This afternoon I read through all of my old posts. This is a pivotal moment for me… tonight I share my link with the world. Tonight I finally say “yes” to a dream that’s been tucked away in my heart for over a year.

I thought it would be special to scroll back and take a look at the things that the world now would have access to. For one, I wanted to make sure there were no names or things that I would want to keep private. But mostly, I was looking to reflect.

I began making posts during my alleged “quarter-life crisis.” It’s kind of amazing to me that the climax of my falling-apart was also the moment I decided to get the ball rolling on a dream I hadn’t really focused in on yet.

What’s even more amazing to me is how I quite literally spoke into my life the things I wanted, and I now have them! In a post over a year ago I wrote that I was in a rut, in a routine, and I hated it. I typed, “You know what I would prefer? Water… definitely water! A beach, a lake, I’d even settle for a cool river. But more than that I want adventure! I want to walk into town for a coffee and be surrounded by 18-35 year olds, I want to spend Saturday mornings on the endless footpaths with the local running club, I want to buy fresh local produce all year round, and I do not want to own a TV. I want to feel inspired, motivated, and a part of something. I want to wake up each morning excited to impact the world, and I don’t want a bed time.”

I live in Seattle. I’m surrounded by water and adventure. A short distance away in every direction is a lake, a park, a forest, a mountain, a footpath. My job requires me to walk into town, enter a coffee shop, and be surrounded with young adults. And I couldn’t be happier to be a part of it! Just this week I ran on a footpath that I never found the end to, and went to a local farmers market. I don’t own a TV. I feel inspired, motivated, and a part of something bigger every day when I walk into the Starbucks Roastery to work, and again when I sit at this desk and pour my passion into MAVERICK. I go to sleep peacefully knowing that I’ve done my best each day; I wake up energized and ready to continue to impact and inspire those around me.

I am living a dream! Every day! No amount of exclamation points in the world could represent how GOOD that feels! To say! To realize! To be proud of!

And the best part is, this is only the beginning! As I publish this blog, launch MAVERICK as a brand, and build this community,, I am pre-writing the next chapter. A year from now, 5 years from now, 10 years from now, I can look back at all this and have the same realization: I am powerful, I am worthy, I can live my best life!

I want to take a moment to be grateful for the people that got me here:
– Thank you to the girl who’s been my other half since Kindergarten. Through these twists and turns of life, we’ve always found our way back to each other. Our first friendship is also our first love, and you are forever mine.
– Thank you to the best college roommate a freshman could ask for. Our connection was like a fairy tale, and I thank the stars every day for aligning us.
– Thank you to the older sister I’ve always wanted. Your guidance, advice, laughter, and hugs are always with me.
– Thank you to my adventure-buddy. Without your honesty, your inspiration, your spontaneity, your unconditional love, your never-ending supply of patience, and your car, I wouldn’t have made it here.
– Thank you to all 4 of my parents. You’ve provided and loved and learned with me, through all the ups and downs.
– Thank you to my mentor and dearest companion in the darkest times of life. You were and still are an angel.
– Thank you to everyone in between, for being a part of my world. Every conversation, every smile, every soccer game, every laugh, every day-dream, every mishap, every fight, every pep-talk, every shared cry… each interaction and each moment has lead me here. And I am grateful.
– Thank you to Seattle, to Starbucks, and to every single person who’s welcomed me into this “new life” with open arms. You make me feel loved, like I belong, like I am finally where I’m meant to be. And though our stories have only just begun, you’ve all touched me in a way that I will never forget.
– Thank you to my soul. You spoke louder than the fears and found a way to emerge, despite my doubts. I look forward to trusting you more and better understanding your voice. Let’s do this!

MAVERICK is going to be such a journey. I have a vision. Pair that with the passion I feel in my bones and I know something great will become of it. I wrote something in my pre-Appalachian Trail post that reigns true still: “I know the trail will change me. It’s a spiritual, emotional, and physical journey that cannot spit me out the other end the same person as when I start, not matter how long I end up out there. Maybe I will find answers, maybe I won’t. But I am trusting the journey. And beyond that, I am trusting that my post-trail life will work out for good. I can’t plan every detail of my life, just like I can’t plan every step of this trail… I just gotta live it. One day, one step, at a time.”

The trail may be different, but the journey is the same. I’m excited to take this risk, to live out loud, to be a catalyst for human connection. I can’t plan exactly what it’s going to look like, or the ups and downs I will have to maneuver, but I do know that I can keep moving forward. I can keep trying. I can keep showing up authentically myself, because I honestly believe that the world needs more of just that.

So, readers, it’s time. Time to hit “GO.” All I ask is that hold yourselves accountable to uphold the love and light and human-ness that we will build here together.

On that note, I welcome you with a poem from Cleo Wade’s “Heart Talk”:

rooting for each other

do you think
Mather Nature
cares
that any of her
beautiful flowers
grow in an array
of shades and sizes?
or that one grows
in this direction
and one grows in that direction?
no,
she puts all of them in her
magnificent garden
so they may
be together
and
root
for
each
other

#MAVERICK