Last week, there was a blog post bouncing around the internet called
"Things I'm afraid to tell you" from the Makeunder My Life blog by Jess Constable. There was a little discussion on Twitter about how bloggers in general only share the best and most shiny/glamorous parts of themselves and their lives on their blogs and how this could be cultivating a feeling of inadequacy among readers. I know I've read many blog posts and thought to myself, "her wardrobe is so much nicer than mine" or "my desk is never that tidy!". So the idea for this network of posts today is to share some "real" information about ourselves, to gain some authenticity and help make some human connections. Cause really, a fancy pair of shoes and a neat desk aren't really that important in the big scheme of things.
I know I've shared some of the history of my Etsy business and my
start in screen printing. That I was in-between jobs and had a bit of time on
my hands and it was something I always wanted to try. All of these things are
true, but I never revealed the reason I was unemployed and had lots of time to
myself. The truth is I was suffering from an autoimmune disorder that was
pretty debilitating. It can be compared to multiple and continuous allergic
reactions, only I wasn't allergic to anything. It initially popped up when I
high school. It lasted a couple of months, then went away, for almost 10 years.
This time, though, it was much worse. It wasn't life-threatening, just painful,
exhausting, mentally taxing, and isolating. I tried to keep my job, but as my
condition continued to worsen and I wasn't responding to medications, I decided
to leave my position and my little apartment and move back home to focus on
getting better. It was a long process and I was in pretty bad shape for about a
year and a half. The medications made me very tired (and didn't help most of
the time) and I didn't have much energy. But during that time, I had a chance
to think about who I would be and what I would do when I got better. I finally
realized that I shouldn't be denying or hiding my creativity like I had been
for years. I also realized that I needed to try to live a life that was more
true to myself, because no one was going to do it for me. My priorities changed
and so did my perspective.
Today I'm pretty
much back to normal. I'm not taking any medications and haven't had any
flare-ups in a few years. Even though this happened a while ago, it isn't
something I like to talk about because it doesn't define me. It did change me,
though, for the better I think. Right in the middle of all of that grief, I
taught myself how to screen print, started my Etsy shop, and made my first sale
within something like 4 days of posting my first items. Something about this
battle with my health gave me courage to go after my goals with more energy
that I think I would have had otherwise. For that I am forever grateful.
Even though this story has a somewhat happy ending, I'm still worried that this thing will come back, and it could at any time. I could be ok for 10 years (like I was before) or I could be sick again tomorrow. Of course this scares the bejesus out of me. I just have to take it one day at a time.
So, even if no one
reads this, I hope it will be a good written reminder to myself: To get some
perspective when the little things get to me. Because, when it comes down to
it, a day you wake up healthy is a day when the world is at your feet (even when you're not wearing those super-cute shoes).
*If you'd like to
read other honest, personal posts from many other lovely bloggers out there,
click
here to see a full list of other bloggers participating in this
"Thing's I'm Afraid to Tell You" challenge. Thank you to Ez from
Creature Comforts for organizing this challenge!
