A few days ago I posted my first shitpost an idea of starting an Unexpected Journey… a way to help myself come out of my comfort zone and start a process, or journey, of self growth.


The idea is to be more myself, to explore who I really am and be more confident in my own skin... while also doing things I would never do before, but have maybe always wanted to. To stop worrying about the what if’s and start living… really living.

_{Of course it is a Lord Of The Rings reference, come on guys... get with the program}


I somehow in this crazy thought process decided to make Steemit a big part of this journey, to document some of the process here and hopefully convince some of you all to join me on the journey.

Why Here?

Well, because it is not something I would normally do in the past… I don’t like sharing personal things and don’t really blog much, let alone about myself. So, since this whole thing is about getting out of my comfort zone, sharing on this platform that I have grown to love only seems fitting.

The Challenge

The idea is to start A Year Of Firsts, I will be sharing a list here (I promise I am almost to the point of this post, stay with me)... not only for the accountability but also to include you beautiful people in my personal journey and hopefully to encourage others to maybe start their own Unexpected Journey. Life is too short to not live it to its fullest.

My Year Of Firsts To Do List

For me personally, this journey is very much about myself, and growing as a person. To stop worrying so much about what others think, stop pretending I have it all together and just accept that I am a broken human being trying to do the best I can.


I am not the only one right? Oh good, now that that’s settled here is my random list of things I would like to accomplish this year and little bit of my reasoning of why they are on the list.

#1. Go To #Steemfest On STEEM

<sub>This one is probably the most outrageous one on the list, so it seems fitting I should explain it first.



source by @roelandp</sub>


Why #Steemfest? Because never in a million years would I ever fly overseas by myself, to a conference to meet individuals that I don’t know in real life ... to talk about a platform based on crypto currencies. I mean really… but not that I didn’t want to, in fact when steemfest was talked about I always wanted to go, but it’s just not something I would do normally. It is unexpected...


So, being that this challenge is about doing those things I want to do but never have the courage, Poland here I come…


I have a lot of positive reasons why attending would be beneficial for the initiatives that mean so much to me on this platform. Not to mention to have the opportunity to meet some of the individuals from this platform that I have come to know as friends. How amazing is it that steemit is bring people from all walks of life together? I plan to do a whole post on those specifically, so I will leave it at that for now.

#2. Travel To Places I Have Never Been

This is an easy one right? Everyone wants to travel...not only do I want to explore far off places, but also to take the time to explore the beautiful places around me. To notice the small things and live every day reminding myself of the beauty in the world.

#3. Learn Real Photography

Sigh, I have started on this one… and it’s not going as smoothly as I would like, but I am not giving up!


I have always loved photography and find myself noticing scenes I want to capture. While I having been sharing shots that I have taken with my phone (I know, I know… that’s not real photography), I want to learn the art and skills behind photography as well as experiment with film photography and developing my own film.


I know this will be a long journey but I hope in a years time I will be leaps and bounds from where I am now.

#4. Take Self Portraits 🙄

_source


This one is the least likely to happen hahaha... I hate taking my own photo (the first one up there took me hours to convince myself to post).


I just don’t like it, I am uncomfortable and awkward and quite frankly feel like a fool posting photos of myself. Sooo what better thing to do to get myself out of my comfort zone?? And hopefully helping me to be more comfortable in my own skin… or just embarrass myself, it could go either way.


Now, I don’t mean selfies!! Selfies will never be a part of my daily life... BUT using yourself as part of your artwork to evoke a certain emotion I think is beautiful.. there are many photographers that do it well on this platform and I am going to try to get comfortable in this… I can’t promise anything on this one though.

#5. Share My Story

There have been many events in my life that have made me who I am, flaws and all… but someone (yes my Mother) seems to think that sharing some of these experiences might help someone else who is in the same shoes.


I get it, I have benefited from reading many stories of people’s personal struggles and triumphs. I think it makes you realize you aren’t alone in this struggle and that other people have been where you are.. that is important.


While I don’t think I am a good writer/blogger/inspirational speaker, I plan to share more… and try to express those things through blogging here. If it inspires one person it will be worth it.

#6. Learn To Play Guitar

_source


This one has been like 20 years in the making… I love music, and I mean really love it. Music touches my soul and effects me on a deep emotional level. Playing guitar is something I have always wanted to do, but never had the courage to try… so… here goes nothing.


Also, that means I have to keep a promise I made to @pechichemena when we first started @helpie and join @openmic as well… 😩


Yes, that was the deal… if I ever learned to play guitar I said I would enter. It was a total cop out at the time, but a promise is a promise.

#7. Start My Own Business

A few years ago I switched to making all my own natural products rather than buying them. At the time I sold them locally to a few friends and at farmers markets but have never put much effort into it.


My passion is more for teaching individuals how to make their own products and giving them the courage to do so through hands on classes. So, I plan to launch a online business to sell my products as well as offer classes locally to teach others exactly how to do it.


I also want to start doing video tutorials here on steemit to help reach as many people as I can. I think knowledge is power, and I want to share all I can with the individuals on this platform. To me Steemit is so full of amazing people learning from each other’s experiences and I want to be apart of that.

#8. Be Real

_{I can’t take a serious picture... annnddd I can’t believe I just posted that, I am gonna regret that in the morning...}


This one is a bit all encompassing, but I want to focus more on being myself; the goofy, nerdy... silly hearted crazy girl I am… and finding out who I am exactly.


I want to say what I mean, and not what I think others want to hear. I want to say no when I want to say no, and not just try to please others. I want to spend time with those that make my life better and not waste time on those that add negativity to it. I want to learn my self worth and live life to the fullest… that shouldn’t be too hard right!? Hey, it’s all about taking one day at a time…

This #unexpectedjourney will be one of self discovery, adventure and taking the time to really live this beautiful life I was given. Hopefully a year from now I can look back and see that this was the start of something special, and I hope it will be the start of something special for you too.


So,

When Does Your Unexpected Journey Begin?

_{Want to join me for a Year Of Firsts?
Use the tags #unexpectedjourney and #yearoffirsts.. let’s grow together.}