A Start

When I was in fourth grade, I begged my parents to let me read The Diary of Anne Frank. I began writing in a diary every day, because I thought if I died in some tragic way, they would read my words. I was a quiet child, and writing gave me a voice and outlet to be heard.

The ability to have your story be heard is so important. Donald Miller talks about telling your story often in his work, and he says, “I think understanding your life as a story is a really terrific way of kind of knowing where you are and knowing who you are.”

I used to be afraid to speak up, afraid of being wrong, of not being heard, afraid of being perceived as silly, and my words not worthwhile. Maybe these are common fears, and as you read this, you are thinking, “well yeah duh,” but to me, being quiet about the things I thought about or found important controlled my speech. I want to tell a good story with my life, my actions, how I live, and who I am at my core.

I am opening up to use this as a platform to tell my story, where I am, what I have learned, in hopes that it will inspire others to believe in beautiful things, take hope when circumstances are hard, and enjoy life from every angle.