They will stare, my darling, but you just look the other way — for as you grow you’ll come to know that they’re simply blinded by your radiant light,

and those that are meant to stay in your life will sit by your side and feel the warmth of your blazing fire.

I remember quietly crying in the back seat of my parent’s car on the way back to college for my second semester.

At the time, I attributed my tears to the dreary skies and frigid cold of Boston and to leaving my brother and friends at home once again.

But looking back, I was emotional for a lot of reasons

Here’s to the girls who are “beautiful disasters.”

The girls who are whole-heartedly true to themselves and still make mistakes every day.
The girls who are never satisfied with staying in one place yet still fall flat on their faces sometimes.
The girls who fight every day for their dreams and still want to throw their faith in them out the window every now and then.

There’s a lot going around right now about taking it easy this summer.

Letting loose. Breaking the rules, redefining the norm, finding some peace and calm after the storm.

Don’t get me wrong, I plan to do the same; but it’s got me thinking about the year we’re coming out of.

What is it exactly that we need such a break from?

Remember that chance you were afraid to take—and how you thrived from it?
Remember that experience you were terrified to have—and how you embraced it?
Remember that jump you were petrified to make—and how you soared through it?

Balance.

The plans, the schedules, meals, the shopping, the cleaning.
The folding, the washing, the tucking in, the getting up, the waking in the night.
The boo-boos, the big emotions, the hard talks, the deep moments.
The stories, the buildings, the cars, the play-doh.
The dolls, the babies, the balls, the games.

Some days we just feel “less than.” 

We wake up that way, we wake up feeling less than… 

Less than rested, less than restored, less than ready for the day 

And we move through the day carrying that with us...we move on feeling less than...