Turning 30 In 2 Days

I TURN 30 THIS WEEK!

The end of a decade and WOW this decade held sooooo much.

It feels wild to think through all the things that occurred in the last 10 years…on a large, global scale AND on a personal level.

Lots of loss, lots of healing, lots of gain, lots of growing, lots of pain and tears and joy too.

Miscarriages.

Autoimmune diseases causing chronic pain.

Anxiety attacks landing me in the hospital.

Depression.

Divorce.

Losing children.
Sexual assault.
Sexual abuse.
Emotional abuse.
Codependency.
Victim blaming.
Eating disorder.

Lost friendships.
Changed friendships.
Loss of community.
Loss of faith in The Church.

Much more.

And also…

So. Much. Healing.
More peace than I knew was possible.
Years and years of therapy that seems to never end.
Trauma-intensive-therapy.
Self acceptance.
Self love.
Love for grace.
Respect + love for Jesus.

Gained friendships.
Deepened friendships.
Kids.
Deepened hope through a different kind of community.

Deepened understanding + experience with Jesus.

I imagine that is how all of our lives ebb + flow.

We are all so much more similar than we are made to think.

As I enter this next decade, I know there is nothing inherently magical about any type of age…except what we choose to make of it.

Does that mean depression and tragedy need to be happy and chipper and if it's not, it's our fault? No, no, no.

But I am determined to continue working on my mindset, on healing, on rising and inviting others to do the same.

I've taken steps back in my writing for various reasons but it is a main goal to pick that back up.

I see my branding photography soaring and growing over the next decade, expanding in a whole lot of ways!

The overwhelming thing standing out to me in my first 30 years of life is: we have to understand, know, and love ourselves first and foremost if we want to be able to love + serve + SEE other people for who they are, without shame. The stripping + shedding of shame has been the work of my 20's and I'm sure it will continue.

There is so much more to life than all the boxes we have been given to live in and chase.

It is so freeing to release all the self-judgement, which actually leads to me releasing judgement towards others.

At the end of the day, I have no enemies. We are all walking along a broken path doing our best.

I want to live this life well. And I firmly believe that starts with me.

Anyways, thank you for being here.

Whether you've been here for the last decade, or since I released my memoir, or my grief journal, or children's book, or you've joined one of my many different photography freebie-opt ins.

Thank you.