a daily struggle for me. It always has been.
I don’t stop moving. If I’m not working, I’m working out. If I’m not working or working out, I’m being social. If I’m not working, working out, or being social, I’m improving myself in some way, shape, or form — which should include slowing down, but usually doesn’t.
Every few months I hit this wall. This wall says “whelp, you won’t stop, so I’ll MAKE you.” It comes in many forms: an emotional breakdown, an injury, stomach pain, consistent dizzy spells, or mental exhaustion I can’t shake. Out of necessity, I rest up, but not without this anxiety that I should be doing something. What is that something? That something is anything that furthers me.
I’m a doer. I always have been. At 27, I now own two businesses — a Freelance Graphic Design business and a Health Coaching service — with the recent addition of a third side hustle teaching yoga. Stephanie and I met through friends, but I feel it was fate. We’re so similar in that we are very independent, driven, do what we say we are going to do (do you know how rare that is?), and go all in when we’re going in. For people like us, balance in reference to lifestyle is hard to achieve.
Balance is a struggle for me. Setting boundaries is also a struggle. They go hand in hand.
Last June, I went to the doctor, again, driven by symptoms of stress. How many times have we been here before, Rachael? Stomach pain comes back, I can’t sleep at night, my period becomes irregular and hurtful, and the skin on my face starts breaking out again. It’s the same cycle I’ve been through multiple times.
My Naturopathic doctor has seen me multiple times over the years for these same symptoms. This time around, we really started addressing the stressors in my life. Her biggest suggestion was to set boundaries.
Boundaries. Boundaries with work — no working past 8 pm, multiple breaks throughout the day. Boundaries with relationships — saying no when I intuitively know I need to rest. Boundaries with myself — telling myself at the end of the day “it’s okay, you’ve done everything you could for the day” instead of “you should have gotten this, this, and this done.”
These boundaries have invited a little bit more balance into life. It’s also started to trickle into the relationships in my life — which was necessary, and I didn’t even know it.
When I love, I love deeply. When I give, I give it all. These aren’t bad traits by any means, but I’m learning when I love, to save some for myself. When I give, I give to myself, too. Balance. It’s made me realize what relationships in my life were taking too much, and who to set boundaries with. It made me realize how unbalanced some of my relationships were — giving so much to receive next to nothing — and setting boundaries with those people.

Balance is a struggle for me, but the more I practice, the happier and healthier I am.
blog: wholisticbelly.com/blog
instagram: instagram.com/wholisticbelly
facebook: facebook.com/wholisticbelly

STEPHANIE SHAMI, 27
BORN IN CALIFORNIA
EGYPTIAN

Initially when we selected 'Balance', I immediately thought to talk about work/life balance. In the stressful world, we live in, this seems to be the popular topic of conversation. However, that's not really the type of balance that I struggle with. In fact, I think I'm pretty good at the whole work/life balance thing. Granted, I work for a company with a start-up feel, a few blocks away from the Manhattan Beach pier, and when things get really stressful, I simply take a walk down on the strand, and remind myself that we're not saving lives here. Digital Marketing makes a lot of sense to me, and I love to help my clients figure out how to best utilize their advertising dollars, so I get a ton of satisfaction out of my work. And I'm never one to shy away from a vacation. I know I work hard, and I'm a firm believer in the concept of 'save and splurge', so once a year I try and go someplace I've never been. I would love to make enough money that I don't need to stress, week to week, about where my next meal will come from, but money has never been the most important part of my career.

Oddly enough, the balance that really gives me a hard time, is between me, and myself. Ever started a relationship and liked that person so much, that you spent all of your time with them and cast aside the routine you worked so hard to set for yourself? Ever started a project, a book, or a series, and gotten bored within the first week and let it slip? I think there is something to be said for the space you make in your life, whether it be for someone else, or for something that's important to you. And as a person whose day is pretty structured from the moment I wake up, to the moment I go to bed - I struggle to find the right amount of letting someone else into my plan. I've always loved wholeheartedly, I've always jumped in with two feet, believing that 'there are far too many mediocre things in life, love should not be one of them. But where do we draw that line? When do you need to perhaps pull back, demand the time you need for yourself, and your health, and when is it time to just jump in?

Like all forms of balance, it's a practice, and we continue to test the waters until it feels right. My hope is that when I find the right person, I won't have to choose between putting myself first, and making room for them, the two will be one and the same.

blog: egypsy.co/posts
instagram: instagram.com/egypsy_