Dear 2006 Rhia

I'm writing from the future to tell you that you are beautiful.  Nobody has ever told you that. The most trusted people in your life tell you that you'd be pretty if you lost weight.  But I'm telling you now, beauty doesn't depend on your weight, or your face. How do you treat people? Do you love before you hate? Are you kind and genuine?  Those are the things that make you beautiful.

You can and will lose the weight, because it is important to you.  It may even be something you struggle with forever, but you will lose it, and some days you will even see how beautiful you are. Lose it to be healthier. Lose it to feel better. But don't allow yourself to become lost in the obsession.

You will go to college. It will be the happiest time of your life so far. You will be tempted to be as homesick as possible and afraid to leave Bowie behind, but don't be. A person can have two, or three, or ten, or even a hundred homes, and they will always welcome you back with open arms.  Soak up everything you can. Attend every event.  Talk to as many people as possible.  You will meet people who you fall in love with.  You will find a core group of friends who care more about you than anyone ever has before.  You will travel and see things you could never believe.  Take all the pictures you can.

One day you'll meet a boy who you'll hate.  He'll throw acorns at you and make fun of your chemistry skills, and he'll ask you to play frisbee and then refuse to throw the disk to you.  Give him a hard time.  Be as fiery as possible.  When he inevitably falls in love with you, do not question it.  Do not refuse him.  Be as open as possible, and most importantly, do not be afraid. He is the real deal, and he will challenge you in ways you never thought to be challenged.

You want right now to stay in a little bubble, afraid to question anything or speak out of turn.  You try to be a good Christian girl. You weren't even raised that way. Do not be afraid to explore. Explore religion, thoughts, life.  Explore the world, yourself, your friends.  Find the things that make you comfortable, and the things you are willing to be uncomfortable for. Sing as loud as possible, dance in public often and make a fool of yourself.  Do yoga and carry crystals.  Go outside more.

Life is about experiences, good and bad. Don't be afraid.
Everything will be okay.

Love,
Rhia from 2016

A New Beginning

Hey hey, welcome to my third blog! First, I had a Xanga, for the delightful teenage-angst stage of life. Second, I (still) have my Tumblr, which I use for ranting and reblogging.  But this one I want to be a little different. I'm not blogging to make money. I blog because I love to write. But instead of ranting and raving, highs and lows, I want to be intentional about finding the important things in my life.  2015 was the year that I started to find out what makes me happy.  I am hoping that 2016 will bring the same and more.

If I may be so bold, I have a talent. I am a natural writer. I don't practice a lot, and I can't explain what the proper grammar for that sentence I'm looking for is all the time, but I am still good at writing. So if you have been given a talent, you should probably use it, right? My husband is a good writer too, but he doesn't always realize it. He thinks of tons of story ideas, writes them down, and then writes one scene at a time, completely out of order, usually while drinking whisky.  I write differently. I write mostly stream of consciousness while self-editing, thinking but everything is usually in order the first time.  I write while listening to music. Today I'm listening to Jason Mraz's "Yes!".  I'm usually drinking wine.

I watched a lot of people slave over papers in college. They would spend days planning, and then writing, and then editing. I never did that. I could write a ten page paper in two days max and get the top grade on it.  College, and school in general, was always easy for me. I never had to work very hard. I was lucky. Entering the real world has proved to be a slap in the face. I have to work hard, I had to develop a strong work ethic, and I have to care a lot more about how I do things.

That is why I wanted to begin a new blog.  I want to write about the things in my life. I want to give a real perspective of a mid-20's married-but-not-having-kids-yet girl/woman. I want to share it with other people so that they don't feel so alone.  I have been on Facebook too much lately, comparing my life to other people my age. I know a girl my age who just bought a house.  I saw this pop up on my feed, and I almost cried. David and I have been looking at houses and can only dream so far. We are not even sure what the next 6 months holds for us. But ultimately, that's okay. We are holding out for bigger things, and sometimes that means waiting until the perfect time.

This blog is about the journey.