You people: you light me up. It’s true! I’m paying by the minute for airplane wireless right now as I float over Mississippi,* and my coruscating insides are positively beaming out my nostrils. Flight risk?… Possibly dangerous, radioactive girl-guts?

Naw, I’m just blown away by your super-colossal love. I’m counting all my new friends and giggling maniacally as Warren Buffet surely does when counting his millions; and I’m oh so grateful for the encouragement and kind words from those who know me in real-time. And can I just say it? I’m pretty darn pleased with myself! I’m a big believer in talking through problems, and it kills me that there are millions of women silently suffering because they don’t feel like they can open up about their food issues. I’m proud to have spat in the metaphysical eye of that particular taboo, and I hope that those who need solidarity in their struggles found it in my story, and the stories of everyone who commented.

*My computer died mid-flight, obv, so I’m writing to you from the desert… or rather, a grocery store coffee shop in the desert. I typically don’t do “work” on vacation, but I’m so filled with ardor, sunshine and widespread oomph that I can’t not share the causes of said radioactive girl-guts. Here we go:

1. You all, as always… and now that I’ve really put myself out there, I feel more connected to you than ever! If you want to catch this weird, giddy sensation, I would suggest that you allow me to sneeze on you share something. Something a little scary and complicated and bigger than you. Leave a confessional comment here; seek out your boyfriend, your sister, your local preacher man/woman and spill. Do it.

2. Go somewhere foreign. I went to the desert, which may as well be the Moon, but you could… you know… go to a part of town that you don’t normally frequent, or a bar that doesn’t cater to “your kind of people.” I can be a real hipster-vegan-jerk, y’all, and I’m always shocked when I have fun in a sports bar full of thirty year old frat boys, or meat markets both literal and figurative. The truth is, I basically have fun everywhere I go if I go with an open mind. Go. Observe Creep. Learn something… about Hispanic art, Polish pastries, ways in which you can come to accept a bro in his native bro-bitat. Implode your brain!

3. Hang out with lots of little kids. In this instance, don’t creep; just be. I’ve been doing this all day, and I don’t think I’ve ever felt more special or more adult. They think I’m a princess! They also think I’m sixty years old!… I’ll take it!

4. Go outside! Easy for me to say – it’s warm and wonderful where I am now. But I’m a person who walks miles through Chicago slush on my lunch break for some natural (grey) light and Whole Foods hot bar. Escape, friend! It’ll do your bod and noggin a world of good.

On that note, I need to get back to the business of leisure. Thank you all again, from the illuminated depths of my glow-y soul. I’ll see you all back here as soon as I can… but in the meantime, what lights you up? Any additional tips for insta-inspiration? Check out some other inspiration posts for more ideas: a one, a two…

XOXO,
Rose