The day I took a stand for who I had become and what I chose to do with my life.
10” x 8”
Acrylic and paper on wood panel.
The Series
Undoubtedly, you have experienced at least one moment that has transformed how you navigate the world. It may have been very private, and while nobody may have noticed, in that instant, your world suddenly changed forever. A new facet formed in the complex and beautiful geode that is you. I believe it is these moments that truly shape us and these are the nuggets of humanity that I am fascinated with.
This piece is part of a series in which I invited my community to share a moment of significance with me. Through the series, I have been able to connect with my community in ways I haven’t able to before and get a deeper understanding of their experiences. Using our discussions as a guide, I create pieces, illustrating their moments, to be shared with the world. So that they can be heard.
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V’s Story
I hadn't slept in almost 24 hours. My body was exhausted, but I was restless with nervous energy. I had been putting something off for years, that I finally decided to handle THAT DAY. I had made the solid decision while I was on the plane, that within the first hour of landing, I was gonna finally go live on Facebook for the first time in my life...
Which wouldn't be a big deal really, except for the subject matter.
I was going to reveal myself: take a stand for who I had become and what I was choosing to do with my life, without censor or preparation. My family would be able to see me for the first time, for who I really am. This was the day I spoke candidly in front of people who I've never been myself around, never revealed myself fully to before.
I wore my lucky "League of Unusual Women" hat from NYC for good luck, hoping that the power I realized in myself from the East Coast would help keep my heart in my chest. This was the day I publicly came out as neurodivergent, highly-sensitive, high-sensation-seeking, gifted, and other psychological labels that although helpful, made me want to throw up at the same time. In the past, I had experienced being physically harmed for speaking through my unusual lens on the world, and my body was shaking under the table, afraid it would meet some terrible repercussion for opening it's stupid mouth.
But it was about time.
I was in the airport, in a place I had never been before, to meet heroes I had never met before, but had admired from a distance. It was the first time I went on an expensive business trip full out, all expenses paid with no job, only with the money I was making by being myself as a life and business coach. I had proven to myself that I wasn't crazy, that my dream and my research wasn't just some fluke--that I had somehow figured out the key to creating the life I wanted, and I was good at helping others do the same. What passion I had been ridiculed, bullied, and even beaten for had at last materialized into a rich reality, and there was one last step in order to anchor it in and lock in the learning:
Having my own back publicly, and making a stand for what's possible in the face of those who doubted me.
And to think, this is only the beginning :)