It used to be I wore my tragedies like a badge. It was so much easier to dwell in the dark corners of my existence than to come screaming into the lite. Though past events, personal traumas, experiences do become a sort of broth that we stew in, they do not encompass who we are. Things happen in life, sometimes terrible things, sometimes beautiful things, but this is not a predetermined script. There are not lessons embedded in the events themselves. Life and learning, growing, come from a choice to learn from something and move on. Life is a series of catalystic events, which propel us into decisions and mistakes, rapid movements and intentions. I tried to embrace happiness. That feeling of release, of allowing yourself those moments of joy. I tried to find that balance of respecting life and the situations in mine, and not taking everything so seriously all the time, myself included. I am not saying by any means that I have relieved myself of insecurities or depressions, but I did make a choice to try and be happy. It is only going to come from me. There is no magic well that can fill you with happiness on its own. There is a reason cliches are cliches. There is a reason people have said the same thing so many times, enough for it to become a cliche . . . usually because it is true.
You can't love someone until you love yourself.

To Good Moments

A feather nestled in striped beach grass outside our house in Cape May.

My Nana and Pop-Pop on their Wedding Day

And yes, I was there for it. Now, you know there's a good story behind that.