Episode 19 - Embracing Yourself & Your Expectations with Kayli Blankenship Scott

We are continuing the relationship series this week with Kayli Blankenship Scott. I first met Kayli in the Spring of 2019 when she and my middle daughter Kylee met through their Campus Faith Fellowship and also both being student athletes at Guilford College.  They became roommates the next Fall, and that’s when Kayli really became a regular part of our lives.  The fun part about meeting someone at that point in their life is that you get to watch them grow and learn more about themselves and how to navigate the world in a way that’s truest to them.  That journey usually has some twists and turns in it along the way, and that has certainly proven to be true for Kayli. You see, besides the normal walk life takes us on in our early twenties, Kayli got to have the added experience of the COVID pandemic, which ended up affecting nearly every area of her life.  She was a senior in college in her last Softball season when that abruptly came to an end in mid March 202 due to the pandemic.  She was scheduled to graduate in May of 2020, but there would be no in person graduation ceremony for a year due to the Pandemic.  She was scheduled to get married a week after graduation, but that had to be altered as well because of, guess what?! The Pandemic.  And just to keep life interesting, she was going to be a new Teacher starting her career in the middle of….wait for it!  A Pandemic.  And because change is a continuing theme, she has started a small side business in the midst of all of this that really brings out her creative side. We talk about all of these situations in this episode, with all the things she’s learned about herself, her partner, her relationships with her family that change once you get married. The difference between boundaries with your partner, and boundaries with your family and friends; how being an Enneagram 3 has informed her in how she tends toward people pleasing and creating relationships, sometimes to her detriment, and how she’s learned to not abandon herself for the sake of connecting with people anymore. We talk about the importance of self care, her why, and managing emotional and physical health as she transitioned from student athlete to a career in teaching, and a life without softball in it on a daily basis. .  We talk about lessons she learned as a student athlete that helped her when her softball career abruptly came to an end in the Spring of 2020. We talk about how she’s learned to ask questions as to why she’s feeling a certain way rather than just “pulling up her bootstraps” and trudging forward without dealing with those feelings. We talk about embracing all the parts of ourselves, and how learning to love and accept herself has been the greatest gift, and enabled her to love others well. And, we talk about the importance of continuing to evolve and grow, not becoming stagnant, and embracing all that each season brings. It was so fun to have this conversation with Kayli and see firsthand all that she’s learned and grown into over the last 2 years.  I can’t wait for you to hear this energized, inspiring conversation with Kayli Blankenship Scott.