This year I turned 32 and I could not be more grateful. This year has been bat shit crazy and that is putting it lightly. So to be here, healthy and mostly in my right mind :) I’m just thankful. If nothing else this year has made me slow down and pay attention. Attention to who is around and who is not, what I spend my time and energy on, boundaries that should’ve existed and what brings me joy. A year ago I would've never taken the time to explore these things let alone write a blog including my findings. It ultimately makes me think about what I would tell young Davina. Who was young Davina you ask?? She was a firecracker, slow to engage but always able to find someone to connect with and probably laughing- loudly. Sensitive and a lover of creativity eventually expressed through many hairstyles, hair colors, tattoos, piercings and questionable fashion choices. The best advice I ever got from a therapist was to give myself grace like I was still my younger self. She even went so far to have me carry a photo of myself as a little girl as a reminder. In honor of her, I want to share what I would tell her today…

Dear Davina,

Stay weird. Oh sweet girl… your weirdness seems unusual right now but you will learn that being like everyone else is not your path. You will fight it harddddd for a while then but will realize from your gaped teeth, unique style and witty tongue you aren’t built to be like everyone else. You will always stand out in a crowd so stop trying to blend in. You have something that people will call a lot of things ( mostly inaccurately ) but that thing is God given. It will lift people up when they are down, it will encourage people to do big, audacious things, it will help you climb out of the darkest of holes and carry you through the worst of times. That my sweet girl is you… never lose it.

You’re going to get your ass kicked. For some reason you thought that you lived on a rainbow with fluffy clouds intertwined throughout. I’m not sure where this notion came from but we believed it would always be like that- gentle and worry-free. Unfortunately, the road ahead is going to require you leave that cushy set up and come back down to earth with everyone else. You will have many days that you feel alone, your feelings will get hurt and your heart will get broken- it sucks! You will even get to places that you feel like it’s not worth going on, it will be devastating. But you are a warrior. You silently will morph into quite a bad ass. All the gut punches will knock you down- down to your knees. But you… you get up and take baby steps to getting better…