WALK TALL

The last month has had me dealing with some of my depression issues. That happens. It’s something I’ve dealt with for my entire life.

I got real low for a moment. Not as bad as it has been in the past, but bad. I wasn’t just depressed. I was angry. Angry at the world. At God. Whatever. I’m so tired of feeling this way; this endless cycle of... well …anyway.

The last few days, I've been listening to people give advice and try to help. I love you all for that. Some of it helped. But some things I just had to figure out for myself.

And I did. I'm doing much better now. Which isn’t to say those thoughts aren’t there. The anger is still there. I’m just… channeling it better.

“A harmless man is not a good man. A good man is a very dangerous man who has that under voluntary control.”

-Professor Jordan B Peterson

One of the things I was thinking about was how we let pieces of ourselves fall away over time. We forget parts of ourselves. Sometimes, it's the best parts.

The hat on my head means a lot to me.

People talk about it when I wear it. This isn’t that sort of town. Sometimes it made me feel self-conscious and I stopped wearing it for the most part.

Maybe it will sound silly to you, but... this is me. I don't quite fit in with the world. I never have. And I can either embrace that or hide. But I can never fit in. When I wear this, it isn't me drawing attention to myself. It's just me letting you know who I am.

I was born to stand out. I was born to be me. And I need to embrace that and walk a little taller.

The hat itself isn't the change. It's a symbol. Wearing it reminds me of who I am and who I want to be. I'll be doing that a lot more this year.

It's time to stand out.

It's time to be dangerous.

Images taken by the incomparable Courtney Campbell/ Cowgirl.Coco.