The Girl In the Mirror

It was Sunday morning, and my best friend and I settled into our seats in the room of the kids church. We eagerly waited for our teacher to announce the surprise that was happening that morning...
A theater troupe was going to perform for us!

Excited, we saw some of the god and goddess-like "older kids" who were performing walk up and down the sides of the room, bustling to get the last things ready.

The play began. I have always been spellbound by live performances, even at the elementary level, I am always moved by people, especially humble people, putting themselves onto a stage and giving their energy to an audience.

During one particular scene, I sat on the edge of my seat... A mirror was rolled onto the stage, and clouds of dry ice billowed onto the stage. Then, in the mirror, appeared a girl with golden hair, a beautiful dress, and the most beautiful aura I had ever seen. She was pretty, but that wasn't the reason she caught my attention...

She was magic. She was kind. She was a queen.

In the play, she was the villain, but I leaned over to my friend and whispered, "I know she's not good in the play, but she HAS to be good in real life!"

And I thought to myself nine year old self, I want to be just like that when I get older...

To this day, I still think of the girl in the mirror when I think of who I want to be. You NEVER know just when or how you will make an impact on someone. Be strong, and brave, and beautiful not for yourself, but for others.

Perhaps someone will see the way you carry yourself with beauty and confidence, and if you smile at them you will give them confidence of their own. Someone a few steps behind you on the journey of life is always looking at you. May you be the one who inspires them to say, "I want to be just like that when I grow up..."

Much love,
Ashley

Where Are You Headed now, Ms. Ashley?

Hello all,

It's been such a long while since I've posted anything, but I wanted to let you all know that I'm not dead, and that I have been meaning to return to the blogosphere for some time now, I just wasn't quite sure what to say...

I've been going through so much these past couple years, and I feel at a loss to adequately share my thoughts and memories with you all. This blog is a sort of sacred place for me. Not very many people know about it, so I feel that I can truly share myself in a way that helps me get things off my chest, and forces me to record my history in an engaging way. I'm being my own therapist and practicing my craft at the same time! HAHA!

BUT... I've never really known what to share... I've followed lots of different blogs through the years, and I always loved the ones that shared deep, personal experiences. But that gets murky and scary when you are trying to lead a professional life online. I don't want to overshare, and yet I feel that my experiences could really help others.

All that to say, I think I've found my formula. My blog needs to be SNAPSHOTS of my life and thoughts. I also don't mind overlapping these snapshots through my art, my vlog, and my writing because it just deepens my experience with my thoughts. SO, if you follow all my various threads tat I put into the universe, you will probably think, "Hey, she already talked about this twice!" But that is ok ;)

This blog is going to be dedicated to my human experience while on this planet earth. It will be comprised of blog posts, photos, and poems that best describe what it was like to be alive during the years 1993-2070. I will share my strongest memories, the things that truly stand out to me, and life advice from myself and others who are alive at this time.

This is my story.
Much love,
Ashley