Deep down inside each and every person is a hidden mirror.  If we had a choice, we’d probably choose not to look into it – scared at what we might see.  At times, this mirror is a mythical creature we might only see in movies, or a bear that chases us in our dreams. It exposes the depths of our existence amidst true inward reflection. And it’s least scary, perhaps easiest, if we just leave it in the dark.

However, like an exploring young child trying to face their fear of going into a dark basement, at some point we inevitably flick on the light switch. We’re curious. But the light only takes us to the bottom of the stairs. What lies beyond the last step remains dark, and your comfort is lost beyond that point. Even still, our curiosity takes us down the stairs into that basement as we embark on the path of self-discovery. Almost out of nowhere, we feel the urge to confront that darkness. “This time my courage will prevail!”

We cautiously walk down the illuminated path, step by step as we hold onto the railing, still unsure of what’s ahead.  Our palms start to sweat and the hair raises on the back of our neck with each precise movement.  A third of the way there. “I am doing this.” Halfway down… then, two steps left… and all of the sudden our mind, which only moments ago was so eager and so inquisitive, becomes tainted with the overwhelming uncertainties that exist beyond the border of light and darkness.  Our courageousness is ripped from underneath our feet as we race back up the stairs, back to a more controlled, familiar environment.  “Maybe next time.” And self-discovery is put on hold once again.  The mirror remains hidden.

Why does this happen? What is the hold up; why don’t we take the last two steps?

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Not only are we fearful of finding that mirror in the darkness – we are petrified to raise our eyes just enough to catch a glimpse of what is in that mirror.  We know at least part of that reflection will appear unimaginably broken.  And the mental image of that truth staring back at us, the one that we’ve created in our minds and hearts, hinders us from discovering what we are truly made of.  Our boldness in the initial commitment to face that reality is halted because the physical act of getting to the bottom of the stairs isn’t the end – and we know that.  So, we remain paralyzed in the bondage.

When we do approach the mirror, it appears dark at first. Foggy even. “Who is this,” we ask, filled with uncertainty and anticipation. As we get closer, the blurred lines sharpen into focus. We fixate – even if only for a second – on the person looking back at us. Each glimpse reveals different aspects of our lives that are the backbone of our existence.  The harder you look – the more gets revealed. Everything that we’ve experienced, and the thoughts and emotions surrounding those experiences, have shaped us. They build us into who we are, sometimes without us knowing. And when we don’t look deeply into those truths or we intentionally suppress them, we forget they exist. Thus, they become part of our hidden mirror.  And we tend to treat these pieces of our life – or the entire mirror altogether – as fiction. “It’s not truly real.”

But it is real. And guess what? It’s time to slay the dragon.

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Ten months ago my life started to change in many ways.  I questioned my worth as my once healthy body was failing me worse than I’ve ever experienced before.  I was emotionally strained and stretched so thin that I snapped. Worst of all – the person that I thought I was, was lost. And I did not want to look in the mirror to find myself again. Instead, I sprinted up the basement stairs and slammed the door. Because I didn’t want to approach myself in honesty, my suffering got worse. Strangely enough, the fear became my friend – and I felt comfortable there. But my passion for life was strangled in the chaos of it all.  I was alone.  If my emotional self at the time were to be painted by an artist, the only thing I could have pictured was the image of a man in the middle of an open field screaming and crying in frustration and despair. 

Unfortunately, I can’t talk through the transition of what got me out of that space. But I do know that after countless conversations and tears with people I love and respect, I began to dig deeper each day to stare harder into my hidden mirror. I don’t know exactly what it was that made me want to finally jump down those last two steps. But I did.  I decided I was going to do it – and it was a very active, conscious thought. And I did. About two months ago I crossed over the boundary of light into the darkness to face my self-discovery.  Nothing was fixed immediately, but with each passing day I began to see a new side of me. Since then, my faith has been strengthened, my body renewed, and my perspective is taking shape once again.

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“The face is the mirror of the mind, and eyes without speaking confess the secrets of the heart.”

St. Jerome

A purposeFULL thought: It is the fear of finding out what will be revealed in the darkness, in the unknowns of our self-discovery, that suffocates our true self from emerging.

