Define Yourself

I love quotes.  Really always have.  I recently shared with G that when I was a child I kept a notebook of sayings and quotes because I liked to reread them.  Amusingly, he did as well.  I find now that quotes, even when anonymous, can strengthen me, can lift me up.  There are times when I'm facing something tough and I'll pull some up in order to handle it better.  So I thought that perhaps for a bit we could start a segment here each week with a quote I love that I've pinned (because I'm a Pinterest addict), and I can expand on it a bit.

Welcome To Today

Another Day

Another Chance

Feel Free To

Change

I love this sign. LOVE it.  I think it's the perfect thing to hang near your bathroom mirror and purposefully read at least once a day.

When I began this blog I began it quietly, letting few know about it.  I wanted this space to be able to really focus on allowing myself to be the person I always wanted to be but wasn't.  Because people knew me as a certain way and I felt boxed in.  Boxed into labels like "bubbly" when in reality I lean more towards "snarky" (and that's putting it nicely at times).  I was tired of being the good girl, the nice girl, the girl who didn't fight for herself.  And I was lucky and in a new country with only G, who loved every facet of who I am.

Today I stand far stronger than I ever have.  I've learned to truly believe in the quote by Robert Frost:

"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life. Define yourself."

So now I do just that, define myself.  I am strong.  I am feminine.  I am an amazing wife, mama and friend who loves deeply and passionately.  I can be fierce either for you or against you, though I am learning when people aren't worth the wasted seconds of anger.  I am a phenomenal cook, a talented artist (in several mediums), and an amusing conversationalist.  More than any definition though, I'm me.  I made the decision to stop apologizing for that, to stop feeling guilty for the way being who I am made others feel about myself.  This blog began as my space to write unfiltered. 

I'd love to get to know my readers a bit better.  How would you define yourself?