It’s funny how life works y’all… one moment you think you have it all. Next you realize you’d rather drink a hot beer than live that life you once thought you knew or “needed”…. A few lessons I’ve learned lately, have redirected my mindset….. buckle up boys because it sure is about to get deep!

1. You think your so “broken”…. Suck it up sister! Everyone gets broken at some point, you don’t get to allow that to DEFINE who you are or become! You get to let that stay keep you up at night! You do NOT allow that brokenness become a crutch. Y’all know what happens when you get thrown from a horse?? You pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and you get back on! You dig your heels in. You take the reigns! You hang on and you GET BACK UP! Life is gonna throw your ass off more often than not….YOU CONTROL THE HORSE YOU DON’T let it control you (Thanks Uncle Barry) !!! DUST OFF!!! & GET BACK IN THE DAMN SADDLE!! Just KEEP SWIMMING!

2. You made a mistake… holy moly you’re not perfect?!?! Exactly!!! Nobody is perfect so give yourself a break and stop trying to go through life “having it all together” every SINGLE DAY your going to mess up! Your going to be snappy to people you care about… apologize. Your going to feel overwhelmed at times… take a breath. You are going to hurt people unintentionally… make it right. You are not going to get frustrated with the clerk at the grocery store….put yourself in there shoes. Look at your glass half full NOT half empty! You may not be everyone’s someone and that’s okay…. CELEBRATE when you are. Do your best! & that is ENOUGH. JUST KEEP SWIMMING!

3. Laugh. I’ll say that again. LAUGH! Start to see the joy in the most simplistic things. You have good friends around you… enjoy them! You have a job you enjoy… be grateful for that! Your family is cheering you on… realize that! Laugh when you can. Love when you need to. & show up for those who NEED YOU! Life is way too short to be dull! Laugh, be silly, seek joy, & be kind! Everything else will fall into place! JUST KEEP SWIMMING!

4. This…. Y’all THIS may be the MOST IMPORTANT lesson of them all! Know YOUR WORTH!! You deserve everything life has laid before you! Every heartache, every single year, every low point, every sting of loneliness, YOU DESERVE IT! Now your probably thinking… what?!? How does pain equal knowing MY worth? Let me explain…. Each and every painful season in your life has a lesson to bring you to a position where you sit back and say… “Darlin’ your better than that” and guess what you grow. You learn. You discover. You realize YOUR WORTH SO MUCH MORE! Never settle! Never settle for that relationship that keeps you up at night, never settle for the marriage that makes you feel less than, never settle for a job that doesn’t challenge you or allow you to thrive, never settle for friendships that are full of judgement, never settle for being comfortable because that becomes complacent, never settle for chaos instead of peace & and never settle for SACRIFICING yourself so someone else can be happy! Never settle for negative self talk! YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL! Your size and shape does not define you! Never settle for talking down to yourself and walk into ANY ROOM with your head held high! Girl you ARE WORTHY! Don’t go with the current JUST KEEP SWIMMING

Let me introduce you to the most special man who has been in my life thus far (sorry y’all) … and really the one who has solidified all of these lessons and more for me over the past few months. This is Nemo.. (yes like the fish) Some would say Nemo has had a sad horrible story… like many of us! Life sucks and then one day you get rescued. The funniest thing in all of this is Nemo thinks I rescued him…. NO NO NO! He rescues me each and every time I walk through the door and see his wiggle butt 😍. Ya see his story is no more sad than most of ours he was hurt by someone he loved, caged in a place that was to small, he was scared, and didn’t know which way was up! Have you been there?! Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit because as I read that I feel like that has been my whole life story a few times!!! Nemo is blind…. Some may call it a disadvantage! However is see it as an advantage…. He can remember the EXPERIENCES that hurt him, he can remember the FEELING, but he can’t REMEMBER the faces of the person he loved that hurt him. His love is pure because he can’t SEE your exterior. The pretty face, the curled hair, the makeup you put on, the Botox, the tiny waist, etc. He can feel your presence. Your warmth. Your love. Your sadness. Your excitement. JUST KEEP SWIMMING.

My dear readers (Like I have 1000s of readers right? I think I have maybe one subscriber however I like to think I’m channeling my inner Gossip Girl here… go with it) I say all of this to say let yourself be blind in this next chapter… yeah you’ve been hurt and FULL DISCLAIMER none of this is specific to one experience or person…. Life just HURTS SOMETIMES. Growth sucks. Re-creating yourself is hard. & Deeply seeking who you really need/want to be is SO UNCOMFORTABLE…. Just keep swimming! Let yourself look past the exterior of things and people “be blind” open your heart up to healing… open yourself up to happiness, open yourself to the realization that you really can have it all. You CAN BE ALONE! You don’t have to look at that tiny one bedroom as a fail see YOUR HOME! That you work so hard for. Don’t look at loneliness as a bad thing…. YOU NEED TO BE BY YOURSELF in order to fall in love with yourself! Don’t feel sorry for yourself (forever) feel your feelings because they are valid but at some point you have to let that stuff go put your big girl panties on and own your life IT’s YOURS. FREE YOURSELF! Walk in THAT! Keep it moving… JUST KEEP SWIMMING!

Close that chapter friend…. But begin to write the best one yet! Stop selling yourself short! FREE YOURSELF! Go out with your friends, come home to your pup and order take out, go to bed at 7pm if you want, he’ll stay up til 3am if you want (on the weekends because let’s face it adulting— so get your sh*t together), walk up to a hot guy who you think is WAY out of your league (which he’s not STOP THAT because I guarantee he’s just as crazy you… that makes it fun right?! ) at a dang kiddie pool if you want and FLIRT, respect YOURSELF, enjoy being lonely, work hard, celebrate having the kind of adult friendships everyone needs, grow in your career every day, thrive, date yourself…. Make a fancy meal for one drink a good ole glass of wine (no this is not a new eat pray love kinda story) love hard, be the best version of yourself and ENJOY EVERY SINGLE SECOND OF YOUR NEW CHAPTER YOUR WRITING! Celebrate the big and little things. I am cheering for you just like I can feel you and the whole universe cheering for me!

JUST KEEP SWIMMING!!