Five V. Important Reminders:
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1. When I was an eighth grader, I didn’t make the high school cheerleading squad. I remember napping on the couch and the sponsor called to tell me. We tried out in front of the whole school, and the students and teachers voted. And they didn’t vote for me. I had been a cheerleader since second grade and it didn’t seem fair because I was good at it. I hung up the phone and burst into tears because failure sucks a lot when you’re 13. My parents rallied my brother and I that weekend, and they sprinted us away on a long weekend trip. The four of us did the things and laughed and that’s sort of the point right? There’s a great big world out there beyond us. Sometimes we’ve just got to be reminded to live it.
2. I am obsessive when it comes to writing things down. Snippets of conversation. Quotes from people on TV. My notes app is full of one liners and ideas and inspiration. And last night, Craig and I were talking about life and his gruff, tired voice said, “They’re not out in front of you. You only need to focus on what’s out beyond you.” And in green pen, I scribbled that into the blank Tuesday section of my calendar. There’s a great big world out there beyond us. Sometimes, we need to be reminded to go out and chase it.
3. My aunt is in town this weekend. She’s a wealth of family knowledge, and last night, we stayed up late talking. We talked about people that were gone long before I was, and she smiled when she spoke of her grandparents. She spoke about my great-grandpa and his beautiful home next to the lumber yard and how easy it was growing up in that tiny town and I hardly knew him and it reminded me - there’s a great big world out there beyond us. Sometimes we need to be reminded that we’re paving a way for people to follow.
4. A girl emailed me late last week and because of Homestock, I just got around to it. She was sad, and she’s in the middle of an angry divorce and there is a ton of back and forth going on with her social media and him and the “new her”. It's consumed her, but it reminded me -- there’s a great big world out there. Sometimes, we need to put our phones down and realize it.
5. I was born on Guam. I’ve been to Australia and New Zealand in the summer. I’ve been to Mexico. I’ve had churros in Spain, and croissants on a busy street in Pairs. I’ve stood in front of the Mona Lisa, and shoved my toes in the Bahamian sand. I’ve watched the changing of the guards in Washington DC and in Monaco. I’ve eaten my weight in pasta in Italy. I’ve walked down the streets of New York City barefoot at 2 am, and worn Mickey ears at Disney in Florida. I’ve felt the cool waters of the California Pacific lap at my feet and I’ve felt the vastness of the Rockies. I’ve even been to Dollywood. There’s a great big world out there, you know? And it's taken me seeing all of the whole world out there to know that sometimes? Sometimes all you need is a couch and a warm shoulder to rest your head on at the end of a hard day.
xoxo, B

This one is for the dreamers - for the dig down deep believers. For the two a.m. thinkers, and the never stop fighting achievers. This is for the all night survivors and the bottom of the barrels still-want-to-be-alivers. For the ones that know how to live and die by promises; for the ones that still know how to cross their hearts and hope their legends never die.
This is for the torch bearers, the light bringers, and the broad shouldered bitches that show up to the arena early. For the ones that don’t keep count because the count doesn’t matter, and for the ones that search the horizon and ignore all of the pointless chatter.
This is for the tenacious, audacious girls that don’t need your dull crown because they brought their own, and this is for the ones that bear scars like a holy battle cry to the forlorn.
Don’t you ever start listening to those naysayers, or those bar fight bottle breakers. Don’t you ever start listening to the people that smile behind their self-made castle gates - their arms too weak to even climb up and out of their own fates.
You grit your teeth, smart girl, and you tighten your grip. And even if you slip just a bit, there’s no reason to ever stop inching your way forward. Cast off your self-doubt like the pebbles you sunk at camp, and step out of your fear. Mountains can be crossed and you can voyage over every ocean on this earth.
And if you stop and listen to the back breakers or knee cutters or brawl bringers, you won’t have the time you need to be the
World Changer
you were born to be.
xoxo, B.

Here's to the women that have unsettled thoughts, uncertain paths, and hearts like sponges that clean up all of the blood from the broken hearts of others.
Here's to the women that have backbones made out of steel, their great-grandmother's mettle, and the prayers their daddies whispered before they were even formed.
Here's to the women that aren't afraid to make tough decisions, speak hard truths, and aren't afraid to ball their fists tighter than hardened clay -
here's to the women that aren't afraid of the fight.
Here's to the women that step into the middle of the arena. Here's to the women that have rally cries that inspire wanderers behind them. Here's to the women that turn around, without hesitation, to help the staggering few behind them.
Here's to the women that do hard things even though they're terrified.
Here's to the women that sometimes need to rest. With their hands on their knees, they bend over to catch their breath. And here's to the women that stand back up and continue.
Here's to the women that just ... continue.
And here's to the women that run their fingers over the cracks and bloodied edges of you, and when you forget -
when you forget where you've come from
when you forget where you've been
when you forget what battles you've won
when you forget what battles you've lost
when you forget -
here's to the women that whisper softly that
you are a climber
you are a live wire
you are a survivor
you are
stronger
than
you
ever
thought
possible.
xoxo, B.