Get To Know The Renovated Lifestyle Sisters
Meet Dannia
Back when I was about to enter middle school (the day before the last day of elementary school, to be exact) was when I learned how to hustle and put the effort forward. You might be wondering why an 11-year-old would need to do this, but this was actually when my mother passed due to cancer. Now is that an abrupt introduction or what?
This life-altering experience made me grateful for all of the learning experiences I was able to get with my mother while she was still here, but at the time, it also made me feel lost and afraid about navigating larger milestones such as applying for college, move-in day, getting a full-time job, and so many more important life events that would happen once I turned 18 in a few (very quick) years.
Refusing to go into college unprepared, I did all of the research I could about scholarships, the college experience, and securing scholarships, and I did deep dives into anything college-related. This hard work paid off, as I was able to achieve not one, but two full-ride scholarships (and then some!) to attend my dream college.
This experience of having to prepare me for college, although rewarding and taught me perseverance, made me realize how daunting it can be to have to prepare to navigate college and be an adult mostly on your own. That’s why I started blogging.
I just recently graduated college with my undergrad degree in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Leadership Studies. I’m no officially on my own in my first “big-girl apartment",” and I’m trying to navigate the early stages of adulthood (and sharing what I learn with you)!
Renovated Lifestyle is my second blog, which is intended to help prepare those entering college, currently enrolled in college, college graduates, and even families to navigate the college experience to the best of their abilities. I’m an advocate for sharing knowledge with others to help each other grow, and that is the purpose of my blog, Renovated Lifestyle.
Meet Noria
My name is Noria Thorpe I’m an ACE Certified Fitness Professional and doing my best to live a green and healthy lifestyle which I started almost 10 years ago.
In the summer of 2009, my family learned that my mother had colon cancer. Not just any cancer, but stage 4 cancer. For those who don’t know, stage 4 means the person only has a short amount of time left. Needless to say, things in my household changed overnight. Between one day and the next, all processed junk foods were tossed and replaced. When I say junk food, I mean any food items that were made with ingredients that we couldn’t pronounce. This lead to us to only buying foods that were non-GMO, all natural, or organic. At first, I didn’t really understand how changing our food would affect anything, in my mind it was already too late and I was about to lose my mother. Boy was I wrong.
In the course of a few months, my mom went from a stage 4 to stage 3. A little bit longer, it went down to a stage 2. All that had really changed in her life was the quality of the foods she ate and getting a little bit more physical activity here and there. It was a huge eye opener on how what we eat & do can affect our body’s functionality. Because of a slight change to her lifestyle, I was able to have my mother almost 3 years longer than the doctor had originally predicted.
During this time period, the changes in my mother were not the only ones. Although I was never diagnosed, looking over old journal entries and status updates, and I’m about 95% sure I was battling some form of depression. My thoughts were always negative, I lacked energy, I didn’t know how to handle stress, and overall, I was mentally in a bad place. The anger, crying, and sadness were a constant in my life that I was convinced was just a part of my personality. I thought it was just something I would have to live with. Fastforward roughly 6 -7 months after the foods in our house changed, and my family started to notice the changes in my personality. I wasn’t staying closed off in my room as much, I was becoming more social. Personally, I didn’t feel as sad as often anymore. It was still there but never as bad as the previous years.
Even after my mother passed in the summer of 2012, as a family, we still decided to eat cleaner. It wasn’t always completely healthy but we at least aware that non-GMO, natural foods were the better option. My mother’s extended life expectancy and my almost one hundred and eighty degree behavior switch was all the proof we needed from a healthy lifestyle.
I have experienced first hand how the foods I eat and my activity level can have a positive effect on my daily living. Reducing the amount of toxins in my daily skincare, body care, and haircare products help as well. I share this knowledge with anyone who is transitioning, looking to transition, or is already living a “greener” lifestyle.