On authenticity: Tell us something true.

When I was a new mother, I went through something difficult. For a while, I wasn't sure if I wanted to talk about it on the blog, but my mom, who has always been a huge champion of "authenticity," emailed me recently to say this...

"It seems to me that being authentic is being brave enough or just candid enough to be honest about what you are experiencing or who you are, whether it is popular are not. A person gives a gift to other people when they say, 'This is what happened to me or this is how I truly feel, no matter what the popular belief is about what I should feel.' Whenever you are honest, you are speaking for a thousand silent people who don't have the voice to say what they really feel or are really experiencing. So, if you ever talk about [the thing you went through], you will touch a million hearts. Because you are speaking for more than just yourself. You are never alone in what you are feeling. I love you."

So, I will share my little story on Monday, even though it gives me butterflies. I thought my mom's words were so beautiful, and I want to always remember them. xoxo

Would you want to share something true about yourself? Something little, something big? Something that makes you happy, something that worries you? Whatever you want, as long as it is true. :)

Here are a few of mine, in the meantime:
* I have old-lady undereye wrinkles.
* I'm scared of elevators.
* I don't know how to accessorize with belts.
* I'm sensitive to criticism.
* I always think I'm going to choke when I eat pears.
* I get super cranky when people talk too loudly.

Until Monday... xoxoxoxo

(Painting by Jessie Willcox Smith)