I have a secret!

  Hello everyone! Before I dive into this post, I want to thank those who have read my blog and are already so incredibly supportive! I am one of the luckiest people in the world when it comes to knowing that I will have that support no matter what I venture into. So once again thank you so so so much, it means the world to me!

  Now on to the actual post that has been on my mind.  As I mentioned in my last post, I am a big fan of watching "beauty gurus" on YouTube.  Well, today one of them posted a tag video called my top 10 secrets.  In addition to this video, every Sunday I read a blog called "Sunday Secrets" from PostSecret.  "PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard" (http://www.postsecret.com/).  On most Sundays, postcards have been randomly chosen and posted to this website for everyone to read.  On other Sundays, there is a kind of theme, ie. Father's Day etc.  I am a huge fan of not only the website, but the entire idea, and that people everywhere are struggling with secrets of their own and can release some of their issues into the world without feeling like they are being judged.  While some secrets are heart-wrenching, others are kind of silly.  Regardless of what the secret is, they are all expressions of the people who sent them and it is thoroughly inspirational.

  I guess with these two things together today, I took it as a kind of sign.  Everyone around us has a past and things that I will never know about them that make them who they are.  Everyone also has different struggles that they deal with daily whether it is a conscious act or not.  I think that once you are comfortable with your secrets or have learned how to deal with them, life becomes a beautiful thing.  I recently dealt with one of my secrets and it has changed my life.

  For those of you who may not know me, I am pretty open about what goes on in my life.  I enjoy getting other people's perspectives on my personal struggles so if you ask me a question you may get more information than you ever dreamed of.  I have no regrets in life, because I very firmly believe that everything that I've experienced has gotten me to the person that I am today.  However, I wasn't always as steadfast in that belief.

  I very recently got divorced.  My secret was that I wasn't happy in my marriage, I wasn't me.  I changed everything about myself and moved across the country to be with someone who didn't really appreciate the real me.  Part of this is my fault because I allowed the changes to take place. I desperately wanted my marriage to succeed and I thought that changing me was the only way it would happen.  Instead, I ended up hating myself and lacking any shred of confidence.  It was no way to live. 

  I faced all of it though and it took me a long time to get to where I am now.  But I wouldn't change any of the pain and hurt that I went through because I truly am the happiest I have ever been. 

   I want to encourage you to share a secret, it doesn't have to be huge or life-shattering but it can be if you want to.  Reading "Sunday Secrets" helped me come to realize my own.  So if you feel like it, you can leave an anonymous comment below and maybe it will set you free.

  Thank you so much for reading once again, and love yourself!!

Love always,
      Rachel