In the past month I’ve been working hard on my first Skillshare class on becoming a creative and expressive writer!
The link below will take you to my class! You can also access this class and my future classes on the tab at the top of this blog.
Behind the Dark Side of a Selfie
The thing about selfies is you can get the right angel. Put the right face. Send the story you want to tell.
The thing about selfies is you can hide your pain and insecurities. You can filter out what you don’t want to see. You can convince yourself that what you hate about yourself can be taken out.
The thing about selfies is you create what you want to see. You craft the image you want others to see. You unsee the flaws and the suffering.
The thing about selfies is the life is taken out of the snapshot. Just one moment. One instance of stillness.
Selfies are our way of capturing the best light of ourselves. The selves we get excited for we capture in an instant.
When we turn the wrong direction we hate it. We delete it. We don’t want to see it. We speak I’ll of our image.
And that is who we are.
We can’t look at ourselves for long moments in the mirror, in our lives in motion, instead we would rather take a selfie.
A selfie stops time to capture the one moment we see ourselves as beautiful because otherwise that’s not who we see at all.
Living with Anxiety: My Life and my Struggles are Valid
Living with anxiety is not always easy to explain. Some days “feel” okay, while others are filled with worry and nervousness. I try my best to be “positive” in the lowest sense of the term in my low days, and try to keep productive in my high days. One of the most difficult times when living with anxiety, however, is trying to explain it to others.
You understand that sometimes what makes you nervous or anxious shouldn’t make you so but it does. Or maybe it should be easy to calm yourself when you feel overwhelmed, but it’s not.
Realize that you are not crazy and what you have you are more than. You are brave, strong, and powerful even when you feel like you’re not. Your feelings are valid. Never let anyone take your power to validate your struggle away.
Some days are difficult, especially those days your pain spills out in panic, but remember that you have purpose.
See your purpose outside of your pain and trauma. See your purpose outside of your anxiety. Your life will always and forever have worth.
Twitter Vibes: Stopping at a Step doesn’t Break the Staircase Down
People stop at minor setbacks, freeze at tiresome moments, and quit under stressful conditions. At times they may forget that that one moment isn’t the end.
Don’t allow minor challenges to determine your overall outlook on life. You’ve gotten past past moments because you’ve worked and succeeded. This current challenge may feel more difficult but remember that your stairway of successful past and future moments still hold even if you feel stuck on one step.
#Writeitdown Declarations to Live by and Internalize: I Have to Believe
The first step in achieving anything is believing that you can do it. Think about what you want to do then continue on in the initial thought that inspired you. That initial what will drive you to do the work and do it well.
Be persistent in what you believe you can do. Don’t loose motivation or hope in that initial what. Know that you will make the difference you want if you keep pushing yourself to work.
SWT Creations!
This is sparklywartanks!
Words of empowerment.
Words of explanation.
Words to describe.
You are a Life Worth Living
I’ve been awake at night and asleep during the day.
My eyes dried with the stale realization that I don’t matter.
My voice is low with no echo and no significance. Fingers pointing at me because I’m the dramatic one.
My motivation has wasted from its high expectation.
I fall flat on my face with this realization.
I feel broken, shattering into a million pieces, so I try to grab onto the nearest person to me, but they look at me confused…uncaring…whats wrong with you?
I scream but no sounds comes out. I’m sitting alone. I’m holding my knees to my chest.
Pain.
I feel pain.
Invisible damage.
But then…
I see the sun come up.
And still I can’t see who I’m supposed to become.
My life has no meaning.
I write it down so I can see it…
You are a life worth living.
And again…
You are a life worth living.
And while I wipe the pieces of my broken self and realize it’s just shedding ashes from the volcano that just erupted inside me, I get up.
Maybe, just maybe I will begin to see that my life is necessary.
Late Night talks with Nina: Let’s talk about Depression and Mental Illness
Let’s not only look out for our “strong friends” in the wake of the multiple suicides that has surfaced in the past month. Let’s talk about depression wholeatically and ways that we can be helpful to one another. Let’s talk about mental illnesses and things that we can do to better the lives of the ones we see show symptoms that are obvious and not so obvious. Let’s be aware and awake for one another. Let’s be supportive, invested, and not afraid to sit and talk to each other about mental struggles we go through. Let’s look out for everyone and not just the ones we suspect are “too strong” and may be hiding depression. Let’s instead understand, learn, and gain perspective about mental illnesses and ways that we, as their loved ones, can continuously aid in their healing process. Let the ones who are struggling be comfortable enough to talk about their struggles even if it’s vague or confusing at first. Let us be authentic to one another. Let us ask questions, be present, and actively love on each other.
Declarations to Live by and Internalize: Cry
There is no shame in crying in order to heal and recover. Give yourself time and space to reflect and to grow in your pain. Don’t be ashamed of your pain.
Let your pain out. Let it dissolve in the freshness of something new. Become better.
Let yourself become a product of a freed pain. Help someone else free their pain.
I can Feel Something Big Coming
I’ve never felt so proud of myself ever before.
The excitement to create or make something and call it mine.
To give myself credit is to create power in myself.
I feel my purpose in this. This is my healing and my strength.
My self-worth is my motivation. And as I become more and more engulfed in my self-journey, I can feel joy like no other.
A joy that is great and more overwhelming then I could imagine.
This. Is. Me.
The way I can imagine something and give it life. The way I can create using words. A story made into art.
This is sparklywartanks.
Sparklywartanks is the birth of my identity. The creation of the lion in my dream.
I will work until I build what my vision has crafted.
The hardest part of my life gave birth to my purpose so I thank the struggle for making the diamond.
My motivation has never been this intense.
It’s time to create something. Something that reflects what I see in my mind because it’s beautiful.
It’s peace…
And happiness.
SparklyWarTanks 