What’s up, everyone?  It’s been two weeks since I’ve posted.  Life has been busy, but I am starting to stand back on level ground.  Admittedly, I have been running around a bit and getting something posted was pushed to the back burner.  But in that time, I have had some time for self-reflection and prayer to get realigned. (This is especially true for my plane ride to Palm Springs – hence the title here and the picture at the end of this blog post).

Before I get into this post, I wanted to share with you that I have started thinking about future blog ideas that I think could be relatable to all purposeFULL viewers.  These ideas would be linked as a series of particular topics. Within each topic I will delve deeper and get more intimate with you, sharing my experiences related to the topic.  If you have any ideas for topics you’d like to explore with me, please share them – I am open for ideas!  I hope you all continue to follow, share, and experience it with me.

With that said, my life recently has been wonderfully chaotic.  I have faced a wide range of emotions and experiences.  I’ve realized that I am being meticulously molded into a better version of myself.  Growth can be challenging, especially when you step out on a ledge to push the limits of self-discovery.  Sometimes working on my personal growth – I feel like the Incredible Hulk, trying to shape a tiny piece of clay with his gigantic, car-crushing hands to carefully construct a pot, and then slamming it into the 1,000-degree kiln.  While he is being as gentle as he can, and trying his best, there’s only one way that’s going to go.  OUCH. 

When life hurts – even burns you – I believe there is a value behind the scars and bruises. One that you likely don’t see at the time. Ideally, you learn to fall differently each time, getting back up for the next season of life.  We live in a big world with big possibilities.  Step out on the ledge to find your own purpose.  Every experience, whether big or small, good or bad, can bring about learning in some capacity – linking life together like a puzzle.  I personally think life should not be about regrets, but rather all about learning. How do we learn? By sharing our bruises with each other, so that another person can learn how to fall (hopefully) more gracefully than you did.  Pay it forward.

Why do I mention all of this?  During my times of self-reflection and growth (recently and in the past) I kept saying to myself, “You can only control what you can control.”  So what exactly can we control?  I’d like to share three areas where keeping control will prove to be a useful learning tool for the future.

Reaction

Have you ever blurted out a response in joyful excitement prior to someone finishing a question?  Maybe…you have assumed a wrong in someone, and have shouted in frustration back to him or her in self-defense during an argument?  How about this one – agreeing to a dare without fully knowing all parts of the act, because you think you will get a laugh?  Sounds about right – I’ve done all those.  The human condition to react is simply… fascinating.  We often find ourselves speaking or doing before cognition even seems to take place in a situation.  I’m here to tell you from personal testimony: we can (and should) control how we react more tactfully.  By no means am I saying that controlling our reactions is easy.  As a very passionate person, I often find it hard to practice this.  Lack of control is evident particularly in times of emotional highs and lows.  Life finds a way to challenge our restraint, but with refinement and discipline, I believe it can be accomplished. 

Treatment of others

Have you ever been at a restaurant when someone drops a tray of food?  They are embarrassed for an honest mistake, and in need of help – but you don’t bother to help or ask them if they are ok?  Or are you a parent and spouse who has had a long frustrating day, and comes into a welcoming home only to seclude themselves from their family?  Dang it, I’ve done both of these, too.  Instead of helping that worker pick up the mess and show compassion in the situation, I watched them do it by themself.  There have been times when my frustration from the workday has stayed with me, present even as my beautiful children coming running up to me when I walk in the door. 

I’m here to say that we can control how we treat others – with experience and awareness. It’s not easy to come home from an exhausting day and put your “other stuff” aside. But if you have experience in controlling any frustration – enough to give your kids the best hug a parent could give, knowing that one day they won’t come running to the door yelling, “Mommy! Daddy!” – you won’t miss an opportunity.  Phew.  I don’t know about you, but this tugs at my heart-strings. I believe (for some) it takes multiple learning experiences to train yourself to do this. Maybe this makes it seem like I’m “putting on a face” – but what I’m really saying is you have to THINK about treating others kindly. We do have control over the courage we choose to display in a public setting for a random stranger, but are we paying attention? In time, this conscious choice might feel less restrictive as your frame of mind shifts. I encourage you to work toward recognizing those opportunities more often.

