Blog #1 Spontaneous Authenticity

Hey! Welcome to my first blog post!

I have wanted to have a blog for a while now so here it is. I'm not expecting a lot of people to read this but I've decided to do this for myself. The idea of having a blog seems so appealing and I'm hoping this can scratch my creative itch. I'd love to put something up every week. I'll be talking about topics or ideas that have been on my mind the past week or anything I find interesting. This week I want to talk about Spontaneity and authenticity.

Spontaneity is a trait that I never previously associated myself with. As a kid, I was very cautious, took very few risks and was quite unlikely to do something potentially risky or unplanned.

Since entering my 20s, that's something I've really wanted to change about myself. As apart of seeing a therapist and just getting control of my life as an adult I had to figure out my values and how I wanted to live.

I wrote out a list of values that did not necessary resonate with myself at the time but resonated highly with my aspirations.

Some of those values were...

Courage

Honestly

Joy

And... spontaneity

I hate to break it to you but, simply writing down which values you want to embody will not magically transform you into the dream you. This will begin a new way of living your life though. Living your life authentically and in a way that aligns with your desires is perhaps the most important thing you can do.

So far 2024 has been the year of me asking myself "Does this align with my values?" 

As I came to understand living in this way is living authentically. To live authentically is to live in a way that aligns with your values.

Unfortunately it's not easy. I've had to act in a way that opposes my current natural instincts but aligns with my new values. This has meant action both big and small.

Sometimes it's as simple as answering a simple question in a way that is more accurate to my values and sometimes it means getting a tattoo...

Fresh Tattoo

For my 21st I decided to get a tattoo. I had wanted something for a while now but indecision and a general fear of getting something I might regret held me back. 

Until about a week before my birthday I was scrolling through Instagram and an apprentice put up a post advertising some patchwork designs that she was doing. I messaged her out of the blue explaining how I've never had a tattoo, how I'm curious but cautious, and most importantly how I had no money...

Like it was meant to be Sophie [Tattoo artist] told me that she was actually doing free Tattoos the coming week. So I booked in on the day of my birthday party and got my first tattoo.

Getting a tattoo from a new artist, for your first tattoo, after less than a week of consideration... on your arm is pretty spontaneous as far as I'm concerned.

I was so proud and so happy with how it turned out. I chose to live spontaneously and move in a direction that made me more like who I want to be. Which is what brings me back to this blog. If you told me from a couple of years ago that I'd be writing about myself so openly and then putting it out on the internet I wouldn't believe you. I'd likely be embarrassed. I’m actually nervous whilst editing this but I must live authentically.

I do not expect many people to read this but that is okay I did it for me. Just as not everyone in my family understood my abrupt choice to get a tattoo not everyone will understand why I have chosen to write this blog.

The answer is the same for both. I'm writing this blog because I want to and because it brings me closer to being who I want to be.

I'm really excited to use this website and blog as a place to write, share, learn, and even bitch about the day to day. I hope you can get something out of it.

Thanks for reading :)