Authenticity

The essential lesson I've learned in life is that perfect doesn't matter. Being accepted by others doesn’t matter. What matters is being yourself. Accepting yourself. Loving yourself. There is so much pressure to be a certain way, look a certain way, act a certain way, stay a certain way. Social media is bombarded with fitness pages, thinspiration profiles and travel accounts of these seemingly perfect stories of people “living the dream”. Goals like that are awesome. But they’re not always from the heart. And even if you achieve this outer purpose, it won't matter until you have found your inner one. Because being skinny, successful and people praising you… It goes away. There will come a day where you have to give back the armour, masks and layers and all that’s left is, well,… you. The REAL you. You are the one that has to live with the version of yourself that you create. And if you always hiding behind a material existence you don’t have an opportunity to know, accept or love you really are.

For years I battled depression, not feeling worthy and suffered in silence. I was always putting on this facade of this happy, healthy girl. I was afraid to bare my soul to the world and in doing so I was unable to release what I was going through. Because sharing your story is letting it go. Talking about your pain is reliving it. Being vulnerable is how you heal. I made a commitment to myself to always tell the truth and be honest about what I'm going through. To be more open, more real, more authentic. To let myself be vulnerably seen. I made it my mission to share my ups and downs, highs and lows, to get okay with being human. I found that an amazing thing happens when you get honest with yourself and just be you. The more you are real about who you are, the more you know, accept and love yourself. And the right people end up in your life. When you no longer hide who you are worthiness is never a question because everything in your life fiercely belongs there. Living in authenticity came to be the key to my joy, positive energy, health, success and set me on the path to creating the life of my dreams. 

The whole world becomes brighter when you stay true to who you are. So learn to be comfortable in your skin. Not the elaborate representation that you routinely show the world. But the raw, vulnerable, uncensored you underneath. Authenticity is a consistent decision you make for yourself day in and day out. I encourage everyone to peel back the labels. Get to know that weird, loud, quiet, passionate, wild YOU, whoever you may be, and adore the shit out of this person. Let go of any stories of what you think you should be and just be. Aim true, live authentically and watch how the world sparkles within and without you.