I don't write my blog for any other reason than I needed a healthy release over the past year. Something very selfish but, hopefully, tactful. Tonight I had someone, someone who I met just about 3 years ago at the beginning of the tough stuff, give me this gift and tell me thank you for sharing my story and how much it helps people. To say that I'm choked up, touched, or beside myself is an understatement. The tears in my eyes have not gone away.

If I could say anything it would be this: Everyone I have ever written about here or "released" about on this platform has meant something to my heart and has changed me in some way. They have made me realize what it means to love with every part of my soul and live in the moment (even when others thought I was crazy for driving 1,000 miles alone or going out at midnight or staying awake til 4:30am talking or being friends with someone who I was once planning to build a life with) and grow as a person I never thought I would be. They have taught me what it means to truly forgive, to accept someone unconditionally as they are (even when I haven't wanted to), and to be aware of myself and everything that comes along with that-- my strengths and my faults. And if writing about them, or about my feelings about life and how it ebbs and flows helps anyone, I am thankful. Because that means that something positive can come out of something that has been so very painful in my life.

To say that she is the first person, or even the second or third, to ever reach out privately to me, would be a lie. It just happened to be perfect perfect timing. So, with that being said, one thing I want to say to anyone who reads this is that you are not alone. As much as it feels like you are at times, I'm telling you that there are so many others dealing with life's obstacles that you have no clue about. As they say, everyone is fighting a battle, and if my blog helps anyone at all to feel like they are not alone, I'm doing something right in life, even on the days where it feels anything but that.

(And if I could ever reach Brandon Stanton level of excellence, I wouldn't even know what to do with myself.)

It doesn't hurt to come home to this. My smorgasbord of a quote wall.

Quotes:

1) Do you suppose she's a {wildflower}?
2) The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the {ecstatic} experience!
3) Life does not have to be {perfect} to be wonderful.
4) Go {live}.
5) Life is too {short} to spend it at war with yourself.
6) You're only given a little {spark} of madness. You mustn't lose it.
7) The things you are {passionate} about are not random. They are your calling.
8) I always find beauty in things that are {odd} & imperfect- they are much more interesting.
9) Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy. (Check out BTravers Word Art on Etsy)
10) She stood in the storm and when the {wind} did not blow her way, she adjusted her sails.
11) At first {glance} it may appear too hard. Look again. Always look again.
12) What if I told you that 10 years from now, your life would be {exactly} the same? I doubt you'd be happy. So, why are you so afraid of change?
13) The {soul} has been given its own ears to hear things the mind does not understand.
14) {Live} and let live.
15) The moment you change your {perception}, is the moment you rewrite the chemistry of your body.
16) And those who were seen {dancing} were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.
17) Continue to share your {heart} with people even if it's been broken.
18) Let yourself be silently {drawn} by the strange pull of what you really love.