Restless...

Bright blue skies. Ruby-chested hummingbirds. The first fragrant flowers.

This is what spring is all about. The rejuvenation of life.

New beginnings, fresh starts...

This spring, I've needed a few of those fresh starts.

You know I mentioned before I want to just go - and do - and see - everything. The world, it's incredible! And it's at my fingertips.

God has something amazing in store for this summer. I can feel it. Not in the way I know I'm hungry {we are best friends...}. Not in the way I know I'm tired.

It's sort of unreal. Like I'm not quite sure just what to feel....I just know it's there.

Every opportunity is a chance to do something worthwhile.

 

I watched a youtube video earlier today about a gentleman interviewing a man who was probably in his later 50's. The guy brought up a few key remarks about our culture that I have mulled over myself.

 

One thing he mentioned was how desensitized to wonder we are.

 

This world is amazing!! And nobody is happy. We have SO MUCH at our finger-tips, and we complain.

 

We don't even realize how blessed we actually are. Just think back a few decades... Woah! Wifi didn't even exist!! And you know what, they all survived just fine.

 

Among other things, the guy discussed how everybody without fail makes this huge deal about flights - cancelations, delays, sitting on the runway....every possible little thing that goes wrong with their flight.

 

Having just recently made my first flight ever, I am very in tune with what he talked about. No one is happy. While this was a new and exciting experience for me, everybody around me muttered about how unreliable airlines are.

 

I had three flights canceled.

 

I only flew in three airplanes.

 

One cancelation left me stranded in the Chicago airport for 14 hours.

 

Everyone kept asking me if I was mad, if I hated it, what I did about it - as if I should be furious.

 

My question back was - why?

 

What entitles me to anger over a delayed flight?

 

How incredible that I even got to be in an airplane!!

 

 

 

 

It was just so neat to be so many miles in the sky!! All I could think was how incredible the journey was, how much I enjoyed those first few minutes in the sky! And the other two flights did not lessen in amazement. The clouds were gorgeous! The earth so tiny. I could see all those places - the people, homes, cars - and all I could think was how big it was, how I was seeing only a small portion, how many people there were, and how, in view of them all, God loved ME and cared about ME on this flight right here right now....

 

There is this seed of discontent in our culture that saturates everything - everyone.

 

I just want to know.

 

WHY?

 

I am restless. I want to go places. I want to see things. I want to do something.

 

But everywhere I am, everything I witness, everything I do - right here, right now - is amazing too. If I cannot appreciate this, why would I cherish anything else?

 

This is my life.

 

And it is glorious.

 

 



 



Eh he, happy not New Years

I made a bargain.

{A horrible decision really.}

And now my hands are tied.

{With 70 feet of blonde magic hair.}

So, I have a BIG surprise for you!!

{Uh... I do too!}

Ooh, but I bet my surprise is bigger!

{I seriously doubt it.}

Would you shut up?

{Go find a dream.}

Gah. Just a second, guys.

*sound of frying pan hitting skull*

Ok!!

So...

I have several New Years {I am trying to figure out how that is really supposed to go grammatically...New Year? New Year's? New Years'?} resolutions. Honestly, this is the first year I have ever made real resolutions. Normally, I just watch the day come and watch the day go and smile and wave at all the people who create these fantastic lists and goals. Then I go to bed. And wake up a happier Caitria.

{Are you hungry? Cause I know of a great place to eat.}

.......................................

So, this year is a bit of a change. But that's fitting, because I changed so much this year. From head to toe, figuratively and literally speaking {with maybe a pun intended}. First things off, my list. It's short. To the point. And 100% realistic.


1. {Find a dream.}

Ummm....I thought that dude was gone.

The real 1. Lose the mask.

I wear a mask. Did you know that? Maybe that's a part of being a writer. But I rarely show my true feelings. This year, I want to dig down to me, the real me, and let it go without fear. {Maybe inspired by Frozen...}

2. Get In the Shadow or Imitation published

Aaaaah! I've dreamed of this for so many years. To actually have TWO books so close gives me shivers!

3. {Get married.}

Come on!!?? Seriously?

The real 3. Stop wasting so much time on devices and spend more time with my family.