Priorities

Well, I wish there was a magic button I could push every morning when I wake up that would prioritize my day.  This magic button would perfectly align my thoughts and plans so that everyone was happy and I was stress free.  Check.  Oh wait, there isn’t one.  I have to control how I prioritize family, job responsibilities, and my personal agenda.  And my response to this?  When I feel like those responsibilities keep mounting, it’s like I’m staring at the printer that keeps spitting out papers and won’t stop. And I just stare at it blankly, not knowing what to do. But are there any “type-A” people out there going – give me the reigns, baby!?  While this may be a specialty for some, we all fail at this.  Some thing becomes more important than another – and we are at a crossroad. 

This axis of control is considerably difficult because I think it drives the majority of our daily thinking.  This control can be overwhelming, frustrating, and ultimately can affect the previous two areas I mentioned.  To add to this dilemma, what if you make something a priority and still can’t fulfill the commitment.  “I’m totally going to make it to my son’s soccer practice!” And then you get stuck in stand-still traffic. You’re left wondering if you’re even going to make it by half time, and your spouse texts you that “Johnny already scored two goals!”  I guess now we revert back to number one – how do we choose to react. Thought-provoking? I think so.

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So what’s the takeaway?  Give yourself grace and learn.  Learn from life.  Understand what you are good at currently controlling and work at it everyday.  Let’s share with each other our compassion, our patience, and our humility.  We deserve to be the best version of ourselves and the people around us deserve that, too.  When we control how we react, how we treat others, and our priorities we can positively impact others around us one word and one commitment at a time.

“Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t.”

Steve Maraboli

A purposeFULL thought: We deserve to be the best version of ourselves, and the people around us deserve that, too.

Happy March, everyone!  My March has started off with a winter storm dropping several inches of snow and temperatures in the teens for the next couple of days.  It’s not sunny and 80 degrees, but I still don’t object to it!  Don’t worry, it’s not that miserable.  Although my oldest son keeps stating “I can’t wait for winter to be over, I want to live in a place where there are palm trees.”  Don’t worry big guy, heavy perspiration, boiling-hot park slides, and gallons of Gatorade with fresh fruit are just a couple of months away.

Anyway, I know what you all must be thinking.  “Pushing buttons… ok, I see what this is going to be about.  The weather or something, maybe someone has been aggravating him lately – so he is going to talk about the proverbial ‘button pushing.’  Is he going to rat someone out?”  No.  While I can relate to that kind of button pushing, that is not my reason for this post.  Believe it or not, it’s about joy.  Surprised?  Confused?  Me too!  Let’s talk about it!

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Attention all readers, here’s a disclaimer:  This post is not meant to tell you where joy is.  Repeat.  There is no pot of joy at the end of this rainbow.  I am simply offering perspective and encouraging maybe a little patience while we go adventuring for it.

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So, where is joy?  What is joy?  Well, I think that is different for everyone – and it is fully dependent on your perspective.  My young kids remind me of the importance of perspective each and every day.  Take my youngest son (18 months), for example. Regardless of his emotional state, if given the opportunity to open the microwave door and push the start button to heat up his milk before bed, everything changes. Tears go to smiles.  Ear aches fade away to laughs.  Stress turns to joy.  Why is that joyful?  I personally have no clue, because he’s been crying for thirty minutes and I am now wondering if it is plausible to patent a contraption that hangs from the ceiling in front of the microwave.  Perhaps his fascination of beeps and lights, and his exploring brain connect to button-pushing captivation.

That very situation the other evening got me thinking, how can I relate to this type of joy?  Warm milk seems less than appealing. Unless… it’s in my coffee.  Bingo, coffee.  My morning coffee is equally as joyful. Maybe it’s not a long-lasting joy, and maybe it seems trivial. But my point is, over time having many (dare I say, ‘a latte’ of?) joyful experiences leads to sustained joy – if you let it.  Wherever you are in life, whatever your situation – even in the deepest of despair – joy is there for you. But you might have to work for joy. You have to find ways to make life joyful.  It’s all about perspective.

Think back for yourself, and identify a moment, or a place in time where you experienced joy. And I’m not talking about a stint of “happiness.”  I mean JOY.  That deep-seeded thing that resonates in your heart. That fulfillment that isn’t temporary.  Do you ever wonder how it lasts?  Because those particular moments in time are over, yet somehow the joy persists.  It doesn’t look the same throughout the different phases of our lives. I’m certain that at 18 years old, my son isn’t going to enjoy hitting the microwave buttons as much as he does now (unless it’s for a chicken and steak Chipotle burrito). But if we adapt to where we are – if we keep our “joy perspective” as our lens changes – it will be more natural to recognize new joyful moments. For example, I have found (and still do find) tremendous joy in sports.  I can still remember the feeling of running out to my favorite position as a young kid playing baseball.  Ok, let’s be truthful, I still had that EXACT SAME feeling at 22 years old playing college baseball, but I was just a much taller, gigantic man-kid.  Either way, that was truly joyful for me.  My heart leapt as I ran out on the field.  While today I don’t still run out to the same position that I did at 22, my now much tamer, sports-enthusiast-self finds joy in knowing others can appreciate that same feeling in their lives.

