May 22, 2020

Featured #bloomgirl: Kelly Carpenter; Creator of She, Mindfully!

This month’s featured #bloomgirl is Kelly Carpenter! Kelly is passionate and determined and we love her big heart and fearless personality! We are so inspired by Kelly and we know you will be too! Read more about her below!

Tell us a little bit about yourself!

My name is Kelly Carpenter and I am the creator of the blog She, Mindfully! I am also a therapist in my second year of a doctoral Clinical Psychology program. I will hopefully finish and be a Psychologist within the next few years! I love working with young adults and clients with a focus on gender and sexuality. I was raised in Florida but moved to Connecticut for my graduate program. I absolutely love being in nature and trying to live as much of a mindful and intention-filled life as possible! I enjoy using meditation and yoga daily to stay grounded.

How did She, Mindfully get its start?

She, Mindfully was created because I felt the desire to help other young women who may be feeling lost or insecure during their young adult years. It can be so easy for us to compare ourselves to others, especially when we receive so much external pressure telling us to “find our passion” while simultaneously building a career and family. I wanted to create a blog where these women could come to find resources for developing and growing their self-love while also keeping up with their mental health! If they happen to discover something about themselves along the way, even better! I write in a conversational style because I want readers to feel like they know me and can come to my blog whenever they need help!

Who or what is your biggest inspiration?

My biggest inspiration is women as a whole. I know, that may sound a little cheesy at first, but it really is true! It is truly incredible watching the women all around me find what motivates them and pursue it fearlessly. I don’t think I would have had the courage to start my blog if I hadn’t seen all of the other women around me take risks to achieve their goals!

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced, personally or professionally? How have you overcome it?

My biggest challenge to date was almost failing out of college (yep!). During my first semester of undergraduate I didn’t focus as much on academics as I should have and my grades really suffered. I had to spend the entire spring semester attending meetings with advisors and peer counselors and working to bring my GPA up enough to get off of probation. This was a shocking experience for me because school up until that point had been fairly easy. I am forever grateful for this experience, though, because it taught me that I do have to put my focus and ambition into something in order to excel. Life is not going to be about sliding under the radar hoping to make it through. This also taught me a lot about work-life balance and how I can manage my academics with my social life. Now I’d say I have a pretty good balance in graduate school!

If you could talk to yourself 5 years ago, what advice would you give yourself?

If I could talk to myself five years ago, I would say “Hold on. It gets better, you just have to want it to get better.” I say this because five years ago I was in that first year of college. Not only was I struggling academically, but I also had personal and mental health challenges. One of the keys to improving your life situation is honestly to believe that it will get better. By having this belief you are more likely to behave in ways that align with this and bring you to that better place. It can be really easy to just “accept” our situation even when it’s not what we want it to be. We become comfortable and don’t want to do the work that is required to change. Change is uncomfortable! I’ve met a lot of people who have accepted that their life is what it is and they “can’t change it.” But that’s not true and I wish I had realized this back then!

What are some key books/learning experiences that helped shape you?

Oh gosh. I have read so many books over the years, I could go on for hours. But if I had to pick one I think it would be Jen Sincero’s “You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life.” I saw it all over social media a few years back so I knew I had to look into it. The lessons that she teaches throughout the book are so helpful for anyone, regardless of what their goals are. I also really enjoyed her style of writing and hope to sort of emulate that in my writing! Also becoming a therapist has definitely shaped me. Hearing the realities of other people’s lives is a magical thing. I have become much more mindful of how I interact with others and much more grateful for the things that I have in my life.

What are your favorite bloom products, and why?

I absolutely adore my 2020 Palm Leaves Soft Cover Daily Planner! I had originally ordered this as a planner exclusively to use for my blog, but it quickly became my planner for everything! I love the pages in the beginning that help to set you up for a fantastic, goal-driven year. I was really fond of the SMART goals page because I use these with my clients all the time. It’s great to know that anyone can have this tool with them anywhere they go. I had a really challenging time deciding which planner I was going to go with because all of the designs were so cute! I wanted something aesthetically pleasing but also portable size-wise so I could carry it easily, and this planner hits both of those points perfectly!