My heart is as vast and complicated and strong as the forests and the mountains and the sea. So I have to be challenged. I have to grow. I have to breathe oxygen in ways I’ve never breathed before. Only then does my soul truly come alive – out there in the wild, in the wide, untamable unknown.
Surround yourself with those who can appreciate and relate to the fathoms, complexities, and brilliant colors of your soul. There will always be those in this life that will find a reason to tear you down. But their actions can never define you. Be who you are. Be your brilliant, quirky, weird, crazy, wonderful self. And surround yourself with those you can remind you of who you are when doubt creeps in – those that say: I see you, and I know you, and it’s all going to be okay.
Transformation isn't without waiting, without pain, without moments of darkness followed by glimpses of brilliant light. And you just have to hope those brief glimpses are enough to get you through the next series of seemingly infinite darkness. But transformation begins with accepting who you are. With embracing who you are. It begins with laying your heart and soul brazenly on the table and saying, this is who I am, and I am not ashamed.
I've always said being open and vulnerable is the only way to be. In a sense, I think it's the only way I know how to be. Apart from my constant persistence at hiding, a part of me wants to be exposed. I feel that exposing yourself forces you to face who you are - and with that comes acceptance. And with acceptance comes healing. At least, that is my hope. Perhaps there is someone out there in a world beyond my immediate reach who is searching for affirmation to know they are not alone. That their struggle is important. That there is hope. And commonality. Even if it's from a post by someone they've never met.
I am tired of wondering if certain people will get offended by certain things. Of worrying if I've said too much. Of hiding who I am. I'm tired of stigmas, judgments, and molds that I refuse to fit into. I'm tired of the pressure to keep myself in a neat little package so I look pretty to everyone. Maybe if we all started being honest about ourselves, it wouldn't be such a radical occasion? Shouldn't honesty be what sets us apart? Shouldn't that be worth something?
I want to be real. I want my art to be real. I would rather sit in silence than censor myself. And if you're out there reading this - I challenge you to be bold with me. Let your voice be heard. Be free. Be yourself. There's no one else like you. Some of us may be broken, scarred, jaded, and complete wrecks at times. But you're still you. I'm still me. No one else can be us. We are beautiful and loved and unique. Knowing that, we should all be fighting like hell to embrace ourselves.
Somehow the world would have us think that normal is what we should be. And if we aren’t normal, then that should be our goal. But perhaps your inability to feel like you truly belong is the tool that drives you forward – to seek after the dreams in your heart, as elusive as they appear to be at times.
We complicate so many things unnecessarily. Following your heart is perhaps the riskiest venture you’ll ever undertake because your mind wants to tell you otherwise – to talk you out of the crazy ideas and notions your heart is telling you. The mind is the logic, but the heart is the dreamer in all of us.
And though you may feel like a dreamer stuck in a world barraging you with the message that you must conform to normality, remember that free spirits don’t conform. Free spirits have always and will always make their own path. People are afraid to change – afraid of change. But you – you are the game changer. You are the one meant to seek new adventures and experiences. To keep moving forward. To grow. To challenge yourself and others. And you do that by being different. By being bold. By being you.
It’s ok to dream.
It’s ok to believe in love, and to fight for it.
It’s ok to feel restless, because perhaps that restlessness is your heart trying to move your feet down a path you wouldn’t have otherwise gone down if you were content and comfortable and safe.
Embrace the free spirit that you are. Embrace your wildness. Embrace yourself, and be free.