Meeting Rowdy Kittens

A few weeks ago, Bryan and I booked it after work to get to York College of Pennsylvania, my alma mater, for a lecture in the college's cultural series. Back in early April, I was scrolling through Instagram and happened to see a post by a minimalist blogger I recently found while trying to pitch an article on minimalist social media usage. I loved her username, Rowdy Kittens, and thought her blog was not only cute but inspiring. While glancing at her post, I saw that she was speak to a reporter in PA about her upcoming talk at York College. 

Rowdy Kittens

I was shocked. My first thought was that my degrees of separation to The Minimalists—the guys who helped me reevaluate my life and grow my relationship with Bryan—were narrowing. The second was to start shooting out a text to Bryan as fast as my fingers could physically move across my iPhone 5 screen and still send something intelligible. Without knowing much about Tammy Strobel, the writer behind Rowdy Kittens, Bryan immediately agreed to go to the presentation with me. 

Fast forward to the day of the event and I am "geeking out" as the kids say these days ;). I had tweeted and fangirled all over social media about meeting Tammy so she knew I was coming and I'd hopefully get a chance to chat with her. Bryan could only laugh as I intermittently squealed on our drive to York—I couldn't contain my excitement. 

As we got into the auditorium with only 5 minutes to spare, I went straight to the front row because some habits die hard and I was determined to be the best student there. When Bryan and I sat down, my eyes made a beeline for Tammy and with the enthusiasm of a child seeing her favorite Disney princess at Disney World (well, let's be honest, I'll totally have that same level of enthusiasm when I finally get to Disney), I excitedly whispered at Bryan, "She's here, she's here."

Was the presentation as magical as I hoped it would be? Yeah, it really was. And more importantly, it's helped me refocus my life and the goals I have for it. Before attending the lecture, I initially thought that living in a tiny house wasn't for me. I could certainly see myself vacationing in one—we already had a trip scheduled to the Eastern Shore of Virginia to stay in the Little Red House. But Tammy's experience she shared really made me rethink my position on the matter. The luxury of being able to move around with your house is really appealing to me. 

More so, Tammy kept coming back to the idea of asking yourself of "What is enough?" I think that perhaps my conception of what is enough for me has changed recently. I really don't need to be buying clothes all the time. I don't need to have the latest and greatest beauty products. And I probably don't need to get a croissant with my coffee every time I go to Passenger with Bryan. 

But what is enough? Spending time with my fur baby after I come home from work. Cooking elaborate meals all Saturday with Bryan for the week ahead. Revisiting old wardrobe favorites and creating new outfits. Laughing hysterically with my coworkers-turned-great-friends. Calling my mom every day before and after work to check in. 

There are so many things that make my life enough, and I couldn't be more grateful for everything that makes life perfectly filled. If you have a chance, you should certainly check out Tammy's blog for your own bit of inspiration. Bryan and I will also be seeing The Minimalists' documentary next week, which features Tammy so I'm sure we'll have more to report then! 

 
Feel WellSarah Walsh