Over the last few months, I've seen a degeneration in my life of migrating more and more toward my computer and social networks {such as facebook, snapchat, and instagram} and less time with my lovely, wonderful family. We have so few years here in this home {especially since I'm getting married, right?!}. I don't want to waste them.

4. Complete a 364 day photo challenge.

A GREAT friend of mine is doing this and I asked to join her. I had another friend do it last year, and it just looks like so much fun. I am excited to do it. Eh he, I started a day late... But you can track it through my instagram account (myunicornhaswings).

5. Bond even more with my amazing friends.

God has blessed me immeasurably this year, with wonderful, Godly friends. I pray that they can be strengthened throughout this year even more!!

6. {Rule the World and ban chocolate}

The real 6. Get rid of this dude....^^



Ok. So, the bargain....

{Really, really a bad idea.}

I have been writing my tail end off the last month, getting In the Shadow ready to be published. But, along the side, I've been also working on a few other books.

{Pfft. A few?}

And so now I owe you {blame Cait} an explanation of my 2014 writing list and story-lines.

{Death plots.}

Nuance.



In the Shadow

This is the big one of year. Well, more like 8 years. Yes, I've been writing/editing this book for 8 years.  BUT. It is done. I mean, as done as you can get... The last thing I am doing is a little bit of reformatting on the chapter sequences and then it's on to querying {which I'm totally freaked out about, just so you know}!! So, history is epic. Especially ancient history, the stuff we don't know very much about, because you can play with it so much. I definitely qualify as a history nerd and In the Shadow sort of exploded with my enthusiasm. It has 2 protagonists, both slaves in Ancient Rome. They are total opposites. While Merrie just wants to be loved by her mistress and enjoy a peaceful life, Ionez's favorite thing to do is throw her master's orders back in their faces. If her own weren't so infuriatingly gorgeous, Ionez would have the one thing she longs for - freedom. So instead, she schemes up an idea as bold as it is dangerous in an attempt to get it. There may be a bit of intrigue, turncoat step-mothers, and a very unique dagger involved...{but we're not saying}. Merrie's simple world is destroyed by one small necklace. Her mistress's favorite - stolen - and she was the last one seen with it. From favorite companion to despised scum, she rallies everything inside her to earning back all the love and dreams she based her life upon. Yeah...Cait, go ahead and say it. Vague. ;)


Imitation

This is the one Cait really wants to hear about. I'll be nice. Sort of. I was going to explain, but there is too much. So I'm summing up. This is a huge WIP, a Dystopian sci-fi, and utter chaos. Nicole, the 17 year old protagonist, is special. Born with a technologically advanced brain, she has been the object of study for years - and she didn't even know it. When the time comes that the Director, who leads her city, can use her power, she is ready to give herself wholly for the government's use. Then she discovers just what they want her to do. Questionably ethic, the project introduces her to Tyler. Who stands against everything she has ever believed and been taught is right. But she's spent her life listening to the statutes of the city. She knows they have to be right - and so she turns Tyler in as a traitor just as she completes the project and allows the Director to introduce it to the entire city. To change everything they - or any person ever alive - has ever been. Just add a city in the sky. And lots of spaceships and a broken outside world and WAR.


My Unicorn Has Wings

Familiar with this one? My blog title was totally inspiration. This story is loosely related to my own life. Ok, mostly just the dorky protagonist. It's going to be fun. Have lots of puns, silly jokes, and craziness in it. Set in Kat's first year of college, it's more your traditional growing-up, finding yourself story {shouldn't she have done that already?}, with a mystery twist, including an ancient box in her attic, unicorns, and a grandfather she never knew. There will also be a singing competition {or musical theater, not sure which yet}, a library fight scene, a debate of the century, and a horse named Stargate.


Royal

This is actually the title of the sequel for this series, but the first book's name is under wraps. Another Dystopian. World War 3 has destroyed the earth. The people have come to the conclusion that half the problems of the world stem from their rulers and leaders. So they ditch every form of government, throw all the Royal families, Presidents, Prime Ministers, Governors, you-name-it types into a very special prison. {Wouldn't you love to know.} The new World Government runs smoothly for 10 years until Liv, daughter of the King of England, accidentally destroys her cell and finds herself free of the prison's influence.


