2018 was… complicated.
I haven’t been around much on this blog since returning from The Intrepid Journey 2018 for quite a few personal reasons. I have not shared the details here, and I won’t share more than broad strokes, but needless to say that my life has gone in a direction that I never expected it to go. For those who read my original Intrepid Journey posts written on a bluetooth keyboard with 80 million spelling mistakes, I love you all… take a read back through them; they’re now much tidier… and have pictures!

 

If I had to pick two words that would adequately summarize this year, they would be “growth” and “Truth.” They’ve fed off each other. I’ve spoken a truth – or more – into the air, and gone through a prolonged growth process. I went through a long solo trip (a growth process of its own) and discovered some more truths. And the cycle continued.
Even earlier this year, at the same moments I didn’t realize I was laying some personal emotional groundwork, I was speaking more truths. From a blog post that has become one of my site’s most popular (apparently to the surprise of no one but me), to opening up to some personal struggles, to acknowledging and voicing my needs in life, friends, and relationships… this year has been full of standing up – sometimes shakily with trembling knees, sometimes strongly with head up and shoulders back – and speaking my truth.

 

Top Viewed Blog Posts of 2018

5. To the Parents of Blind Children, Part 1: You have SO much Power
4. You Inspire Me! No… REALLY!
3. An Open Letter to Service Dog Fakers
2. Book Review: “Carry On” by Lisa Fenn
1. Is this OK with You?

Speaking Truth

This year, probably more than any other, has been a year I’ve been more outspoken than usual (yes, apparently, this is possible). I’ve continued to self-advocate in disability spaces, outlined specific expectations related to running a first race, and taken pride in the person I am, refusing to apologize for things I cannot change or control (still working on that last one). I’ve also found myself more careful, more cautious, of the words I put out into the world. From a blog post I wrote and published in the span of an hour to the one that sat in draft form for over a year (and which three people I respect had to talk me in to publishing), I’ve gained a whole new respect and appreciation for the power of words.

Growth

And I’ve grown – am growing – in ways I never expected. From examining why I respond to compliments in the way I do, to expanding my social and emotional worlds, to putting into words why music – something once as much a part of me as my hands or my lungs – was silenced for years. Some of these stories are still being written – some of them here – and I can see only good things moving forward. Even though 2018 saw the end of my marriage, it has also given me the tools to be able to move in to 2019 with grace, with strength, and with confidence.
And I cannot conclude this post without mentioning the friends and family cheering me on. There have been many friends new and old – some from truly unexpected places – who, in ways big and small, have held me up and kept me going, reminding me of who I was, who I am, and who I want to be.
Bring on 2019!