I can fast-forward through the years of my life, and now I’m on a totally different field. My position now is being a good husband and father.  I remember some of those monumental joyous occasions:  the moment I asked my wife of 10 years to marry me, our wedding day, and the birth of each of our three children.  Don’t get me wrong, I know that occasions such as these don’t sit the same with everyone.  What may bring joy to some, may be tragic or uninviting to others because of circumstances beyond their control (or perhaps in their control, but they made a wrong choice). But there is joy somewhere for all of us – remember to keep searching for it.  You can’t find something you’re choosing not to look for.

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

Wayne Dyer

A purposeFULL thought: What kind of “joy-lens” are you looking through?

What’s up everyone?  For all of you that are new to purposeFULL, welcome.  To the ones who have been following, thanks for reading again.  I wanted to talk about something that encompasses every area of our life.  Distractions.  They are everywhere.  The question is – can we identify them?  What are the distractions that drain us?  Which ones zap our energy, perhaps in ways we don’t even realize?   As the great Billy Chapel says before he throws a pitch for the Detroit Tigers, sometimes we just need to “Clear the Mechanism” (For the Love of the Game, 1999).  This was his way of shutting his brain off from all the distractions … disgruntled fans, noises, pressure to win, etc.  Instead of allowing himself to focus on those things, he zeroed in on one thing – the pitch.  

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Recently, life’s distractions have become really evident to me. And once I took the time to actually approach them, I noticed that they were not only distracting, but they were consuming my time (in a negative way). They were deterring me from spending my time on the things that truly matter to me. At the risk of going down into a philosophical spiral, I’ll leave that thought as it is. Below, I list two areas that I felt like I needed to address to “clear the mechanism” in my own life.

Social media

We live in a fast-paced world with knowledge, conversations, news, and story lines at our finger tips.  We can find any piece of information to our liking in seconds, with just a couple of clicks.  Personally, I have had social media for a long time, since the day that Facebook came into existence.  Then there was Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and the list goes on.  You sign up and feel connected. And then, all of the sudden, you’re habitually checking your “likes” and “followers.” Or you’re mindlessly scrolling. But what are you missing?  As a disclaimer: I would never imply that people shouldn’t use social media. I’m simply stating that if you’re not careful, this can quickly overwhelm. For me, I am surprised that I had room to breathe in trying to keep up with it all.  What made me recognize this?  A simple software update on my iPhone. Yep.  A few months ago, the notifications on my phone began to tell me exactly how much screen time I was spending looking at particular apps.  One day, my phone politely notified me that I had spent 6 hours on my phone.  IN ONE DAY – wow.  The sad part is, I didn’t even realize it.  Let’s put this into perspective.  6 hours a day x 7 days in a week = 42 hours a week.  And taking it one step further – 42 hours a week x 52 weeks a year, equals?  An astonishing 91 days, or exactly a quarter of my year spent just looking at my phone screen.  Please, seriously stop and think about that. What could I do with 91 extra days a year?  I could think of a whole lot that is more productive, believe me. Can you all relate?  I challenge you (if you can) to look at your phone and see your daily screen time percentages.  For everyone out there, I hope your usage is far less than mine!  For me – recognition is at least a start, right? 

