8 Year Blog Anniversary – Feeling All of the Feels

8 years… it’s incredible that I have been running this blog for an ENTIRE 8 years! We have certainly seen our share of changes on this site. I started out very niche as a mom blogger, sprinkling little nuggets of my journey with mental health in between. As time progressed, I got more comfortable sharing bits of myself; that meant including my desire to explore fashion and beauty. Life kept doling me punches including huge developments in my health which I openly documented here. As my life changed and evolved, so did this blog. So today, I am going to share where that growth is leading me.

Custom Gown: http://www.christianomeshun.com

I Found My Voice

From the way I freely share my thoughts you wouldn’t think this needs to be said. However, it took me a while to grow comfortable in speaking on the things that I share here and on social media. In the beginning, I worried that I might be oversharing or that some may find my thoughts offensive. The reality is, both those things might be true. To some people it might seem like oversharing, but to those who are looking for answers or confirmation or guidance, the info I share is just right! And yes, some maybe offended when I speak to my experience in a fat body and how it has impacted my health or access to fair healthcare; but this is my experience. Even if it upsets someone, it doesn’t make my experience any less valid and less worthy of being heard.

Pushing Health & Wellness to the Forefront

These last 8 years have shown me how passionate I feel about health and wellness holistically. Health and wellness is not just some commercial packaging of small bodies working out and eating green smoothies. It is inner and outer work, emotional and mental as much as it is physical. Health and wellness does not belong to the thin. Health and wellness has many facets and components to it and I want to make sure that I share what I’ve learned along the way with people who truly want to learn too.

I’ve decided to utilize my Instagram page to push those conversations front and center. The aim is to continue to build upon the safe space I started; share info about disability, chronic illness, bariatric surgery pre and post op care, mental health and more in a full time capacity. I want to elevate the voices of people who have wisdom and knowledge to share on these topics. I want to make my Instagram a resource for navigating the health care system as best as one can despite the obstacles they may face.

A New Lease On Life

Between duodenal switch surgery and a total left hip replacement, I have a new lease on life! As cliché as that sounds, it is the absolute truth. This doesn’t mean that my problems in life are absolved, but it does mean I have been given a second chance to be more resilient and to fight another day. Depression, anxiety, trauma and grief have long been demons I’ve had to contend with from a very young age. I didn’t always appreciate the basics because I took it for granted. Having gone through the experience of limited mobility and chronic illness, it’s taught me GRATITUDE in a way that I never understood. I have my good days and bad days, but the one thing I am more determined to do than ever is to be HUMBLE, be GRATEFUL and be MINDFUL of the energy I put out and the energy that I take in.

These days, I have less and less interest in salacious headlines, the latest tea, or the petty shade people like to throw because it reeks of insecurity. I wasn’t put on this earth to be a negative source of energy. My goal is to be much more intentional about what I do and say and to hold myself accountable when my actions don’t align with my bigger goal. Who and what I entertain has to be just as intentional.

The Wrap Up

Each year that I write for my blog anniversary, I try to focus on how I’ve grown, and this year is no different. However, this blog will REMAIN the platform of truth and transparency I’ve developed it to be. I will continue to discuss various aspects of life, health and even fashion! Writing in this blog over the last 8 years has been therapeutic and fulfilling. I am so grateful for the journey this blog has led me on including opportunities to partner with brands, be a public speaker, modeling, contributing my words to other sites and more. If someone would have told me back in 2006 when I was first beginning to blog on my MySpace that my words and writing would carry me into spaces that I’ve been blessed to be in; I probably would not have believed it.

Yet here I am doing something that I have loved to do since I was 7, WRITING. And that is truly one of the best gifts this blog has given me. I am totally looking forward to another year of sharing my words with you all. Thank you for being apart of this journey.

Until Next Time,