Hello, Dear Readers, and welcome to my blog.
Why a blog, you ask? It's simple, I think:
I wanted to create a platform where I could express my thoughts, feelings, and voice with you. My desire is that this will be a place where anyone can come and feel like they are sitting with me in a cozy window seat with our oversize sweatshirts and ridiculously large mugs of [insert preferred beverage here] in our hands; talking about anything and everything under the sun.
This has been a brain child of mine for as long as I can remember. I have always loved to write and explore the human condition (cue uppity finger under nose pose), and I promised myself that I would put my dreams into action one day. Well, today is that day. On this day, I push my anxieties aside and force myself to write my first blog post in over 7 years. I can only pray it is something that resonates with people.
Before we get too far into what this blog will be covering, I want to give you a fair heads up. My writing style is designed in an effort to be conversational, but I can sometimes get lost in my own thoughts. I will do my best to bring myself down to earth and not pontificate to the point where it is overwhelmingly boring. If my posts become too high-falutin, I must beg of you to comment or send me a message and say "CHILLAX, MY DUDE." This is not to say that my performance and presentation is your responsibility, but rather to let you know that your feedback is welcome and desired as I move forward in this journey. Throw the author cool-aid in my face if I drink too much of it! I want to engage you, not drag you along in some horrifically vexing, dull manner. Ah, hold on - I'm receiving a message from my shoulder angel. OH - I'm doing it already? Whew! Okay. That's over. Now to the meat of the thing.
Alrighty, here we are: the "What" of this little project. Prepare for greatness (I'm kidding - I don't think that highly of myself - I just really want to do my best).
This blog is meant to be a discovery. I sincerely hope to be able to connect with my readers in a way that makes them feel as though they belong to something. My longing is to include people in my life, and to provide you, dear readers, with a place where you may find community and hope. I cannot promise that it will be perfect, but I can promise that it will be honest.
I have spent a (albeit short) lifetime doing so much and yet I still know so little. I grew up moving all over the country. I have spent months and years living in less than ideal means. I spent my middle school years through present day dealing with illnesses that took too long to diagnose - and I still am not done with them. I often found myself coping with ordeals that would throw anyone for a loop, and I did not always utilize or have on hand the correct mechanisms to help me process them healthily. I have wrestled with my weight, my core beliefs, my finances, my health (mental, spiritual, physical, and emotional), and many other things under the sun. Throughout all of this I wished desperately that there was someone out there who had reached a hand out to support me, a middle schooler through post-college human being, as I wobbled across the tightrope that is my journey. I longed for someone to tell me they had been through the same thing and still struggled with it, and that by coming together we might find some sort of comfort instead of only parroting, "It will be alright. Don't worry. It will be alright." Please be aware that this does not mean I never received support or help - it just means that there are often so many people who don't know that they share your story, and we must share our stories to find the similarities and be able to lift one another up!
It is my sincerest aspiration that this is that hand to others out there who are like me: doing their best but questioning every decision and possible decision that comes their way. I want you to know that you are not alone! There are so many of us out there and we are all working to pull through in one way or another. You are valid! Your struggles are valid! Your confidence is valid! Your longing for support and respect and guidance is heard and valid! This is a place for you to come and see that you are not the only one on the tightrope - there are hands reaching out to steady you and help you across. We will do our best to help one another find balance and keep from falling into the raging river that sweeps below our feet.
As we walk through this venture, I will also be sharing my joys. The things that bring me pleasure and ground me when I feel I have no control. I want you to know, beloved readers, that you do not have to second guess the smiles in your life. We are allowed to let happiness shine into the sadness and melancholy. Like I said before, I want this to be a place of safety and all encompassing warmth. That means we are allowed to be cheerful in the midst of dark things. I have so many things in my life that bring me delight, and I want to help you see those and acknowledge them in your lives as well. To permit a smile is to welcome the opportunity for good and grace to shine through. It is not to deny the fact that there is, or has been, sadness.
Knowing that we have laid down a baseline for this being a place of warmth and validation, I also want to let you know that this is my story. It is not everyone's story, nor do I claim it to be. I want to hear your stories! I want to understand you and what brought you here. I yearn to walk with you and I am actively inviting you into my life so that you can see through the lenses that I do. I don't want to dictate how you see or process things. Rather, I demand of myself that I show you how I look through my lenses so that you can glean what you wish from me. I even hope that you feel encouraged to share your own lenses and guidance with me and those others who read this!
Dear readers, I know that my lenses are flawed. I know that I am not perfect. As I stated at the beginning of this, I simply dream of sharing my own experiences with you so that you can feel included and not alone. I fancy us laughing together, crying together, praying together, and rejoicing together. I will continue to provide context for who I am and what I have learned in following posts, but until then, please know that you are welcome to ask any questions that may come to you.
To sum it all up, I give you this list:
I will take you on adventures with me.
I will share my life and thoughts with you.
I will give you the best advice I can.
I will try to make you laugh.
I will do my best to encourage and support you.
I can only promise that I will present the honest truth of who I am. Nothing more, nothing less.
I will introduce you to my Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Reginald Stewart III (There are no preceding numbers, we just thought it sounded cool).
I will share my faith with you.
I will cry with you.
I will grab your hand when you reach out to me.
I will love you and pray for you with all of my heart.
I will redirect you if you need help that is more than I know how to give.
I will promote mental health, body positivity, equality, and growth.
I will not tolerate hate, defamation, unjust anger, or slander.
I will come alongside you as best I can when you are dealing with hard things.
I will provide resources and urge those who need them to utilize them.
I will share my joy, my tears, and many other things with you.
I will continue to look at life as Peter Pan does: An awfully big adventure.
Thank you so much for reading through this introductory post! I look forward to learning, adventuring, and living with all of you!
DISCLAIMER
Please, dear readers, don't get me wrong. I am NOT perfect. I am NOT a seasoned mental health professional, nor am I a licensed counselor (if I were, there would be letters after my name). If you are dealing with ANYTHING that I talk about and you need more than just the assurance that there are people out here like you, I urge you to seek out professional help. I am putting together a page listing many different resources for the help you may need. If there are more resources that you have found, please share them with me and I will add them to this resource list.