Back in action...for real this time!

Hi blog readers!
Long time no talk, I know I've dropped the ball but I promise I'm back and better than ever. This blog is going to get a huge revamp within the next couple of weeks. I hope to do more vlogs, post weekly blogs about being a little person in an average sized world, my diet and exercise routines, what's on my mind at the moment and anything else you want to read about.

So first things first, an update on life and things in it. A few big things have happened. I became a Zumba instructor as of April 19! If you don't know me on a personal level, I'm obsessed with Zumba and have wanted be an instructor for a long time, but it took a few years to build up the confidence to do it. This Thursday I will be leading my first song which is exciting and terrifying at the same time. Thanks Mark and Aylett for the support!

The second update is a little bit more personal but just as exciting. Being a little person weight has been, continues to be, and will always be a struggle for me to maintain. These past five years have been difficult and around 2 years ago I really started kicking it into gear. And as of last month I can be classified as healthy and of normal weight! When I got the news I couldn't stop grinning; it confirmed that these past 2 years of exercising, cutting out the foods I love, and listening to my mother finally paid off.

In the future of this blog I want to talk a lot more about diet and exercise. Since I started losing weight people have asked me what I've done, and I want to answer.

I'm back and better than ever! Talk to y'all super soon!
-Jillian Ilana

Back in Action!

Hey blogosphere, long time no talk.
Sorry readers for not posting on here in a while but I don't want you to think I've forgotten you. A lot has happened since November when I last posted. I went with the football team to the New Orleans Bowl, saw some friends I haven't seen since I left for the Big Easy, and learned a lot about myself as a college student.

I have struggled with this blog post, I'm not sure what I want to say. All I know is that Rafiki was right. The past can hurt, and you can either run from it or learn from it. After these past couple of weeks I wanted to run, far away. But I'm channeling my inner Simba and learning from it. Things happen to teach us something. It may not be instantly clear but I think I'm starting to realize that bad things happen to show us how strong we really are. No one, LP or AP, deserves what happened to me to happen to them, but at the end of it all I know I am a much stronger student, woman, dwarf and little person because of it.

I plan to update this blog more regularly with meaningful posts like this one and random posts about anything and everything. With spring football starting up, my birthday and Mardi Gras around the corner and a new semester underway I'm sure I'll never be at a loss for words.

Till next time!
-Jillian Ilana

Vlogember Days 3 and 4

Hey y'all so day 3 was really short so I combined Day 3 and 4 into one vlog! Check it out!

Day 5 coming soon to the internet near you! 

-Jillian Ilana 

Day 2

Here's Day 2!! Check out The Chocolate Bar and The Galleria.

VLOGEMBER

Hey Y'all,
So I'm doing vlogember where I'll vlog everyday in November. So here is my day one and day two will be up shortly!

-Jillian Ilana 

Day 2

Of course I'm keeping my promise by posting everyday in honor of Dwarfism Awareness Month, and Inspiration Wednesdays are not included in that. So today I'm going to make a top ten list of things that wouldn't have happened if I was an AP

10. Not getting carded at the movie theater while my friend did and we're the same age
9. Getting asked if I could be given as a gift
8. Having someone give me a dollar to take a picture with me
7. Something I can't mention here but I can say it happened on Bourbon Street (still scarred a little bit from that)
6. Being told I'm a cutie from complete strangers
5. Getting a free bracelet because I have a cute butt
4. Watching my mom get told to be quiet because the lady wanted to give me a free bracelet
3. Getting a medical fast pass at Disney World and Universal Studios
2. Being a football trainer
1. Playing volleyball with other dwarves on Amy Roloff's team


So that's it for now!
-Jillian Ilana

Inspiration Wednesday

It's Hump Day! Happy almost National Mean Girls Day! But more importantly it is Inspiration Wednesday...or inspirations. My inspirations today I discovered by accident. I had to have been a sophomore in high school and I wanted to learn how to do makeup. So naturally I went to youtube. I typed in "make up looks" and the amount of results was staggering. But one look caught my eye and I'll include the video here.

I got inspired by her boldness to wear bright colors and wanted to emulate her style so I kept watching and once I made a youtube account I subscribed to her channel. Over the years she not only taught me how to do makeup, but how to be brave enough to stand out in a crowd and to embrace my inner and outer beauty. She has inspired me to think outside the box and to see beauty in a new and creative way.

My second inspiration I discovered through my first inspiration. Actually they're related. My second inspiration is the first girls younger sister and I first saw her sitting as a model for her older sister. Recently I found her youtube channel and I also subscribed to her channel. Her videos are more about style rather than beauty and she has opened up my eyes to a whole new world of fashion that I have fallen in love with, but there was one video that truly inspired me. Again I'll post it here, but it talked about eating disorders and watching it made me cry and made me realize that my body is mine, it's no one else's. The only person who should care about what my body looks like and there is no reason to hurt myself in order to try to have a body that someone else says I should want. 

So who are these girls? On youtube, they go by the names Xsparkage and Chwelsea respectively. In real life they are Leesha (Alicia) and Chelsea and they inspire me to be the most beautiful I can be on the inside and out. If you haven't watched any of their videos I suggest you do, they are two inspiring women who have definitely given me a better outlook on life. 

Keep on the look out for my day two post today and thank you Leesha and Chelsea for being inspirations, thank you thank you thank you. 

-Jillian Ilana

Leesha's Channels: 

Xsparkage- https://www.youtube.com/user/xsparkage

Chwelsea- http://www.youtube.com/user/superdooperrad