labels

Ever watch Sesame Street? The furry free spirited puppets are recently causing debate on the nightly news. Are bert + ernie best friends or lovers?
My thoughts: Who cares?
We are so obsessed with labels.
We have this need to control what something is, or isn’t.
Oh, you’re in fitness.
My thoughts: And food. And feelings. And people. And places. I’m an entrepreneur. A student. Teacher. Daughter. Sister. Woman. Human. I am in life. In real time.
Does that label read, “Confused?”
I prefer the word authentic.

I like food + sweat. I like love + sex. I like fashion + fashionless. I am not gluten free or vegan or paleo or predictable. I eat what i want as my body suggests.
I am a lululemon ambasssador + i do not wear athleisure. (*to sweat)
I tend to be all dressed up or completely stripped down.
Perhaps I am just a walking contradiction, but to me, messy is sexy. So what,?
I can be a little messy. rather, i’m just me.

Why do we have to be one way? Or why do we try to be?
There is ease in authenticity + effort in imitation.
There is duality in all of us. Strong + soft. Lover + fighter. Dark + light. Fight + flow.
Because Why fit in when you can stand out?

What is the need to define what doesn’t need definition?
I am guilty of this when i’m feeling insecure. Confidence escapes me for short bouts of time, and I find myself trying to describe who i am to overcompensate for just being me. I want to tell my journey, the “meaning” of box + flow, it’s not a studio, It’s a feeling…just the beginning of my vision as a way of life. Blah blah blah.  

Before i started my business, i defended my dreams to bouts of people who didn’t see what i saw. I wasn’t a teacher. I wasn’t a business owner. and I was where i was meant to be. But judgement from others led to judgement within. I took projected labels and let them define me — and lost confidence in myself + my dreams, for 4 months too many. When i dropped those expectations, i found my center. Me as i am. My journey to finding connection within, selfish to be selfish, self love first. a choice to be #selfdefined.

In insecure relationships, i have tried to define “what we are” when i’m unsure myself.
But in actuality, the only definition you need is your own. And in my opinion, that can be as simple as your name. And as complicated as your deepest desires, darkest secrets + greatest fears. Define yourself as you wish, In a way which exposes you - true to you only: The work you pour yourself into, the love that makes you feel full. What you do, how you dress, where you find fun + with who.

Bert + ernie. Friends or lovers?
Who cares? That’s for them to decide. Not you.
It’s hard work to allow yourself to be vulnerable. To let people into you.
It often seems easier to just show the pretty facade. Via social media or otherwise.
But what seems easy, ultimately takes more effort — “trying” and hiding behind the facade we’ve created thru stories we’ve told. So, why fit in when you can stand out?
No labels. No limits. No rules. Choose you.

#workhard #livyoung