Seen.

I'm a person who gets excited about a new stage.

"Back to school" shopping is one of the best things ever.

Even though I never actually stopped going to school,

I graduated in May,

started my graduate school program in June,

finished a semester's worth of work,

and am now beginning new classes this week...

I still spent some dollars on new notebooks,

some pretty, colorful pens,

and a new journal.

I'll take every excuse I can think of to begin anew.

I want to take the chances of change to re-think my way of living.

I want to read my Bible more often, and get back on track with my reading plan.

I want to open my journal and express my thought-life on paper.

I want to pray for the things I tell people I will pray for.

But I've also been re-thinking this blog.

My goals for this blog are simple: 

I want to encourage & give hope through honesty.

I've been challenging myself recently to be a little more vulnerable.
to let myself be a little more seen.

Sometimes I err on the introverted side so much
that no one knows where I am anymore.

what I'm thinking,

what my hopes are,

why my struggles are.

That's why I blog.

Because this is my sharing place.

Key words are 

transparency, genuineness, congruency.

My hope is that those who read this blog will walk away thinking,

"I'm so glad I'm not the only one."
That in the end this blog wouldn't really be about me at all.

My biggest hope is that we will all walk away and
be real in relationship with those around us,

That sharing would not stop in cyberspace.

Because whether we know it or not, 

everyone's heart is broken somewhere,

and our struggles are oftentimes more similar than we think.