The First
This above all: to thine own self be true.
Shakespeare
Hamlet Act 1, Scene 3, 78-82
Truth: I’m not much of a Shakespeare fan. But as a lit buff, I know it cannot be discounted. And there are those times, when I’ve decided Shakespeare is trite, or cheesy, or even plain ol' boring, and then I stumble upon a line, a sonnet, a thought that seems to hit home, like really hit home, like that freakin William Shakespeare just hit the damn nail on the head. Simple and profound, between the boring, it gets to the core of life’s elements somehow.
So when I was thumbing through my shelves of books to find a quote to start off this very first post on my very new site, this is what I stumbled upon: TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE. And that’s all. That’s just all.
I was hoping for something satirical from Dave Eggers or moody from Sylvia Plath or even cheeky from David Sedaris, but what I found was so simple and perfect: TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE.
Because that’s exactly what I was feeling when I realized that I had to move on from Love Life and Lollipops to something new, something fresh, something really real. Something that depicted me. The real me. Not the polished or curated me. Not the hardcore vegan me or the organic mama me or the holistic nutritionist me, but the REAL me. The me that’s rough around the edges (ask my husband) and always late (ask my parents) and forever forgetting plans (ask my kids). The me that works really hard, lets things fall through the cracks, bakes brownies at midnight (ok not midnight, by midnight I’m asleep, but at like 10:30 at night, which is fundamentally my midnight).
The thing is…I’m 33 and I’ve already been so many things. I’ve worn so many hats. I’ve tried so many diets. I’ve had so many jobs. I’ve birthed two baby girls! I’ve learned that self-righteous is morally binding and I’d prefer to be more fluid. I’ve learned that I don’t like meditation, but I can’t live without yoga. I’ve learned that in order to be good, I need to just be me. Just Me. However that manifests itself. However that unfolds.
So this space, this tiny corner of the internet galaxy, is a place to hang my proverbial hat, talk some proverbial shit, share my crazy ideas.