Hello again!
A couple of years ago I began blogging as I walked through some major shifts in my life (a few of those previous blog posts are published on here under archive). For quite awhile I had to sacrifice time writing for time studying as I jumped back into my undergraduate degree. I have missed it terribly, but am finally finding time and focus to write as I have been craving.
The tone of topics now, however, are much different than before because I have moved into different seasons of my life. It would be overwhelming to cover the ground of what has occurred between my last posts and now all at once. I can say that I plan on delving into many of those occurrences and their repercussions...but I can also say that it will not be easy. Admitting the brutal honesty of what it has been like to move into my early 20s with various experiences, challenges, victories, and failures requires a self-awareness that is imperfect but growing every day.
If you were to ask me why I even want to write about some of these things I will tell you bluntly that I am passionate about writing, I am passionate about people and the human experience. Also, it is because I continue to run into people whose stories have so much in common with my own. When we interact and connect with each other I regularly hear "I am so happy to meet someone who can relate! Sometimes it feels like I am the only one who experienced (insert event or feelings here)." This indicates a lack of honesty and connection to me that I find saddening. Why do I keep running into so much disconnection in a world where we are so "connected"? Why does it seem revolutionary at times to just bear ourselves to the people around us without knowing all of the answers or having our lives perfectly planned?
Even in sharing experiences that are totally different from someone else's I often find similarities in how something made us feel about ourselves, the world, and our journeys. What I am beginning to realize is that from a lack of honesty with our experiences is growing a lack of connection that is deeply craved. I find in myself and others that the connection that comes from honesty (even when that honesty is ugly, hard to deal with, or uncomfortably personal) brings some relief from feeling drained, distant, unseen, and sometimes purposeless. It isn't a magic formula, just a frequently overlooked part of a huge puzzle. It helps us grow out of and into ourselves!
Unfortunately, that is proving to be a process that requires a lot more self-awareness, reflection, and deliberate self-development than our worlds often allow us time for. If we do have the time I think it is easy to let other things fog our vision; pride, misunderstanding of our own plans and desires, unhealed wounds, sometimes just the preference to focus on the immediate tasks instead of the very challenging world of our inner self.
So, I am about to get real honest and real vulnerable with some of these posts. The most evident lesson I can absolutely say I have learned as of late is that being openly broken and/or reflective is just as valuable and needed as being openly victorious or successful. It is valuable for ourselves and the people who possibly needed someone else's vulnerability in order to realize they aren't alone or to assess something honestly in their own life.
Social media can put on a mask of all of the great things in a person's life. I don't desire to have that mask, I don't desire to lack that connection and miss out on some of the relationships, lessons, and experiences that can come from that. I am not "enlightened" or an expert. I just want to learn how to use my eyes to see myself and others more honestly. It is painful, beautiful, and unpredictable.
**Open thanks to my friends who have regularly pushed me for months to write. "Hey you know... these would make good writing topics... just sayin..."
"Hey you know... I think you were right." Thanks for being right even when it makes me take steps out of my comfort zone. xoxo**
Next post coming soon
A couple of years ago I began blogging as I walked through some major shifts in my life (a few of those previous blog posts are published on here under archive). For quite awhile I had to sacrifice time writing for time studying as I jumped back into my undergraduate degree. I have missed it terribly, but am finally finding time and focus to write as I have been craving.
The tone of topics now, however, are much different than before because I have moved into different seasons of my life. It would be overwhelming to cover the ground of what has occurred between my last posts and now all at once. I can say that I plan on delving into many of those occurrences and their repercussions...but I can also say that it will not be easy. Admitting the brutal honesty of what it has been like to move into my early 20s with various experiences, challenges, victories, and failures requires a self-awareness that is imperfect but growing every day.
If you were to ask me why I even want to write about some of these things I will tell you bluntly that I am passionate about writing, I am passionate about people and the human experience. Also, it is because I continue to run into people whose stories have so much in common with my own. When we interact and connect with each other I regularly hear "I am so happy to meet someone who can relate! Sometimes it feels like I am the only one who experienced (insert event or feelings here)." This indicates a lack of honesty and connection to me that I find saddening. Why do I keep running into so much disconnection in a world where we are so "connected"? Why does it seem revolutionary at times to just bear ourselves to the people around us without knowing all of the answers or having our lives perfectly planned?
Even in sharing experiences that are totally different from someone else's I often find similarities in how something made us feel about ourselves, the world, and our journeys. What I am beginning to realize is that from a lack of honesty with our experiences is growing a lack of connection that is deeply craved. I find in myself and others that the connection that comes from honesty (even when that honesty is ugly, hard to deal with, or uncomfortably personal) brings some relief from feeling drained, distant, unseen, and sometimes purposeless. It isn't a magic formula, just a frequently overlooked part of a huge puzzle. It helps us grow out of and into ourselves!
Unfortunately, that is proving to be a process that requires a lot more self-awareness, reflection, and deliberate self-development than our worlds often allow us time for. If we do have the time I think it is easy to let other things fog our vision; pride, misunderstanding of our own plans and desires, unhealed wounds, sometimes just the preference to focus on the immediate tasks instead of the very challenging world of our inner self.
So, I am about to get real honest and real vulnerable with some of these posts. The most evident lesson I can absolutely say I have learned as of late is that being openly broken and/or reflective is just as valuable and needed as being openly victorious or successful. It is valuable for ourselves and the people who possibly needed someone else's vulnerability in order to realize they aren't alone or to assess something honestly in their own life.
Social media can put on a mask of all of the great things in a person's life. I don't desire to have that mask, I don't desire to lack that connection and miss out on some of the relationships, lessons, and experiences that can come from that. I am not "enlightened" or an expert. I just want to learn how to use my eyes to see myself and others more honestly. It is painful, beautiful, and unpredictable.
**Open thanks to my friends who have regularly pushed me for months to write. "Hey you know... these would make good writing topics... just sayin..."
"Hey you know... I think you were right." Thanks for being right even when it makes me take steps out of my comfort zone. xoxo**
Next post coming soon
This is the first post I read from your blog, I'm looking forward to reading more of these life experiences you've had. As much as we like to think we're "connected" through our social media platforms, nothing beats a one on one conversation because we can express our true self with that individual. Thanks for sharing! Blessings!
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