My inspiration to start this website comprised from moments in my life.
Growing up as a military child, I've moved around and visited a ton of places. I was born in the Philippines but since my father got recruited in the Army, we moved to California to Germany to even Colorado. Between those times were train rides to Italy, roadtripping to national parks and other special adventures. I never wanted to settle. My parents would sometimes get annoyed whenever I ask about when the next trip will be. My travel bug continued to grow as I got older.
From a young age, I loved keeping memories. I love the idea of being able to look back and reminisce about what happened: the experiences, the emotions, the senses I felt and so much more. For example, I have separate white boxes from my travels in China and Guatemala. In there are ticket stubs, souvenirs, postcards that I never sent, letters written from the people I've meet there. Let's face it, I'm a memory hoarder. I love taking pictures, asking for others to say hello to the camera, writing letters, journaling, the whole shazam.
My love for people, capturing memories and seeing the world was the driving force for this website. To me, it's the central creative outlet that I can use to foster my own gifts and talents and hopefully inspire others to channel their own creative mind. It's a place for me to look back at memories and to share with others. To be transparent and not show the internet a "mystical" persona of myself, but show all of me: the ups and downs, hills and valleys, triumphs and heartaches and much more.
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I've struggled a lot with self-doubt these past few years. Continuously comparing myself to others always led me to believing that I was not good enough. I find myself in seasons, constantly asking myself if I'm worthy enough. I felt stuck and started to let my self-doubt stop me from pursuing things. It prevented me from being who I wanted to be. That eventually turned into fear: fear of the unknown, fear of failing, fear of...
Someone online has shared this quote that stood out to me:
"You are not for everyone. The world is filled with people who, no matter what you do, will point blank not like you. But it is also filled with those who will love you fiercely. They are your people, You are not for everyone and that's ok. Talk to the people who can hear you, don’t waste your precious time and gifts trying to convince them of your value, they won’t ever want what you’re selling. Don’t convince them to walk alongside you. You’ll be wasting both your time and theirs and will likely inflict unnecessary wounds, which will take precious time to heal. You are not for them and they are not for you; politely wave them on, and continue along your way. sharing your path with someone is a sacred gift; don’t cheapen this gift by rolling yours in the wrong direction.”
I'm choosing to start this website as a means to overcome my self-doubt and fear. To take control of my life and actually start living. It's a means to continually self-reflect on the individual that I am currently and the individual that I seek to be. I'm choosing to always reinvent myself, to grow in my mindset about myself and the world around me. There's a sense of liberation in knowing that I have the freedom to be able to change, mold, and form myself. I hope that this quote also inspires you to love yourself no matter what. Despite what others may say, the only voice that matters the most is yourself. You are unique, there is no one else like you in this world. Don't ever hold yourself back. It took me a while to get there, but hey, better late than never am I right?
So here I am now, writing this blog post with no idea if anyone will actually read this. But if you are, thank you. Thank you for choosing to be part of my journey to who knows what. What a great way to start the new year then by starting a website for myself (checked one thing off my bucket list!).
Here's to more adventures, more learning, and more living.