Unbroken

I AM SO EXCITD ABOUT THIS BOOK! First of all, because it's not mine. It's my sister Brisa's. She's writing it. I am her editor. I'm excited because she has been reading over my shoulder and giving me ideas and thoughts for the last 3 years for my books. And she's AMAZING! I've been trying to get her to write a book for a while. Imitation actually started as a possible idea for her, but it didn't go anywhere and I kind of took over {eh, bad me}. Basically, I have no license to say anything about Unbroken {though I'm 100% positive I could}. But I just had to tell you about it because it's going to be fantastic!!


Astroid

No. Not asteroid. Astroid. Although stars and asteroids and huge ice glaciers and starving Siberian Tigers play a huge roll in the fantasy plotline {only partially constructed}. There's also a journey across an impossible desert where dragons play with fire and hoard fallen sky-gems. Two rival nations have been at war for a millennia. At long last, the {people group which I cannot disclose but start with an O so we'll call them the O's} O's have conquered the K's. With their victory, the O's hope to claim the prosperity of much smaller K through a small asteroid {yes, really an asteroid this time}. The King thinks the charm of his enemy controls the revolution of the planet through gravitational magnetics. But there's danger lurking in the asteroid and only Sam {pseudo identity}, the King's illegitimate son, suspects it. When he's sent on a mission and forced to team up with the crown prince of the kingdom they just destroyed, Sam discovers there's more to fear than just the asteroid.


The Last Scribe
I got this book half written before I sort of burnt out. Not of ideas. I knew where it was going {sort of}, but I burnt up my time. I decided to get In the Shadow done. Then began Imitation. My Unicorn Has Wings came along next. And so on... So, really, I just need to sit down and finish it. Another fantasy like Astroid {actually conceived first}, prophecy is the internal drive for my protagonist, Breem. Confused, timid, shy...he's not really the hero type. But he's been thrust into an adventure he cannot abandon. Finding the true king of the dissolved Messeran kingdom is probably the only thing that will give him what he wants. Escape. But where do you look for a king who doesn't want to be found? Yeah, this sounds pretty lame. So we'll ignore it for a while. It really needs a rework/rewrite of what I already have done.


And so {temporarily} ends my list of books. I'm spending most of my time trying to {unsuccessfully} block out the million other story ideas clambering inside my skull for freedom.

What about you, writing buds? Any great and glorious plans {of domination} for 2014? Which idea do you like the most?

{Ah ha! You expect them to have a favorite from that threadbare lot?}

Ummmm....



The Depth

Going back through my archives, it's been interesting to see the different way's I've tried blogging.

There have been random days. Cliché days. Weird days. Story days. And God days.

After each of them, I have discovered my heart has a different reaction.

Actually, I don't know if I want to use that term. "My heart". It is so hollywoodized... It means so many different things. What I am trying to say is not the feel-good-sensory inside of me. It's not the thing that loves or hates. It's the part of me that feels conviction, rejoices, weeps, and forms opinions. That could be my soul. Or my mind too. There is no way to say exactly what it is.

I'm going to call it my Guard.

After posting something at random, I feel stressed. Did people like it? Was it stupid? Purposeless?

Ok, strike questions 2 and 3...

When I post cliché or weird, I am nervous. WHY did I do that? Everybody does that! Who's going to care about this? I just humiliated myself.

Story days tend to bore me. My own writing. My own tales... I'm creative. But unoriginal. Is that possible? I can tell a story. But not in a way to make people laugh. Not with the spark of life necessary to build a punch line.

The only time I can think of my Guard feeling satisfied when I click that "publish" button is God days. When I share what is going on inside me. What is building my faith and teaching me life lessons.

I've been re-surrendering things to God this week. Over the past month, I'd been trying to run things. "Trying" is the right expression. Talk about out of control! It was time to start afresh.

So I gave it all up again.

Funny how we have to do this over and over and over...

"For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all."

Romans 11:32

Over and over and over again I struggle with my sin. With how I can't beat it. Can't make it go away for good.

And believe it or not, my comfort is in the fact that I can't! Because that sin, those trials, suffering, all of it, forces me on my knees. Makes me go to Him. Pour out my cares.

There is a very old song, one that my mum would sing to me when I was no more the 2 or 3. Cast All Your Cares on Him. I love this song. I still sing it all the time, to remind me that when things are too much, He is there and He wants me to dump them at His feet!

