What Is Your Excuse?
Updated: Feb 6, 2019
Over the last several weeks of writing this Blog, I have received so many encouraging private message and phone calls. I can't begin to tell you how much they have meant to me and how much those messages inspire me to keep writing. Some of them from people I hardly know, or have never even met.
Some have expressed how they have gone through similar situations, and how reading my posts help them feel like they are not alone in their own struggles.
Many have asked how and when I decided to pull the trigger on this project. I decided to share my main reasons with you, but you have to promise you won't laugh at how silly they are.
1. I took my first eight-week writing class in October.
2. Bikram Yoga.
3. I listened to the book "Girl, Wash Your Face" By Rachelle Hollis.
I almost quit going to my writing class after the second day. I was completely and utterly intimidated by the twelve or so gals that sat around that table with me. Many of them had been writers their whole life, and even had some published content. One student was a Princeton graduate and well on her way to publishing her first memoir.
Me? I had a high school education and about twenty seconds of college to my name. I had only written in my journal, and never had anyone ever read what I wrote.
When the teacher informed us during our second class, that we had to submit a piece for the entire class to critique, I immediately thought, "Oh hell no!" I emailed my teacher that evening and asked if it would be okay to not submit anything, and just be a quiet participant for the remaining classes.
She asked me to send her something I had written, and that she would be completely honest in her thoughts about it. I sent her the longer version of "The Overpass" and patiently waited for her to agree with me that it would be best to not submit to the class.
Long story short, I ended up submitting my piece to the class after my teacher told me if I didn't, she would. It was no doubt, a game changing moment what my teacher did for me without her even knowing it.
During the time I was taking the classes, I wasn't physically feeling quite right. I started to feel breathless during my three mile walks that I took daily, and just felt more tired than I should be. I decided to give yoga a try and change up my routine to see if that helped.
By the third class I was completely hooked, and now I find pure joy in sweating my ass off in a 102-degree room. I feel stronger than I have felt in years, and have so much more mental clarity. And bonus, my booty jiggles a bit less in my pajama pants!
Also during this time, I listened to "Girl Wash Your Face" three times start to finish, and felt as if she was right beside me cheering me on as I listened. I thought if this high school graduate can write and publish a book, be a mother to four children, build her company from the ground up, and also deal with some crazy life stuff, what was my excuse?
Then suddenly it happened. I stopped being afraid of what people or even members of my own family might think of me if shared my story. I stopped feeling like I wasn't smart enough, or educated enough to at least try with everything I had, to follow my dream of writing a book.
I was not going to let the fear of what others might think, hold me back from my dream for one more minute.
All dreams and goals look differently for each and every one of us. For some, a goal might be graduating from Yale with a law degree. For someone else, it might be graduating beauty school. Both are real and valuable goals to each of those people, no matter what society may think, and should be celebrated equally.
Yes, I realize some people will never understand why I feel this intense need to share my story, or think that I am trying to exploit situations or make excuses for some of the things I have done. That is the farthest from the truth, and I know that. My husband and children know that, and that is all that matters to me now. As my girl, Rach says, "Someone else's opinion of you is NONE of your business".
We should all be allowed to chase a dream, free from the confines of what we fear others may think. So in 2019, try yoga for the first time, take a class, or read a book (preferably mine!) Take that dream you have by the hand, no matter how big or small it may be, and GO FOR IT!
HAPPY NEW YEAR MY FRIENDS!