I’ve had a lot of blogging milestones during my journey on Beyond Mommying. From hitting my 100th, 500th, 1,000th posts to surpassing my first and second blogiversaries. And now, I’ve reached my THIRD blogiversary!
I’m not sure exactly what I expected to come out of Beyond Mommying three years ago. I know what my reasons for starting it were. I know what it has meant to me through all these years. And I know that I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I didn’t have any idea what blogging actually meant, what it requires, what it can do for people.
I started blogging because I wanted to share my experiences and knowledge. I wanted to write.
I’ve always been a writer. I remember spending my first grade free choice time writing stories (my mommy still has many of them). I remember journaling and making up stories as I grew older. I remember thinking that some day I would write a book (and I’ve started many over the years).
Writing has always been therapeutic for me. A way to express my ideas, process my feelings and just get it all out! And since I was a teenager, I’ve used writing to share, lift up and motivate other people. I love the power of words.
And sitting in the back of dark cabinet, within a Winnie-the-Pooh folder I’ve had since at least High School (maybe before), are some of those words. My thoughts, my encouragements for friends, my feelings. They’re things that I wrote down years and years ago, that I’ve carried through life with me. Little scraps of paper wrapped tightly in a little envelope, words that left my mind but have remained in my heart.
I’ve never felt the need to write a letter to my former self. I believe that every experience, choice and hardship in life has led me to a better place, has taught me important lessons and made me who I am. So instead, I see these notes that I’ve held onto for so long as a letter from my former self. Reminders of my hopes, dreams and understandings of the world.
Words that still ring true today, from my former self:
There are friends in life who are great and there are those who are true. The true ones tell you how it is and are always available when you need them. A true friend would do anything for you and would give up everything great in their world to make yours better. A true friend loves you more than anything and isn’t afraid to tell you so. I feel so fortunate that I have a group of true friends who I can count on and who can count on me.
Sometimes all you want to do is run away, run away from your problems. Or, you may want to slowly drift away. But if you do, you will never resolve the issue and you will never grow from the experience. Sometimes growing is the hardest thing you will ever do, but without it you can never say “I am.”
Sometimes in life you come across a special person who makes you feel like no other person has made you feel before. The person may only be in your life for a fleeting moment or for the remainder of your years, but what matters is the impression that person leaves on your soul and the way you are forever changed.
In life, there are real people and there are fake people. Those who love you unconditionally and those who only do when they want something. The real ones are the ones who will pick you up after the fake ones hurt you. I hope I never lose sight of who is real in my life because I don’t want to become one of them, one of the fake people, the people who hurt others. And if I ever do, I hope the real people in my life are real enough to forgive me for my mistakes and take me back again.
Breath. All you can do is breathe. When things are tough and your world is crumbling, just breathe.
