Acceptance

 

Quit muting the parts of you others can’t understand or accept.

As a committed feminist I can go on and on about how society screams how and what men and women should/shouldn’t be. I’d like to share some more personal stories instead about how we should all live our truth and stop muting the parts other people can’t understand.

All throughout childhood I was the definition of a tomboy. I fished, hunted, loved and played sports, wore boys baggy clothes, climbed trees…you get the picture. I was met with critique even at such a young age. Other girls rarely understood so I spent most of my time with the boys. Which ended up being a little difficult when I started liking boys. Anyways, some great things came out of me living this truth, despite the nasty girl stares. I take no shit from anyone, I can throw a decent punch, I’ve got some awesome survival skills, sports are my jam and I’m pretty sure that made me into the craft beer junkie I am today. If you ever want to know a story about any of those, I got plenty.

My family needs a Nobel Prize for dealing with my adolescent years. I was losing my tomboy phase and becoming a mix of crazy that stemmed from my creative side. Being in high school was like a mental asylum, and I think I fit right in at times. I dyed my hair quite a few different colors, had a faux mohawk and hung out with the party crowd. In this time of “figuring out who I was” (I strongly dislike that phrase, because people change like the seasons) I had so many challenges and created some myself. I lost myself a few times along that road, hitting a new low every time. When I was myself though, ah man I was my own hero. The most important trait I learned all those years was to stick up for the underdog. Because most the time, I was the underdog.

So to speed up time to who I am now and who I am becoming. Since 25 I had these ideals of who and what I was supposed to be. When I almost had it all, I threw it all away intentionally. Reading from my previous posts you have a pretty good grasp of who I was and why I did the things I did. I wake up everyday with a thankful heart for having the courage to make those choices. To walk away from just about everything. I’m even more grateful for the courage it’s given me since then to tell all of you my story. Continuing to share the sides of myself I haven’t exactly shown before has given so much strength to so many readers. You are why I do what I’m doing now. My story, your story, everyone’s story is worth hearing and could be the stepping stones for someone else. As long as you quit muting the parts of yourself not everyone is going to understand. You’d be amazed at who does.

Much love, Ali