Brave, Blooming, Beautiful
Hi, everyone!
I’m Ciarra! If you don’t already know me, I would love for you to check out my about me page. I am a photographer (if my website didn’t give it away), so there is a lot relating to who I am as a photographer on that page, but you will also find pretty much everything you need to know about my life and what’s most important to me. So check it out if you haven’t already!
I wanted to start a blog for a few reasons. First reason being: I’m someone who thinks… a lot. I’m constantly writing thoughts down so I don’t forget them before I move on to my next thought. And I am way better with my thoughts, my words and my feelings when they are written down- I always have been. I think it’s super important for me (and everyone) to share feelings, opinions, dreams, challenges… all the stuff that we sometimes kept hidden away. I want to be able to talk about real things- topics that relate to people. And hopefully I can be open about topics that will be exactly what someone needs to hear, at the time they need to hear it. Second reason: I am a stay-at-home momma, and that comes with so many NEW things, for both me and Kyndrik. New learning experiences, new struggles, new things we try and do throughout the day- and I want to document it as best as I can. New moms or experienced moms- we all go through similar struggles and emotions, so anything related to “parenting” will be a pretty normal topic of discussion. Final reason: Because I am staying at home, I have been trying to keep myself busy doing things that I enjoy. I need outlets and projects and photography- things that will allow me to stay at home and not feel exhausted from having the same routine (cooking, cleaning, laundry, repeat). I want Kyndrik to get the best of me- everyday- so I plan on doing what I need to do for myself in order to be that for her.
A quick explanation into my blog title.
I feel that no matter where we are in life or what season we are in, we are all going through something that is brave, blooming or beautiful- probably all three. We all have a story, and while our stories are very different, we all share similar experiences at some point- something that defined who we are, changed who we are, pushed us to grow, opened our eyes to something new. I thought a lot about this title, and I wanted to make it something that would relate to everyone, and also something that I could incorporate on a normal basis.
I wholeheartedly believe that ALL of our stories show bravery, show us blooming, and are beautiful, especially in the times that may seem messy, unpredictable, overwhelming, or just freaking painful.
Brave - ‘exhibiting courage; to meet or face courageously’
Being brave doesn’t mean doing something heroic and everyone applauding and praising you for what you just did. Bravery- in the most simple form- is doing something courageous for YOU; something that took a lot of strength in you. Enduring a bad situation, overcoming a fear or insecurity, forgiving someone for hurting you, leaving a bad relationship, taking that new job, healing a broken area in your life, grieving over someone… Bravery can look like SO many different things. All I know is, we are more brave than we give ourselves credit for.
Blooming - ‘thriving; growing; flourishing’
All of our stories- maybe just certain chapters in our story- have included some sort of difficulty, or pain, or adversity. And in every one of those challenging situations we face, in every chapter of our story that may seem exhausting or uncomfortable - we are blooming in ways that we could have never imagined for ourselves. With every one of those situations, we are planting seeds and preparing ourselves for growth, even when it may feel like we are stuck or uncertain of what is to come. We all want to see growth or the end result so quickly (I’m very guilty of this), but planting the seeds and watering them is part of the process; it is part of blooming. It may happen slowly or imperfectly, but you are blooming.
Beautiful - ‘having beauty; pleasing or satisfying’
In my opinion, the word beautiful has a powerful and strong meaning to it, and I think it’s a very underrated word. Especially when it comes to experiences and people, the word beautiful can definitely have the power to change how someone may view themselves or the situation they’re facing. It’s probably not as difficult to convince someone that fighting their way through a painful time is brave, or that what they are going through is making them stronger and helping them grow and bloom- but I think it’s harder to understand and believe that your challenges, your pain, your grief, your mistakes, are all part of a BEAUTIFUL story. It might not seem like it now, but I can tell you from my personal struggles, what we face during difficult times is preparing us for so many beautiful emotions, relationships, changes, and experiences.
you- and only you- have the power
to define yourself and your story as
brave, blooming and beautiful.
I plan on regularly sharing experiences in my life, or stories of others, where these three aspects shine light in our everyday lives. If you would like to share something with me that represents one of these, please email me!