Hey, friends! We have to stop meeting like this. And by “this” I mean after a long posting hiatus. Normally, this is the part where I start listing all of the excuses I have for why I couldn’t post on the blog or how terrible I feel for being inconsistent and leaving my Ambitious Fam hanging. In truth, the break (while unplanned) was very needed. Last year I put a lot of energy into launching Ambitiously You, creating more video content, podcasting, moving, and learning more about myself. Unfortunately, that meant that I had less energy for the blog–at least until I figured out how to adjust and account for the new things going on in my life. For now, I still consider my blog and all of you reading here to be an important part of the journey. In other words, this space will still be here to document and inspire as we grow together through our life journeys and strive to be ambitiously ourselves. As they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder, and wow is my heart happy to be back 🙂
Before we move forward, we must look back at the year that brought us to this point. The year of AUDACITY. I have always been a fan of words with duplicity. The words that can cut as much as they inspire. Words have power and to me, these words boost a shine that reflects the complexities of human nature. When I chose my word of the year for 2021, audacity stood out after witnessing a year where people seem to exhibit a certain distasteful brazenness. Heck, 2021 started with an insurrection that SCREAMED audacity (amongst many other negative words). However, I came across a post by Syrah Kai in which she framed the word as having “the courage to ask for what I want and the audacity to expect it.” Imagine–not only being able to ask for what you want but actually believing that you can have it. 2020 made me feel broken, scared, unsafe, and hopeless. It made me fight to complete simple tasks. To care. To feel the glimmers. In 2021, I resolved to pick myself back up and reclaim my light. In order to do that, I had to embody audacity.
Somehow, the year simultaneously felt like I was learning to walk again yet also flying. Anxiety was still ruling my life and we were (are) still in a pandemic. However, I was soaring through other areas of my life. I launched Ambitiously You on February 12, 2021, as a space that encouraged others to grow in their self-love journeys, honor their mental health, and embrace everything it means to be yourself through products and community building. So far, Ambitiously You has given me the opportunity to share this message worldwide and through local pop-up events. Venturing out into a product-based business proved to unlock a different level of vulnerability with art and messaging. I also just learned so much and I still have a lot of learning to go.
In my personal life, I tried to use channel audacity by allowing myself to be more…me. This meant accepting the parts of myself that I tried so hard to keep in boxes. It meant refusing to let my fear of confrontation keep me from speaking up for myself and the people I love. It meant trying to break free of other people’s expectations (which has been and is still super hard). It meant refusing to shrink myself because it felt more comfortable. I chose and will continue to choose to take up space.
Long story short: 2020 may have been the year that my life went up in flames but 2021 will go down as the year that I rose from the ashes.
Can’t wait to see what 2022 has in store!
P.S. If you would like to see my 1 Second Everyday video for 2021, click here!
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