New YouTube conversation Ep.2| Authenticity and Passion Through the Lens of Life. I am beyond thrilled to share this passionate and inspiring conversation with my my dear friend, Christine Johnson: Renowned Photographer. Creative. Entrepreneur. Airbnb Superhost.

Photography is more than just capturing images: it's about documenting stories, emotions, and the essence of life. In this heartfelt conversation with Christine, we dive into her journey from modeling to becoming a renowned photographer, her health challenges with MS, and how she has embraced authenticity in her personal and professional life.

I began paying attention to my how my body looked around the age 10-11 when my body really was starting to change, and I had gained weight as I was arriving at puberty. I had a significant growth spurt around 11 ½, I went from 5’7ish to 5’10 in just a few months. My first period arrived shortly after my 12th birthday. I found myself at the awkward stage of being so tall in 7th grade and that I had become self-conscious of my height. I found myself hunching over when walking between classes as I was towering over all the kids in my school.

I turned 44 this July and have found myself at arrival with my hormones shifting, hello perimenopause! My desire to write and share my words around this taboo subject is to acknowledge perimenopause and menopause. To not feel ashamed or that this transition process should be navigated solely. I am so grateful to have a group of inspiring women, very close friends of mine that range in age from 5 to 10 years wiser than I. Within this sacred group of women, is supportive and transparent communication around all of life’s peaks and valleys, including health, wellbeing and yes, hormonal shifts.

I am very familiar with addiction, I know the hurt, the pain, confusion, abandonment, heart-break addiction causes loved ones. My sister and I grew up with addiction in our family system…

Change is in the air, externally with the seasons changing and internally with shifts in our lives, our perspectives and our very being. The question is, how do we invite the shifts of change instead of fighting to keep comfortable, sameness. For myself personally, I am experiencing a shake up in both my external and internal reality. So, my writings arrive with truth, acknowledgement, and a dose of surrender.

I first learned of epigenetics from my therapist 6 years ago. I had shared with my therapist that I experienced emotional and physical trauma when I was younger from a grandparent. I also shared that though I have vivid memories of inappropriate behaviors from my childhood with this caregiver; I was also experiencing somatic contraction in my body as an adult and wasn’t sure if there was a correlation?

A New Year is upon us which offers abundance with new beginnings and opportunities. I love choosing one Word for the New Year to live, breathe, integrate into my emotional, physical, and energetic language. My word for 2023 is Omnificent, I first heard and felt this word thru listing to a podcast with Laurel Airica as the guest. Laurel is a wordsmith, writer, and speaker. I had never heard of omnificent before but when Laurel speak to it in the Aubrey Marcus Podcast, I immediately pushed pause to look up the definition…Omnificent: Unlimited creative power. In that moment, I choose Omnificent for my 2023 word of the year.

New OnWord Journeys YouTube Channel: In conversation with one of my best friends Danica Patrick, Danica and I speak to finding comfort in the discomfort. Danica courageously shares about her healing journey, some of the ugliness of the process, which ultimately creates growth and blossoming. Danica also shares about her awakening through the mystery and mystic ways of trusting the unknown…

This month, May 2021 is Mental Health month. It has been a long time coming that mental health comes to the forefront with introspection and education versus the old stigma full of shame and judgment. Asking for help, sharing your emotional wellbeing, allowing yourself to “feel” is a part of our very essence of human nature. Vulnerability is now perceived as courageous instead of weak. In this blog post, my intention is to offer connectivity thru sharing my personal story; I also have included some self-inquiry journal prompts along with a self-love affirmation. 

This post is a vulnerable share about my journey being an Empath. I heard the term of being “empathic” feeling “empathy” but for someone to be an actual empath… was unknown to me. I’ve always considered myself to be extremely sensitive with my emotions and feeling the energy of a room and with people. I have vivid, visceral memories from the young age of 5, going into a room with a lot of people, whether it was a classroom, birthday party family gathering, and feeling a lot of different discomforts, often feeling a sense of overwhelm but not sure why?

Beautiful…what does this word mean to you? In our society, beauty is seen thru external perfected imagery.  From airbrushed models in magazines to perfectly casted commercials and flawlessly edited social media posts.  It’s no wonder how beauty has become defined by outward appearance.  My question is this, “How do we take off our tainted lenses of preconceived external acceptance and see the true beauty illuminating within each of us?”