I'm back.

Over the last six months I have been asked by family, friends, and strangers why I dropped off of Facebook and what I’ve been doing with my life. Well the short answer is — living.

I have been enjoying all the ups and downs to the best of my abilities. I have been falling in love with life and myself and a few new people as well. I have been finding and creating myself, redefining and rediscovering who I am. If you knew me six months ago, please take a chance to get to know me again, I’m not the same person.

The last few months have been some of the hardest but best and most fruitful months of my life. I turned a corner that I’ll never return to. I spent the entire lent season away from social media. I unplugged from the “social” online world and plugged myself back into reality for awhile. I highly suggest it to anyone looking to find more enjoyment in their lives. I realized that I had started living a life that didn’t match my happy images online. For a long time my social media did accurately reflect how I felt and then I started writing my blog and speaking out more. I felt like everyone was watching and I needed to portray a certain image to get people to hear me or respect me.

Truth be told I got pretty miserable there for awhile. Slipped into a pretty bad depression, relapsed in my eating disorder (briefly I’m all good now guys! promise), and found myself in a familiar place, rock bottom. Life spun out of control for a few minutes while I lost myself in another persons happiness. I neglected myself and put other people first in ways that wasn’t helping them or me.

But everything happens for a reason and as my life fell apart it also fell together in a whole new way. Amazing friends swooped in and took care of me in the moments when I couldn’t take care of myself and felt like the world was to much. El & Kati became my roommates around the holidays. Three women in one house (with a five year old) would usually be insane but together we are a village, a tribe of love and laughter and unwavering acceptance. They became extensions of me and reminded me that I have always been capable of standing on my own two feet but it’s always okay to accept help from those who love you.

I also found love in a very unexpected place — Louisiana. I met a man that inspired me in ways I had never known. He has become such an important part of my life and shown me more love than I knew possible. The love he has for his daughter has touched parts of my heart I didn’t know existed and they have taught me a whole new meaning to love.

I look forward to diving back into my writing and sharing this new chapter of my life with everyone. I hope to inspire more conversations and lift as many spirits as I can. It’s been a whirlwind year. All that has happened has made me believe I am a better writer, a better person, and a better listener. So I hope to do more than just talk and be a platform, I hope to hear more of what you have to say.