My goal on social media has never been to paint a perfect picture. It has never been to attempt to make people believe that every day is a good day and that life doesn’t get hard sometimes. Although this has never been the goal, sometimes those bad days, those off moments, those difficult times, don’t make it onto our pages. I mean honestly who wants to post a picture of the day after you got dumped by someone you thought you’d spend forever with crying on the bathroom floor? Not me. I believe in that particular instance I posted a picture of myself smiling BIG to prove to the world and hoping to prove to myself that I was ok. I didn’t post about the heartbreak. I didn’t post about a lot of the hardships that we all experience. BUT that doesn’t mean that it can’t be talked about.
Several months ago when I started this blog my goal was to get a little bit more honest, a little deeper, and a bit more real with the people who were open to reading it. I try to leave my posts with an uplifting message, because ultimately that is true to who I am. We all have stories, we all have pasts, but I believe that those experiences are valuable to be able to help other people, and ultimately grow and become better people from it.
I remember the first post that I did that was a bit more honest and open than the others. I had been teaching for a while. I have always been so incredibly passionate and a desire to share what I think, feel, and hopefully inspires others, but for some reason I had a hard time doing that on social media. I wanted to keep it in the classroom until I literally couldn’t anymore. That first post I was nervous, I cared WAYtoo much what people thought about me, and wasn’t sure how people would respond. All I wanted to do was lift people up, and slowly thought time I was able to do more and more of it. And not care how people responded. But I did learn that the more vulnerable I got, the more that people responded.
When we get vulnerable. People respond. Our social media paints only half of the picture. So here is my #halfthestory.
My whole goal is to inspire people to be their best selves and to find it from the inside out. Because at one point in my life I wasn’t my best self. Some days I can still tend to feel that way. Some days I’m tired, I don’t feel inspired, I question myself, I doubt my path, I lose trust in the Universe that has led me to where I am now. Sometimes I love what I see in the mirror and others I want to throw on a pair of sweats and hide. A bit over 8 years ago my life was a mess. I had so many goals and dreams and all the support in the world to get there, but I just couldn’t. I was drowning in a world where I felt completely alone and I did everything I could to escape that feeling. 8 years ago was also the time when I got sober and my life began to change. It was not easy. It was challenging. I was young. I felt like a failure. I felt like the only 15 year old on the planet who was sober. I wasn’t. But I sure felt like it. At some point I could .have been ashamed and felt like this was a demon, but it has become a way for me to help people. To be completely and 100% myself today. To be able to dig deeper and reach my full potential without anything standing in my way. I have grown. I have changed. And I am a stronger person from it. There are still days where I get overwhelmed. Where life feels like alot. But my life is beautiful. The Universe has led me to where I am now and I am eternally grateful for it. I am grateful for the events that led to me getting sober 8 years ago. And I’m grateful for where I am now.
I try to be transparent, honest, and true in all areas of my life. Those bad moments are just moments. Those bad days pass. Those doubts and thoughts disappear over time. But we all have a past. We all have life experiences that have shaped us, makes us who we are, and allows us to be human. To grow a little bit. To experience change in the best possible way, even when it scares us. And although I may have been nervous to share this here. This is my #halfthestory. Whats yours?