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Relationships

Obviously social media is a huge part of daily living these days.  But, so are our relationships.  I bet you are wondering how relationships can be a distraction.  Well, I have relationships that I thoroughly enjoy and others that, frankly, I don’t.  My reasons for listing relationships as distractions is to point out the energy and emotion that it takes to maintain them. This is true even for the good ones!  Relationships, at least for me, have always required me to absorb or emit energy.  Sometimes, that “give-and-take” gets out of balance.  I am more aware now – in part thanks to my mom, who has always used the analogy of the “emotion jar.”  It’s a brilliant, simple concept.  If there was a jar in the middle of your room, how full would it be?  Would you find yourself the only one putting in all the energy, time, effort, and emotions into the jar (or all of your relationships)?  Who are the ones in your life that are contributing – sharing in the giving?  Next, and this is hard to identify, ask yourself who IS NOT reciprocating (filling the jar themselves). Sometimes people take what you give without listening, helping, or understanding your emotion, or appreciating your energy. And it’s easy to be blind to this, since they can be stealthy little leeches. OK, I’ll back off of that one a bit. But my point is this: relationships need to be give-and-take. If it feels like someone is only taking, it’s probably not healthy for you. And it will become – you guessed it ­– a distraction. Once you have that eureka moment (cue light bulb), you might recognize why you find yourself so mentally (sometimes physically) exhausted. 

We all have our own set of distractions.  Perhaps yours is from over-working, worrying about your kids, reaching fitness goals, having a social life, dealing with family drama, etc.  Even your “daily routine” can cause you to focus on the wrong things. Here’s the kicker: distractions feed distractions. Meaning you become numb to it all, and before you know it you’re spending hours in an “alternate universe.”  I am not saying don’t work on your relationships, forget calling your mom and dad, or that you have to delete all of your social media – even though I deleted most of mine.  But check yourself.  Your self-care is crucial. It is the driver and the main mechanism to your life, and you need to fuel it with positivity.  If it’s not balanced, the negative distractions will become apparent in your words, emotions, and priorities. You may find yourself frustrated, irritable, and exhausted, to some capacity.  I admit that I am guilty of this and I needed a change. My heart wasn’t in the right place with my social media use, and the distractions were becoming overwhelming.  So I channeled my inner Billy Chapel (of course, I’ll throw strikes), and I cleared my own mechanism.  Here’s to new priorities and positive self-care!  (Also, it only took me three weeks to reference baseball. “HELLO, MIKE!”)

“You can always find a distraction if you’re looking for one.”

~Tom Kite

A purposeFULL thought:

Where is your heart today? Is it distracted? Is your mind spinning? Is your emotion jar balanced? What good might come into your life if you put the phone (or other distraction) aside for a few minutes? Maybe you’ll enjoy a few more quality minutes with family, read a favorite book, or block out a long day by turning the radio OFF and enjoying your ride home in silence.

Why did the chicken cross the road?  The timeless answer still remains, to get to the other side, right?  Now, don’t get me wrong, I know there have been many versions of this childhood joke.  The versions vary with laughter, sarcasm, and sometimes hopelessness.  I wonder what the chicken’s point of view would be?  I picture a cartoon chicken looking back at us right before they take the first step, uttering, “OK, I guess I’ll go ahead… and I have no idea how this is going to go.”

This intro may seem cheesy, possibly even silly.  That’s OK. But with it, I present these two questions.  One: have you ever wondered what the road conditions are, or how far across the road is? Two: is the chicken having a good day or bad day?  Hmm…  I think that makes a huge difference!  If they’re having a bad day, and the road is an eight-lane Atlanta interstate during rush hour, I am telling you right now, it’s not going to be easy and they’ll need their “go, go Gadget legs” to even consider crossing.  Now imagine you are the chicken, and riddle me this.  Have you ever been cruising through life (crossing the road) when all of the sudden something stops you in your tracks?  As if as soon as you reach the middle of the road, high speed traffic starts zooming by out of nowhere,stopping your progress. 

What does your road look like today?  Is it a straight line, or a little bumpy?  Are you happy today?  Likely, you’re experiencing one of a thousand possible road conditions.  For me? Road condition 137: uneven pavement.  My wife was out of town this weekend, and it was my responsibility to take care of my three boys.  Long pause.  Deep breath (wink wink).  You can do this.  Friday night goes off without a hitch, not even a complaint before bed time.  Check.  Then, on Saturday I left at 9am to support a friend at the visitation of his daughter, who was being laid to rest.  She was 11 days old.  So there I was, mentally preparing myself and wondering where that road was going to lead. Surprisingly enough, the road was smooth. I left renewed and ready to go home and squeeze my kids tighter than I could ever imagine, knowing life is finite and I am blessed.  Yet, right before I walked in the door, I cracked the screen on my phone.  And somehow, in an instant, that small problem became like a giant pot-hole that I just fell into.  Seriously?! That renewed guy coming home?  Oh, he’s gone.  Here comes Patrick stomping across Bitter Street.  I just replaced that screen a week ago.  What the heck?  And as I am walking my bitter self across Bitter Street, I am trying to figure out how to get to the other side.  My mental state had completely switched, and I still have a whole day ahead with my boys. C’mon Patrick, get it together.

