The Honest Truth About The Work That Goes Into The Life You Dream Of

I have a love/hate relationship with social media. On one end, it's been an amazing way to connect with individuals that you may not have the opportunity to, whether indirectly or directly. I'm definitely one of those people that have "friends in my head" that I‘ve followed but not interacted with to those that I’ve virtually associated with. Through social media, I’ve learned everything from how to perfect my daily makeup, budget, travel, workout at home and even feel inspired to dream bigger by seeing others live their dreams. As positive as it has been in many ways, it's also been a space that has made me question if I was doing "enough", had "enough", and even was "enough". What's scary about social media is that ultimately, it tends to be a "highlight reel" that only paints part of the truth of what’s shared. From the looks of my social media, 2018 was an incredibly fun and amazing year for me. The truth was that it was a year that led me to write most, if not all, of the blog posts that I share centered around the topics of heartbreak and challenges in dating.

I recently saw a viral video by the popular Atlanta based restaurant, Slutty Vegan, that shared a different perspective of what seemed to be their overnight success. Instead of sharing images of the restaurants lines that usually stretch a few blocks down the street, we instead saw raw images of the construction of the building. We saw unpretty video of the instillation, machines and equipment that was scattered inside of the building during development. The owner discussed the stress, hard work and countless hours that were spent opening to make clear that entrepreneurship was anything but easy.

I love talking with people that are open to share their stories in that way. I worked with someone that was married for over 25 years and had a love that reflected exactly what I prayed for. She became like a Mom to me and was incredibly transparent about the early days of her marriage to ensure that I was not mislead into thinking that marriage would be easy. While she was clear that every marriage is different, she shared her story so that I saw a perspective of "happily ever after" that took time, even years, to get to. The first few years of their marriage was filled with cheating, dishonesty, lack of investment in the relationship and neglected of the responsibility of being a husband. She shared that what I saw between her and her husband was years in the making, and that the road to get there was anything but easy.

I'm excited that we are currently in a time where there is open dialogue and emphasis on mental health, making more stories that are transparent prevalent. It can be hard to be transparent and open to others, especially to strangers on social media, but whatever you do be transparent with yourself. Be honest if there are areas that you need work on or that you would like to change about yourself. Be honest if there are things that you love about yourself as well! There is absolutely nothing wrong with loving the skin that you are in or the life that you are living. This should be a goal that we all aspire to reach, even if that version looks nothing like what others think it should be. Learn to be so transparent and honest with who you are that you seek the approval of no one, but yourself and your creator, God. You are his handiwork, and you need no permission to be madly in love with yourself as he has formed you as his precious creation.

Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. (Luke 12:7 NIV)

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10 NIV)

Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10 NIV)

You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you. (Soloman 4:7)

She is worth far more than rubies. (Prov. 31:10)

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