There's this natural ebb and flow to life that sometimes I understand and can recognize, and other times I know I'm unconscious and unaware of. Last summer I started focusing on writing in this platform regularly as a way to improve my writing, as a way of challenging myself creatively, and as a way to connect with others. Because of those initial motivations, I want my words and images here to be authentic and true to who I am.

Last month I let several weeks go by without posting. In the moment I felt frustrated with myself that I seemingly couldn't keep up with posting. But the truth is, I didn't have much to say those weeks-at least not in a way that I knew how to convey yet. This week I've felt reenergized to create and produce. Writing has always been cathartic for me. I started keeping journals around the time of preadolescence. It's both embarrassing and hilarious to read back over those entries.

As an adult now, the things I share in this platform are different from the more intimate things I write in my journals. But the things I write here are still honest and true to who I am. And of that I am proud. Brene Brown has written and talked about the fact that she doesn't share her stories with those outside of her immediate circle until she has worked through them and no longer needs validation or a certain response from those she's sharing with. It's an incredible concept that I think straddles the line of honesty and self-preservation perfectly. It's important for me to show up authentic and real-to not create an image of perfection or having my life together (clearly no one would think that about my life with my posts as of late lamenting on my current job situation). But it's also important to guard your heart, at least to some degree. That way you know that your sense of self does not depend on someone else's reaction or interpretation of your life.