The Beginning
I bought this blog space because I had a dream. A creative inspiration that made me jump out of bed and start writing. Writing about it all. It was the very first time in a long time that I felt inspired. It felt empowering. It felt life-changing. But I had no idea what that would feel like until later. It's crazy how quickly my life has changed, how quickly all of our lives have changed. Sometimes, it takes the biggest downfalls to experience the most change.
The interesting thing about downfalls, though, is it's all about perspective. One moment you think something is bad, and then all of a sudden it changes into something great. The smallest change in reality can create the largest change in perspective. This downfall I'm referring to is COVID-19. Being in the school of public health, I understand the depths of this virus and the impact it is having on all of us, everywhere. I understand the impact of loss, as I have experienced it myself, as well as the impact of being uprooted from your understanding of reality and the life you have always lived. Maybe I don't understand. But I want to. And I want to reach people in a way that I myself wished I had been reached prior to this pandemic. Just because the circumstances are bad, and just because our lives are different, it doesn't mean there aren't a multitude of lessons to learn through these struggles. There is, in fact, an abundance to learn. I know I already have.
My blog space resembles the dream I had months ago. Titled "Venture to Happiness", my dream is all about perspective. It's all about one's journey through life, and the good and the bad and everything in between. But mostly, it stresses how one might travel the path of life and somehow stumble into happiness. Into beauty. It is all about opening our eyes, our ears, and our minds to what the world has to offer. This all started with the desire to hear people's stories in their terms. The stories most of us would never hear. The broken, the damaged, the poor, the ugly, and the beautiful stories. Being able to learn from others experiences, shed light on the things we normally don't see, and find beauty in the ugliest places is all a part of this dream. Because it is there, in the small, rural, midwestern town that you will hear a story. A story that will change your life. I want to create a platform to empower anyone and everyone to share their stories. The best memory, the happiest moment, the life-changing lesson. I want to capture the things about people that they have forgotten. The things that bring true happiness into their soul and a smile to their lips. I wanted to understand what life means in another's shoes. What it looked like for them on their own venture to happiness.
My hope is to start filming and producing videos and eventually, my hope is to travel the world and do this simultaneously. I want to hear their stories, and I want to share them. I want them to be heard, and I want them to be changed for the better because of it. Sometimes, I forget to consciously look for the beauty in life. It's easy to be weighed down and suffocated by all the negatives in our world, and a lot of people are, without even knowing it. Talking about the good and hearing about the good, I think might actually do us all a little (or a lotta) good. COVID-19 will change each and every one of us in different ways, but it is what we take from it that really matters.
This platform is not just for these stories. It is for my story too. I can't wait to see how much I grow from this experience, and I hope that I am able to speak to you in some way in the process.