It feels good to get on the right page again. Even if it's stained. I know I'm going to fall again. But that's not depressing. Because I know new lessons are between me and that new page. New opportunities and experiences and blessings and lessons.

I guess I'm not saying I'm only going to post God things. I would love to do that. But I relish the life He gave me too. Instead, I just want to bring Him glory, instead of try to bring the attention to me. Or a worldly pursuit.

"Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways.

'For who has known the mind of the Lord, 

or who has been his counselor?'

'Or who has given a gift to him 

that He might be repaid?'

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen."

 

 

When I Stare at the Sky

Once upon a time, I looked at the world with rose colored glasses. Everything was beautiful.

 

And then one day, someone took them off.

 

I saw ugliness. Cruelty. Pain.

 

I understood despair.

 

Do you ever just sit and imagine perfection of life? That feeling of security. Dependence. Peace. A wash of ultimate harmony. Beauty. All of it. Real.



When I was a child, I lived in this place. This perfection. I found everything simple. Glorious. It's not that I was ignorant. Or unaware. I chose to see a side of life that was far from the destruction of sin.

 

I'm not sure if that was necessarily a good or bad thing. I did not see the flaws in other people. I did not judge. But I did not see the heart of wickedness. The destruction of friendship through disloyalty and jealousy. I expected people to be good. And we are not.

That moment, when my eyes were opened to the real world, I was grieved. Deep down in my soul. Pain welled up. Overpowered. Tore me to pieces. I couldn't believe it. My perfect world. Nothing but a mist of shadows, a vapor of dreams...

 

I wept. For the world that was not. The world I saw could be. And watched disappear.

 

I asked my Daddy why, why God did not just sweep us up right off to Heaven. Why leave us here to suffer? When He is all knowing, why make us wade through this giant mess we call life?

 

My Dad sat me down on the couch. He looked me straight in the eye. And said, "If we do not understand sin, we cannot understand forgiveness. If we do not understand hate, the power of love is lost."

"For God has bound all men over to disobedience, that He may have mercy on them all." Romans 11:32. 

Once upon a time, there was perfection. In the garden of Eden. But God gave man a choice. He allowed corruption to infiltrate the world. So that He can show us His infinite grace...mercy...forgiveness....love.

 

There will always be the pain of failure. We will always mess up. We have been bound to it.

 

So that God can have mercy on us.

 

But it doesn't end there. If you accept that mercy. Plead for that forgiveness. Welcome that love...you will die to this corrupt flesh and rise again a new being in Christ! You will find eternity in perfection, in Heaven, the home of God's creation.

And it will be perfect.



Sometimes I still stare at the sky. I still wish things were perfect. That I wouldn't have to wonder. Feel this pain. Confusion. Humiliation. Sorrow.

But I know they are teaching me. Defining me. Refining me. For His power. And one day, perfection will come.



The long days stay with you...

One thing I remember about my childhood.

Those days I spent lingering at a window, waiting for people to arrive at my house, waiting for the sun to go down, waiting for my Daddy to get home....those times are some of the most imprinted in my mind.

Not because of the excitement for the upcoming fun.

Not because I was bored and anxious.

Not because there was nothing else to do {or that neither of the above weren't true...}.

I remember them because they were long. And my mind wandered. Through passages of thought. Through past actions. Through future dreams....

Sometimes, the waiting is the best part of life.

Right now, I am waiting. For a lot of things.

My business is on the verge of really starting to get out of the red and into the black. {Oh, that moment shall be dear!}

I will be started several new jobs in the upcoming month.

My future plans for a family are definitely on the waiting list...

My books just seem to need more and more and more and more work the longer I edit them.

There just seem to be PLANS for waiting everywhere in my life.

And I'm ok with that. Because I remember back to sitting in those window sills. Listening to my own thoughts revolve in my mind. I learned so much in those times of waiting. Depending on God. Searching my heart.



God has some pretty amazing ways of teaching us. And waiting is one of them.

I just want to encourage you today, if you are waiting on Him to act in your life, to complete a promise, fulfill a purpose, to just keep trusting and leaning on Him. In His own PERFECT timing, everything will fall into place. Then you can look back and see how all along, He was right there, planning every little step.

I like that.

A lot.



