“You should start a vlog.”

“You should be a counsellor.”

“You should go tell your story in high schools.”

“Young people need someone like you to help guide them.”

 

The statements you just read, or at least some of variation of them, have been repeated to me for years, and they all point to the same idea:

you were made to connect with people.

 

My story is an interesting one. When I was 15, I came to the realization that I needed to write an autobiography to show people who might be going through similar struggles, that they were not alone, and that there is a brighter future. But writing a book, especially an autobiography, at 15, when I hadn’t even fully lived my life yet? That seemed like such a big task to try and tackle. So like most kids, who think their dreams are unattainable, I put it to the back of my mind, and didn’t think about it again until my next milestone.

 

When I was 21, I decided to start with smaller stories in a personal blog with no real theme or purpose, other than to get whatever I was feeling out. A place where I could put my thoughts and my hurt and my pain, to try and hide them from the world and my reality; my little sanctuary of insanity. When I was 26, the idea came to me to start a lifestyle blog to share my story, provide tips on how to better manage your time, finances, and organization. But I spent the better part of two years researching, and planning to make sure everything was just so, that it became this mammoth I didn’t think I could tackle anymore.

 

I started to get really discouraged, because I felt the need to reach out and connect with people, to help them and make a difference in their lives, yet I couldn’t figure out which medium would work. I knew I needed to use my experience to help people get through theirs, and I couldn’t let my fear of failure, and need for perfectionism stop me from doing that. But still, I was getting so wrapped up in the planning of it, that the execution ended up suffering, and with that, my goal to connect with people. One day someone suggested I try something a little smaller, a little more manageable, like a 30 second video every week, or a podcast. At that time, I had recently started listening to podcasts, so that really caught my attention, and I went into planning mode.

 

And now here we are, execution mode! It’s been a learning experience, and I’m still learning. I still find myself starting to get wrapped up in trying to make sure everything is just right and ready to go. I compare myself a lot, and beat myself up a lot, and I deal with doubt and shame and fear. But I push through because I know this message is important, and people need to hear it. I’ve learned how to pull myself out and start with smaller, defined tasks, and how to look at the bright side, find the silver lining, and look from the optimistic point of view. I’ve been dealt a lot of wild cards, from sexual assault, to an estranged family, to mental illness, to emergency rooms, heartbreak and self discovery, and somehow I’ve always managed to pull through, and I’ve been able to find true joy and happiness. And I want to show you how, and connect with you to let you know that you can too. I lay it all out on the table in this podcast, in hopes of helping even just one person feel less alone in their struggle.

 

People tell me how much they admire how open and honest I am, and how I always seem happy and full of life, but it’s only because my values are rooted in the truth, being optimistic, and my strength comes from being honest about my vulnerabilities. And I strongly believe, that if we reconnect with these concepts, these values, we can start to repair the destruction that has consumed our society.