This Is Me

I am real. And still a work in progress, for sure. But I am real. What you see is what you get. That’s why I put my stuff out for the world to see. My stances on muddy topics. Posts that require some vulnerability. My joy. My sadness. My pain. My pride.

I share about parenting. Natural lifestyle hacks. Essential oils. Animals. Marriage. Vaccines. Sometimes even politics and religion. I try super hard to be kind in my verbiage and to not tread upon those who have differing beliefs. My thumb has been trained to keep scrolling if I don’t like something, and if I’m engaged by someone who doesn’t like my stance on something, I strive to maintain a loving relationship through our dialogue. I firmly believe we are more alike than different—people. Humankind.

That being said, I won’t back down. It’s taken too long for me to be comfortable in my own skin and my decisions and to be quite public with them. Recently I was referred to as a self-righteous know-it-all. I was sad for a bit, not because of this person’s opinion of me, but because of my relationship to them. And I thought about it for awhile...meditated on it, and decided that I was a learn-it-all. Far from knowing it all, I love learning as much as I can, especially if it’s interesting to me. I devour articles, watch videos, listen to podcasts, and converse with my spouse constantly about things that are important to me. And then I go and share them because I figure maybe someone else might be interested too.

I recently purchased The Velveteen Rabbit for Jackson’s Easter basket. When I saw this quote, it resonated with me...where I’m at...36 years into my life. I’m in the process of “becoming”. More real. And it’s only ugly to people who don’t understand.

I think I’ll keep boldly being me. I’m not gonna be everyone’s cup of tea and that’s okay. Being real is more important to me than being liked by everyone, and trust me, if you truly know me, that’s a huge thing for me to say. I’ve become many things in life, but perhaps as important is what I’ve un-become: a people-pleaser. If you’re still reading, hopefully it means you love me just as I am, shabby and all.