MySpace Can Be YourSpace

Remember MySpace? I guess it’s still a ‘thing’ for some people, like bands and pedophiles. Sorry, Tom.

I was SUCH a MySpacer. I think somewhere on my resume I even listed I was a part-time photographer. I mean, come on, those perfectly angled photos weren’t going to take themselves. Am I right or am I right?? Hello, Internet. I’m here to model for you.

Bless my MySpace heart.

I’m way more sophisticated these days. I don’t JUST take ‘please tell me how pretty I look’ photos anymore. I post photos of random silliness, good eats, fun peeps and everything in between. I want you to see me. I want to share and I want you to share with me. But, I’ll only post the good ones.

Pose, crop, filter and publish.

I don’t want you to see my wrinkles, muffin top,  dark circles or gloomy days. You won’t see a photo of me first thing in the morning, sulking about being single or me being lazy when I should be working towards my goals. I want you to see the cleaned up, in control and inspirational version of me. If we’re honest, most of us want to see that side of each other in real life too.

Crop out your dirty, add a filter and then show me you.

As much as I love good lighting and filters for photos, in real life I don’t want that. I want the real, raw you. I don’t want to just talk about your job or hear stories about how your cat, Fluffy, did the darndest thing the other day. I want to ask tough questions and look underneath your fingernails for grit, pain and regret. I want to know what makes you laugh, what you aspire to do and encourage you along the way.

We’ve all got stuff. We’ve all hurt someone and we’ve all been hurt.

I don’t say that to discount the very unique, sensitive and painful parts of ourselves. But, it’s important to know we’re not alone in our struggles, fears and loneliness. One of the biggest lies we can believe is that no one will understand/forgive/care or that we’re the only ones with our particular type of hurt, past or fear.

There’s freedom in honesty and life in authenticity.

Now, this isn’t all just for sloppy agape sake. I’m not saying go to your local bar and tell everyone that will listen the deepest darkest secrets of your life. We’ve all been around that person and it’s not so pretty. But, I firmly believe there’s freedom in opening up your white-knuckled fist to let some things go to someone you trust. We all need that haven and we all need to be that haven for someone else.

Our lives uncropped, imperfectly angled and with #nofilter.

This is where you come in. I want YourSpace to invade MySpace. The more I talk to people, the more I realize that most people only share the ‘photo worthy’ parts about themselves and have been holding onto the muck in their hearts for so long that they feel they’ll never feel or look any differently. They’ve accepted that change is improbable and hope impossible.

I’m passionate about relationships, redemption and realness and I want to hear from you.

I want 5 people to honestly answer 5 questions and I’ll share their answers and mine on 5 different blog posts. My guest’s answers will be anonymous, unless they request otherwise. So, if you’re interested in sharing, leave a comment on this post or message me by clicking “Chatterbox Me!” on my site.

I look forward to hearing from you, but more than that, I want you to know this…

You are loved. You are not forgotten. There is hope.