At this rate, it seems I only blog once a month. I honestly don’t know how to feel about it because I think back to when I lived on Tybee for 6 months, and for maybe a couple of those months I blogged every single day. Doing that challenged me to search for things to write about during my day, not necessarily forcing me to do things so I could write about them, but just allowing me to be more observant of my life than I had been.

Because we live our lives pretty quickly, don’t we? We go through the same routines, mostly in the same ways. We see the same people, and maybe interact with them in the exact same way. There’s nothing wrong with routine; however, if it starts to become mundane…if we begin to not notice even the little unique parts of our stories that are being lived day-to-day, then before we know it, it’ll be five years later, and we’ll wonder where our lives went, where the time has gone.

This past Tuesday, my sister and I talked about journaling, and how next year, she would have been writing in this ONE JOURNAL for TEN YEARS. A WHOLE DECADE. A WHOLE DECADE FULL OF MEMORIES SHE WROTE DOWN, SOMETIMES EVERY DAY FOR MONTHSSSS. That’s dedication!

Some people might not think that’s significant. Like, who really wants to remember who their crushes were in middle/high school?? But reading back through those things isn’t only nostalgic, but can cause you to be grateful for what you had/what you did back then, and love where you are now. It allows you to remember the things that you used to worry about, and now you see you’ve overcome those obstacles. It can do a lot of things for you, a lot of good things!

Our conversation had me so inspired. It made me think of when I used to spend hours in my room in middle/high school, journaling and writing stories, coming up with characters and plots. Fast-forward to post-college life on Tybee, and I’d spend hours in my room writing poetry (and watching One Tree Hill, but that’s besides the point…).

So this week, I made the decision to go back to journaling every single day, and to not give myself so much grief if I missed out on doing it for a day or a couple of days. It’s just a way for me to get back to writing more. Because lately I feel like writing – a core part of who I am – has hit the back-burner due to me trying to build my brand with other things like motivational videos, photography/modeling, maybe even slowly on going to the gym. But if I’m building my brand with other things, and not focusing on the foundation of it all (in my case, writing), what really am I doing?

This isn’t to say that evolution isn’t a good thing. OF COURSE you can add new hobbies and interests into your brand or into your life because we’re constantly changing! And that’s an amazing and beautiful thing. But don’t forget where you originated. Don’t forget the thing that began the journey of where you are now. And maybe it means that you do put that core part of you on the back-burner as you explore new things, and that’s okay.

I find though that when I feel the most overwhelmed by the new things I’m learning, when I feel like I need to ground myself again somehow, I always ALWAYS go back to writing. And that’s an awesome part about the foundation of your journey too – it will always be a part of you, and will always be there for you to re-center yourself when you need it.

I don’t know what that thing is for you, maybe music or photography or visual art. But I know mine is writing. Mine is putting my thoughts into words on paper or on a blog, and just expressing how I’m feeling. It always has been, and I believe always will be a part of me.

Maybe you find yourself in that same place…trying to build a brand or something else: a business or portfolio, and you’re filling it with all of this stuff that has become a necessary part of your journey, but now you’re seeking that bigger piece of you. I encourage you to, not go “back to the basics,” but to go back to the BASIS of everything that led to where you are now.

Pull back the curtain you may have placed over it. Release it from its hiding place. And see what happens.

Mishy Writes 🦋🧡