Last week, we shared Part I of the two-part interview with Yvonne Crum, our November Woman of the Month. You can read Part I here.
Today we’ve got the second part for you, and let me warn you, it’s got some powerful content. Yvonne is bursting at the seams with incredible stories and fascinating tales, but it’s in the quiet moments of introspection, the brief pauses when the strength of her emotions overcomes her, where her wisdom and intellect come through the strongest.
Please enjoy Part II of Courtney’s interview with Yvonne.
This month, we’re honored to introduce Yvonne Crum as our November Woman of the Month!
Yvonne is affectionately known as the fundraising queen around Dallas because she’s been involved with countless organizations, helping to plan, organize, and execute wildly successful fundraising events for many of our local nonprofits. We first really got to know each other when she asked me to be a Fashion Star for her Fashion Stars for a Cause event benefiting the Suicide and Crisis Center of North Texas.
I wanted to get involved and help others because of my own experiences as a survivor of suicide, and Yvonne’s passion for the cause was immediately infectious. One thing that stands out to me with Yvonne is that she is so supportive of every person she meets. When someone she knows is celebrating a success, she’s always the first to share the news and celebrate right along with them. That includes Model Behaviors. From day one, she’s been right there leaving comments, sharing our posts, and sending us so much love and encouragement.
Yvonne has led one of the most fascinating and inspiring lives, so I’m beyond thrilled to share Courtney’s two-part interview with this incredible woman. Read part one below and come back next week for part two!
I want to start off by saying that witnessing Toni, Dan, and the Frights of the Round Table bring this event together has truly been remarkable. What initially struck me as so special, was their steadfast dedication to making this a very Frisco-centric event. Since Friscovania is in honor of Kelly Whaley, and Kelly loved helping people with all of her heart, the Frights of the Round Table were dedicated to creating an event that would give back something truly valuable to Frisco and to the surrounding region.
In turn, so many local businesses, organizations, and individuals have generously come together in order to create this unique event. It truly is a community effort.
That’s why it made perfect sense to ask Mayor Maher Maso and Cindy Maso to be our Honorary Host and Hostess of Friscovania. We couldn’t think of two people more suited to this task. Everyone was so excited when we got the news that they’d be our hosts, so today we’re flipping it around to find out what convinced the two of them to join in on this spooktacular fun.
In talking to them, their love for the community and their excitement for this event came shining through, and we’re more pumped than ever for October 22nd to get here.
Enjoy my interview with our Honorary Host and Hostess, the Count and Countess of Friscovania, Mayor Maher Maso and Cindy Maso.
Today is National Read a Book Day! This unofficial holiday was created to encourage everyone, book lovers and non-book lovers alike, to pick out a book and find a quiet, peaceful moment in the day to step away from electronics and simply read for a while.
Over the last month, I’ve been aggressively de-cluttering. This has led to me uncovering old journals, letters, notes to myself, scribbles here and there, and tiny snippets of who I was years ago. There were a couple things that took me by surprise while reading through all these things. First, as a twenty-one-year-old I was unbelievably self-confident. Second, I was bursting at the seams with passion, drive, and purpose. Reading through those journals, I don’t recognize my thoughts, my voice, my absolute certainty in all that I wrote. I have no recollection of ever feeling so sure of myself.
There were some parts (most parts) that made me either cringe or laugh or both. Here’s a particularly humiliating yet hilarious excerpt:
I’m sad b/c I’m not watching Vampire Diaries tonight. It’s such a guilty pleasure. I know it’s only here because of the latest vampire fetish going on in popular media, instigated by Twilight and True Blood, but I liked vampires way before any of this. It bums me out b/c by the time I’ve made a name for myself, they will probably be on the decline in popularity which means I’d have to wait a few more years before revisiting my vampire musical.
Yes, you read that correctly. At one time, I dreamed of writing a vampire musical. And not a campy one. A serious one. Oh, Courtney, Courtney, Courtney. You strange and wonderful girl. (In all seriousness, I need to watch The Originals. I heard that show is awesome!) And let’s not ignore the “by the time I’ve made a name for myself” comment. I was obsessed with being famous, and that obsession is all over my journal. Despite the ridiculousness, as I read on, it hit me how much my internal monologue has changed over the last ten years, not necessarily for the better. I’m not as in touch with my gut as I was back then. My point of view on people, the world, myself wasn’t nearly as clouded by self-doubt or anxiety. There was a lot of naiveté but also a lot of optimism and joy. My pure belief in self was astounding.
Like in that excerpt, for example. There was zero doubt that the vampire musical was happening. Not one speckle. I want to feel that sure of myself again!
So for our last week to reflect on shine, I’ve gathered some wisdom from my own journals. It feels a bit like fate that I found these journals around the same time that Joanna supplied us with this amazing quote by Anaïs Nin, a woman famous for her deeply introspective and insightful journals. I’m no Anaïs Nin (not by a long shot), but after reading my own journals, here are the top five lessons I’ll keep in the forefront of my mind as I go forward in life. Read More “Wellness Wednesday: SHINE”>
