The Code of the West

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On a recent trip to Nashville I was introduced to The Code of the West, a list of 10 principles to live by. The code has stuck with me since.

In 2010, Wyoming signed into law The Code of the West as the official state code, adapted from the book Cowboy Ethics: What Wall Street Can Learn From the Code of the West by retired Wall Street investor, James Owen.

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Ride for the brand.

xoxo

hjn

Rock Bottom

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“Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”
— J.K. Rowling

Rock bottom. It means something different to everyone. For me, rock bottom was at the very top of the scale. It was the plus size section at Nordstrom. It was the Mcdonalds drive-thru window. It was constant headaches. It was the untagged pictures on Facebook. To me, rock bottom was 215 pounds.

Now, two years and 75 pounds later, rock bottom exists only in old photos and a pile of size 14 clothes waiting to be donated. Rock bottom isn’t shameful or embarrassing. Rock bottom is motivating, empowering and the strongest foundation of all.

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May 2010 (Above), May 2012 (Below)

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xoxo

hjn

 

 

My Early-Onset Midlife Crisis

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The brand new Porche flaunting a balding man in a v-neck. The over-botoxed housewife with the hots for her infant personal trainer. The noticeably older couple threatening body shots in a nightclub. There’s something oddly charming about first-world midlife crises—the sudden abandonment of inhibitions seems exhilarating, albeit, potentially problematic.
Perhaps more problematic is a case of early-onset midlife crisis: an untimely epiphany that I haven’t really explored all life has to offer. As a 23 year old, I hardly have the money or esteem to carry out a full blown life crisis. So, what do I do? I go to visit my 93-year-old grandma, conduct endless (primarily embarrassing) google searches, buy copious quantities of vitamins on a credit card, decide to climb the world’s highest peaks, turn to youtube for guitar lessons, scan craigslist for a new job (and a lightly used mountain bike) and I start a blog.
The outcome? I drive to the old folks home to learn my grandma is out on an excursion with her senior club, undoubtedly have to delete my web browser history, discover that I have several unopened bottles of vitamins stashed from my last health kick (plus an overdue balance on my credit card), indefinitely settle for watching Mt. Everest documentaries on Netflix, learn that guitar is hard and that I can’t learn to play “Hotel California” via a 3 minute video, and find that I’m both underqualified and uninterested in every job…ever (making it fiscally impossible to buy a mountain bike). What’s left is this blog.
The fantastic thing about an early-onset midlife crisis is the realization that there’s still time to do incredible things…preferably before my actual midlife crisis.

So, I’ll leave you with a quote from legendary cult author (and my long-time hero), Hunter S. Thompson:

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Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!”

XOXO
hjn