 

 

*THIS* is perfect:

 

 

 

some things don't need captions

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Stripes, dots, and...water?

I did another drawing this week!! As I admitted to Jonnah, I finally broke down and purchased REAL artwork paper.

Seriously, I can't believe I didn't do this sooner....

 

 

During the summer, my pups get a pool. I don't, but they do {not fair, at all}... They love it. I'm jealous. ~_*

 

 

Couldn't resist. Just too cute...

 

 

Theys soooo happy..... :D

 

 

 

 

Pretty.

 

 

Pretty.

 

 

Yes, they would, if they were close enough to hear. I pity them. Because they are not.

 

 

Absolute-tootingly true.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm in the mood for a laugh.

 

 

 

 

And that's how I like it. ~_*

 

 

 

 

And writing epic novels...

 

 

 

 

Never happens. MmHmm....

 

 

Totally have a friend who'd do this and pull it off in style...

 

 

Well.... ~_*

 

 

I died laughing. Really. I had to resurrect.

 

 

Tomorrow I am going to the lake for the first time since I have lived in Missouri!!! We actually have LOTS of lakes, but this is the most commonly visited. I've been to one other one {I'm not sure the name, Truman, I think}. But, anyhow, I'm going with one of my great friends and my two sis's and it's going to spectacularly fun!!! Yeps. So, anyhow, hopefully there'll be lots and lots of pics from that.

 

 

 

P.S. This was supposed to post yesterday, but blogger had a bug and wouldn't, so my next post will be right away {hopefully} with all our adventure pics!!! :D

 

When you feel like giving up...

Sometimes it's felt like this.

No, I'm not about to get all sappy on you. I did that already this month. {Was it really June? Feels like it was longer than that. Can you believe how the time flies! :P That post is embarrassing... sorry.}

Today I'm talking about my book {again. imagine that, with my current status on it and all. lol. don't you wish I'd open up Stories in the Mind again. ~_*}

I began this book when I was 13 {barely. literally had my birthday days before the idea popped into my head. but I won't cheat and say any differently}. It was practically a plagiarized, feminized Beric the Briton {G.A. Henty ~ STILL love that book and would recommend it to anyone}.

The idea popped into my head that though there were TONS of adventure books out there written for guys, there were very few targeted at girls.

Well, I have since had my eyes opened. My literature selection at 13 was pretty narrow. We had no access to the library and I had no friends. At all. You know, the ones you beg borrow books off of. And my parents were pretty strict about what kind of books found there way into the house {we bought anything that came in...so if we didn't want to own it...I didn't get to read it...}.

Still, erroneous or not, the idea was birthed and my serious journey began. {I'll be honest. this wasn't my first attempt at writing. I'd been writing for years...just not on this level.}

I remember lying on my belly on the living room floor, stacks of notebook paper sorted and piled around me, scribbling ideas for this book and that book, titles, ideas, and all...

As I said, this wasn't my first project. I was 150 pages into a novel about a girl on the Oregon trail... Not exactly sure where this idea began or what my intent with it was... I might not ever figure that one out. {It's pretty humorous to read, though!}

But this was different. This time, I began a journey that has taken six years to complete.

Yes. Six. :P

I think I wrote about 80 pages in the first two days. For a 13-year-old, that was pretty impressive. Three weeks in, I got the brilliant idea to combine another book idea I had with it to have two main characters.

Three years later I had a novel pushing 700,000 words and 700 pages. And finished{ish...}.

I printed it. {It weighted about three pounds and had to fit into two large ring binder folders.}

And gave it to my Mum and Dad to read.

Six months later they finished it...

All in all...I decided to start rewriting.

Again. And again. And again.

There were times when I pushed it away and didn't look at it for months.

Once I had an {apparently} brilliant idea that I half started {but didn't write down} and then I didn't touch the book for two months. To this day I have no idea where I was going with it, but had to entirely change what I wrote to fit my new plotlines....

Sometimes I got so sick of it I just wanted to quit. Not the book

Writing.

For good.

But I couldn't.

The more I would try to ignore it, the more my desire to write would spring up in me.

And so I would.

Did...

And today we are here.

Book #1 Completed and Copyrighted.

Sent to two beta readers. Two more on the platform. One down.


I look around at it all and I sometimes wonder. What if I had given up? What if I had stopped, decided it was too much work, not worth it after all, and who cares?

