The First, Not the Last

I am a woman of hope. Hope in the possibility of overcoming challenges and outright tragedies. Hope that when it counts the most we can connect to the inherent goodness we all possess. Hope is magical. It fuels our souls and gives us what we need to go just a little bit further when times are hard. I am also a woman of faith. Faith in God. Faith in love and in kindness. Faith in achieving the loftiest of dreams in spite of…everything. Faith is the reason why I’m sitting here at my dining room table on a Tuesday night shutting out everything around me and opening up to the world.

If I’m being completely honest, at this very moment I feel a little like the boy on the far left, and a lot like the boy on the right with only one eye open. I am all at once exhilarated and terrified by the possibilities of launching this blog. My heart is in my stomach and I just might cry. Only I’m not sure if it’s from fear or happiness of finally - finally - doing the only thing I’ve wanted to do since I was a girl. Maybe you know the feeling? The realization that writing would be my way to connect to the world came many years ago. I only just found the guts to stretch my leg out and take the first step.

Matters of is for the people I’ve encouraged to chase their goals and not let fear be what stops them from taking a leap. It’s for those who have been in my corner gently encouraging me to take the advice I’ve so freely given others. (I won’t lie, it’s also for my honors English teacher who told me I had to be a good writer to be in an advanced class. Call me Petty Labelle if you want to, admitting that feels amazing. 😏) So, off we go! Cheers to the many matters of hope, faith, kindness, beauty, strength, and everything in between that I’ll explore in the coming days. This post is the first of many and I couldn’t be more excited.