I can count on one hand the number of times that I’ve shared photos of myself on my business account. I can’t really give you a firm answer if you were to ask me why, but I loved having the two separated (in some weird almost alter-ego way). In my last blog post, I wrote about why balance is a myth for me. As I work towards ditching the “balancing myths” that I’ve told myself up until this point, I thought what better way to jump into that with both feet than to dedicate an entire blogpost to pulling that curtain back and introducing myself.
You know what I do & you know why I do it… I also want you to know who I am.
I’m a lot of things… a business owner, a girlfriend, an educator, a friend, an employee, a dog mom… and the list goes on. At the core of every one of those things, I’m ME! My goal has always been to inspire you, but I know that I love connecting with the businesses that I follow on a personal level (because that’s why we #ShopSmall, right?) and part of that is getting to see the person behind the biz. Let’s connect.
So… allow me to introduce myself.
^^ That’s my face right there!
I’m Arlena Elliott and I’m the lady behind the name “Bossy Brushstrokes.” As I start off introducing myself, let me throw out some random facts about myself. My favorite food hasn’t changed since I was a child… Love you, french fries. I am an obsessive list maker. I can follow that fact with the not-so-shocking confession that I am super type A. My parents are my best friends and I call them every day. Winter is my least favorite season. I’m looking at you, Kansas, I barely survived without freezing this year. I think laughter is the key to staying happy. I love to watch the sunrise or the sunset or fireworks or Christmas lights. I’ve traveled to 13 countries (and counting) in the last few years. In my “real life”, I work as the event coordinator for an entrepreneurship center. My favorite color is blue (oh hi, branding). If I could change anything about myself it’d be that I enjoyed cooking more. I wake up every day and wonder if I’m far enough into my adult life to start enjoying cooking and every day I realize, “NOPE. Not today.” I’m terrible at math… However, I do improve slightly when you put dollar signs in front of the numbers (funny how that works, right?). You might shun me for this one, but I don’t drink coffee. I looooove talking politics *insert gasp here*, religion, or anything else that is probably controversial. I just love hearing why people believe what they believe and hearing what they are passionate about. It’s an amazing way to learn about others. I always ask for extra, extra lemon for my water at restaurants. It’s too bad that I can’t keep a plant alive. I love driving, but traffic drives me insane. I’m obnoxiously early to pretty much everything.
This is my little family!
I currently live in the Flint Hills of Kansas with this guy and Tracer, our seven-year-old yellow lab. The handsome guy next to me is Adam. He is in the military and currently commands a line company. This is the part where I explain to you that means he is a helicopter pilot. Haha! We’re also a few months into a deployment at the moment. If that wasn’t the case though, you’d probably find us binging Netflix on the couch or at a Mexican restaurant in our free time (we enjoy the simple things).
Look at that sweet face!
I just had to include this photo (from just a few hours earlier as I’m writing this). He is just a big baby and you’d never know he is seven because he is FULL of energy… but don’t get me wrong, he’ll also sleep next to you on the couch all day. It’s the best kind of balance. The shedding never ends with him (fellow lab owners, you’ll understand) but neither does the love, so I let it slide.
I’m part of the 4%.
As I’m introducing myself, I should to mention a bit more about my education and how I got here to the Midwest! I was raised in Georgia and lived there until I finished my bachelors degree (in marketing if you’re wondering). After completing my bachelors, I moved to Tennessee to pursue my Masters of Business Administration. Roughly 8% of the United States population has a Masters of Business Administration. Furthermore, it’s estimated that women make up around 40% of that. In August of 2018, I walked across the stage and officially became a part of the less than 4% of female MBAs in the United States. That’s pretty cool, right? I absolutely love marketing and it’s what I focused my studies during my MBA on. One week after graduation, I moved to Kansas to ditch the long-distance finally, which is how I ended up here in the Flint Hills! This paragraph might explain why winter was almost the death of me… I am just not acclimated for the Midwest weather.
I discovered my love for calligraphy by chance (a love for doodling and quotes combined) and I’m so glad that I did. If you’re newer here, you can read a little more about my business journey on this page of my website. My business allowed me to discover my passion; empowering and inspiring others. It led me to where I am today (truly) and I can’t thank you enough for being here to support my journey. What did I leave out? What else do you want to know? Don’t hesitate to ask in the comments below or message me on Instagram (cause we’re friends now). Until next time, stay bossy y’all.
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