Well, after some grumbling and talking with my wife (thanks honey) I was able to get back to Mediocre Avenue.  This was short-lived.  Somehow, I found myself in the middle of rush hour traffic, again.

What is that traffic, exactly?  Shall we peel back a layer of my life story at this moment?  Sure, why not.  After all, I told you that in this blog I’d be honest and raw with you.  I intend to do just that.

What sometimes seems superficial, is often much deeper-seeded.  The last four weeks for me have been tough.  I was diagnosed with a torn labrum in my left shoulder (all the while my right shoulder is feeling worse).  One week after my diagnosis I got an infection that I am still fighting at 4 weeks and counting.  All the meanwhile, I am wondering, “What am I supposed to do in this world?  What’s my why?”  These seemingly trivial physical ailments have sent me on an endless and relentless spiral. It won’t let me out.  It’s not slowing down and I have no traction.  I picture the cartoon chicken,with a gigantic dust cloud behind them as they spin their legs, not being able to grab hold of anything to make progress. I keep fighting voices in my head trying to tell me to give up, even though I am determined to make it across this road.  The only problem is I feel I am taking 1 step forward and 2 steps back.  Dear audience, I like to call this the snowball effect. As a snow ball rolls down a hill (you know, with the good packing snow)it gains momentum and mass until it gets bigger and bigger and swallows everything in its path.  It may break off small pieces along the way, but it keeps rolling.  Well, stopping that momentum sometimes seems impossible.  And now, for me, I feel I can’t stop it.  I can’t cross the road.  There seems to be no way across.

Let’s peel back more layers, beyond these 4 weeks of isolated circumstances.  Don’t forget I have a full-time job, and am a husband, father, and friend. Traffic. I have a wife and three boys I feel I have to guide, love, and protect.  And when you’re already vulnerable, these responsibilities suck the life out of you. Stop you in your tracks.  It can keep beating you down and can be unyielding. 

I’m here to encourage you to keep walking.  Step by step. In the midst of all this racing, I have been able to appreciate time with my kids and listen to my soul a little bit.  The pothole slowed me down. And while I grumbled at its presence, it helped me get in touch with things that are far more important (after I was able to calm down). I also shout a resounding, “This is much easier said than done!”  When you are in the middle of it, it seems endless,I get it. 

I am just one man (chicken?) in a huge world, full of a lot of roads that I need to cross – just like you.  Let’s help each other by stopping to let each other get to the other side, shall we?  Oh yeah, wait, you are probably wondering where title of this post came from… How does it all tie together for me?  Here’s my joke: “Why did the chicken cross the road?  To get some blackberry chip ice cream.”  As I was debating whether or not to try and even write a post, because I was feeling a little down – I said to myself, “I can do this, I have some black raspberry chip ice cream that I can chow on while I compile my thoughts on this post.”  So, for all of you who have enjoyed this post – thank the black raspberry chip ice cream (and the delicious cookies it was smashed between). And if you have no idea what I’m talking about, you need to find a Graeter’s store immediately. Your inner chicken deserves it.

A purposeFULL thought:

Remember the next time you are driving and someone is trying to cross the road to stop, and let them cross.  Don’t just buzz by. Think of that person.  That crossing could be someone walking to get their morning coffee just like any other day – paradise as usual.  Or that person could be experiencing a culmination of a lifetime of loneliness, simply marching on not even noticing the traffic. Think of them, and appreciate and respect their journey.

Wow! Guys, this is it! It’s hard to explain the swirling thoughts and emotions dancing around in my head right now. This is a culmination of conversations, emotions and pure wonderment over months, maybe years – of deciding to walk out to the edge and connect with others as we share our stories, together. We all come from different backgrounds with seemingly different purposes in life, in search of something special. I am excited to share my story with all of you and look forward to hearing yours. A big thank you to all those who supported in ways you don’t even know. Stay tuned for more posts! But first…a quote from my man, The Rock.

“I Like To Use The Hard Times in The Past, To Motivate Me Today” — Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson