Constructive criticism, food for thought, a desire to hear more about a certain topic, or topics you would like to see discussed please feel free to reach out to me using the contact tab on the homepage. I will respond to any emails as quickly as possible, please bear in mind I am a working single mother of two, I have ADHD, I overanalyze everything and most days have the memory of a goldfish so your idea of timely and mine might vary slightly.

** Throughout my posts you may see me use quotations around words such as “normal” or “wrong” because these are the kinds of words that perpetuate stigma and in my opinion they have no place in conversations about things like mental health disorders, substance abuse, or domestic violence to name a few. Words like “normal” have very different means for different people and are merely based on one’s own perception and life.

Despite any of those experiences, I have always found a way to dig myself out and rebuild myself better than I was before. I have a knack for learning every lesson the hardest way possible and I typically have to make those mistakes more than once to really learn from them. I have always considered myself a kind person and I have always had a heart too big for my body and worn my emotions on my sleeve. I wouldn’t change my kindness and compassion for anything, but it often gets me into trouble and usually lead to me getting taken advantage of in my personal and professional. No matter what I have experienced I have tried my hardest to never let any of it harden me or leave me jaded and cold. I know what it is like to feel alone, unloved and unlovable, hated, “crazy”, useless and hopeless and that is why I go out of my way to try and make sure everyone I come in contact doesn’t have to feel that way, at least in my presence. Mistakes are a part of life, and I know people have to learn things for themselves, but if I can share my experiences and help even one person avoid going through all that pain and discomfort, I have felt then I feel like at least it wasn’t all for not.

I have always had a passion for learning and knowing everything I can about topics that directly affect me, affect those I know or care about, or scream injustice and for the last year or so I have spent countless hours reading book and online articles, taking trainings, attending therapies and talking to others who are knowledgeable on these topics to better understand myself, my mental health, my behavioral issues, trauma in general and how it effects those who experience it, and so much more. While some of this blog will include facts I have learned from my research, it will also be based on my experiences and the opinions I have formed. That being said I want to give a disclaimer; my opinion is my opinion, everyone is entitled to their own! I am also cognizant that others who have gone through any similar things might have had a very different experience and that is OK too. While reading please remember we are all allowed to feel however we feel, and no one can tell us our feelings are “wrong” or invalid. What might be traumatic to one person might be a regular day for someone else.

Many of the topics I will be discussing are difficult ones for many people to talk about or hear about and I am nothing if not a brutally honest person so some details of my story might be a bit unsavory for some, hopefully those reading can focus on the bigger picture and not get caught up in the details. I also want to warn you I might joke about or use sarcasm when writing my thoughts, in no way am I making light of any of these issues, I just have an untamed sense of humor and somedays it feels like what else can you do? But if we do not start talking about these and get comfortable with being uncomfortable then biases, stereotyping and stigma will never end! No one deserves to walk through life feeling ashamed of the things they have been through or being blamed for things they were not fully in control of. I don’t believe anyone should be labeled or characterized by a singular thing or choice from their past. We are all so much more than just one thing and we all deserve to be judged for who we are today and who we are striving to become tomorrow. If we continue to label people as one thing or another or judge them solely based on their past, we are putting those people in a box and depriving them of the opportunity to grow, change, and become their best self. Many times people hear about the mistakes others have made and quickly label them a “bad person” but why does one thing have to equal the other? Based on the things I have experienced and choices I have made it would be easy for someone to say I was a bad person and many people have made that decision, but I know without a shadow of a doubt that I am a good person and I refuse to allow myself to give into the opinions of others and just lay down and let them be right. Thank you for reading and I hope you stick around for more!