When I was little, I would put on shows and plays for my parents on the brick of our front steps. I would color on the living room floor and write books with mysterious, funny, silly characters to give to my teachers. My friends and I would create worlds and play inside of them: witches casting spells one day, and “totally spies" the next.
By twelve, I could no longer keep these stories inside of me. They could no longer fit on the front steps, on the floor, in my neighborhood. So I created a YouTube channel where they could live. And without knowing it, I created a platform that would grow beyond my wildest dreams.
I've always been a dreamer. So, naturally, it made me question my entire existence when the biggest dream I had started shifting before my eyes.
When I was in college, I was told to choose. Choose your job. Choose your career. Choose your path. I wanted to be an author in elementary school, an actress in middle school, and by high school I wanted to be a maybe-producer, maybe-writer, maybe-director. I didn't quite like memorizing lines being on stage anymore, but I also didn't like setting up sets and lugging around lighting equipment. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted, I just knew I wanted to tell stories and be creative.
I made my dream moving to Los Angeles and working for a big company, but quickly realized I didn't want to spend my life and career painting someone else's reality; I wanted to paint my own. When I decided I didn't need to be in that particular city to have the creative life and career I wanted, I was terrified. But I learned something as my dream shifted.
Your dreams may take different shapes and forms throughout your life, but your purpose will remain. Your dreams are a vessel to your purpose. There will not be one dream; there will be many. But a fulfilling, intentional, meaningful life starts with one. This one you have, right now. Will you have the courage to live it out? Will you choose to paint reality with your own colors, or someone else's?
I ask you: What are you learning from where you are in life right now? Are you using your gifts? Have you been chasing validation, importance, and notoriety—or truth? Is something different, bigger, greater, calling to you? Have you been keeping yourself small, and what would happen if you believed in yourself?
If you'll let me, I want to try something: for those of us busy folk who can't seem to carve another minute out of our days: let's do it together. I'm going to do a live journaling workshop on the gram tomorrow evening at six pm est. You show up with your pen and paper. I show up with the prompts. We all get to spend time with our hopes, our dreams, and ourselves while also enjoying each other's company and the comfort of knowing we're not alone. I'll send a little reminder tomorrow, too. Reply to this email and let me know if this seems exciting and helpful, or not so much, or if there is another day in the week that works better.
If you can't make it, no worries. I'll have it saved right here afterwards. So set your alarms. Light a candle, pour a glass of wine or make a cup of tea, and settle in with a cozy blanket—and yourself. See you then.
