Yesterday marked two years since I started this blog.

In August 2013 I was barely married, had just moved to a new city, and started the blog more to keep my family in Texas updated than anything else.

I was working a job I hated because I did not know what else to do. I knew my life would change a lot, but I could not have foreseen such drastic changes as what has actually happened.

In the last two years I have learned so much about permanence versus fluidity. I have learned about bravery and honesty. I have learned about investments and living with eyes open. In the last two years I learned about building what you want, about making important choices, about making life work for you rather than working for a living.

Two years ago I was 23 years old. I lived in Chattanooga, Tennessee. I worked as a receptionist for a local florist. I was a little overwhelmed, trying to figure out how one purchases a kitchen table, decorates a home, prevents their refrigerator from emptying completely, and trying to understand my new in-laws. I did not really spend much time writing. In fact, my blog was just about all the writing I did. I was worried about doing something wrong, about creating a catastrophe by making a mistake – a catastrophe that my new husband would have to deal with. I had dreams, I had goals, but I saw no way to reach them.

Since beginning this blog, a lot of things have happened:

• I quit my job at the florist
• I completed the manuscript of my first book
• I decided to go all-in on my writing, gambling that my art could somehow earn money
• I learned what being an entrepreneur was and discovered that I’m not bad at it
• I learned what it meant to be an indie author and decided to go for it
• I launched a book series for young adults
• I wrote a science fiction short story and released it to the public – the emotional equivalent of jumping off a cliff
• Learned to take advantage of opportunities, including those with the potential to earn money
• Learned how difficult it was to work for yourself
• Learn how to say yes when my husband says he also wants to quit his job, and I have no idea how we will pay the bills
• Learned that some opportunities only come your way if you have space in your life to receive them
• Learned how to pack a really great picnic
• Learned that I can be a high-strung, stressed out, fearful person if I do not pay attention to the things that contribute to my mental and emotional health
• Discovered that meditation turns me into a nice, balanced, centered, relaxed person, and that I should do it every day
• I’ve learned how to give myself grace, to stop grading myself and to instead give myself a list of things that make me healthy and to aim to do them, but not to punish myself or feel guilty if the all the boxes are not checked
• I watched my husband graduate from university
• Bought one-way tickets, sold everything, moved out of my apartment, and decided that come hell or high water I will pursue my dreams
• Learned that I can live out of a backpack

I have noticed that as a teenager and up until I was 21, every year saw me become a completely different person. After I turned 21 the core of me was set, and instead I have experienced new versions of myself as time passes, each one much the same as the previous version but with small updates in the form of lessons learned, lifestyle changes, and newly discovered bravery.

This blog has seen several versions of myself.

Thank you.
Thank you for sharing in my journey. Thank you for reading my thoughts and discoveries as I have learned more about myself and the person that I want to be, the life that I have and the life that I am building.

May we see more of each other in the years to come!