What if I had never decided to write?

The idea scares me.

And I am so thankful to God for giving me that tiny-winy idea and growing it into a massive life purpose.

Who knows what I would be now if not a writer?!

So, don't give up. On whatever your idea is. It could be singing, photography, dancing, acting, being a mum, WRITING, teaching, or driving a mail car over the countryside. Pursue it. Keep your ambition high. Don't forget.

Every big idea started with a little one.

:D

It might as well be Spring

 

I'm as restless as a willow in a windstorm
I'm as jumpy as a puppet on a string
I'd say that I had Spring fever
But I know it isn't Spring

I am starry-eyed and vaguely discontented
Like a nightingale without a song to sing
Oh, why should I have Spring fever
When it isn't even Spring?

I keep wishing I were somewhere else
Walking down a strange new street
Hearing words that I have never heard
From a man I've yet to meet

I'm as busy as a spider spinning daydreams
I'm as giddy as a baby on a swing
I haven't seen a crocus or a rosebud or a robin on the wing
But I feel so gay in a melancholy way
That it might as well be Spring

<3

 

 

When Time Flies

Do you ever catch yourself thinking, just where did that day go? Or maybe tried to figure out how the time zoomed past so quickly?

Or perhaps you just wonder how it escaped you that May is over and June has begun...

It seems like the more I try to capture each moment, the more they slip away from me. Time crawls. And disappears.



I seem to be soul searching more and more these days. And the more I learn, the more I examine my heart. The more I fail, the more I seek answers.

Have you ever been surrounded by laughing friends and felt alone?
Have you ever been touched by a sunset and felt like crying?
Have you ever stared into the eyes of someone you loved and know they didn't love you back?
Have you ever woken to singing birds and known that the only option was to pretend to smile?
Have you ever been trapped in your own disgust?
Have you ever thought there was no way out?


I learned something this week.

I learned that I hate myself.

Every part of me.

I know the ugliness of my own heart. I know the jagged edges and bitter tastes. I know the anger and jealousy. I know the blackness deep in my soul.

I admit them. I am human. Bare. Brittle. Bound to failure. {Romans 11:32}

Raw emotion cannot be erased. Shattered hearts cannot be remade.

I also realized that I expect myself to be perfect. I hold myself to a standard so high, the bar cannot be seen.... And it rips me apart, because I always fail and will always fail.


So I made a few decisions.

 

 

First of all, I am going to stop hating myself.

God made me just the way I am. He likes me. He LOVES me. He wants me to be this way. I cannot be perfect and I should not expect perfection. I have been washed in the blood of Christ and before God I am a pure lamb. I am free of guilt and shame and mistakes.

I am going to appreciate the things He has made. And I am one of them.

Second, I am going to live like no one is watching. How many times have I admitted to you that I am a people pleaser?

I think I have finally snapped the chord. God and God alone matters now. I am exhausted. I am broken. And it is all my own fault. I try so hard to please people I don't even need to. I do things I don't like just to make them happy. I pretend to not care when I care very much.

This time, it is not something that I have decided. God actually showed me how ridiculous I was. He showed me all the things I was doing to get other people's attention. He showed me how silly I was. If someone wants to be with me...they will be. They will choose me. It is not hard for me to give love back to someone. If they try...I WILL love them back. It is my nature. But from now on, I am not going to chase empty smiles. I know who loves me and who does not by what they say and do. It is no mystery. And I know that the friends that really love me are going to be my real friends and I am going to stop chasing fruitless friendships. I am going to do what I love. I am going to do what God asks of me and stop ignoring the small voice whispering in my thoughts for the desires of my own heart.

It is time.

Time to be a voice, not an echo.



 

 

Sometimes, you can't explain some love. Sometimes, it goes deeper than your head. It springs from your heart.

 

I am going to give this love to God. Let Him control it. Let Him move it. Let Him guide it.

 

And wait for Him to lead down the path it takes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hadn't intended to baer my heart tonight. It just sort of happened. I guess I am learning to stop hiding. I hid for years, in fear. And I am beginning to learn that some things are meant to be shared. So that we can learn from each other. We have to be vulnerable to rejection to be open to acceptance.

 

 

 

 

This has my song the last few weeks: