Time to Find My Voice...

To tell you the truth, I'm not quite sure what to expect. Perhaps I'm looking for a place to pour my thoughts out, to open them up to the world 'out there.' Perhaps I'm here because I want you to hear my voice, or maybe I'm secretly hoping you skim by this post and just keep scrolling until you find something else that tickles your curiosity.

Well, whatever the case may be, I'm here to write and create and pull together the emotions inside me just long enough to make a coherent post. Just long enough to make a story worth sharing. I'm rambling, I know.

You see, sharing has never been a talent of mine. I mean, sure, I'll lend you a pen or even a spare swimsuit (too much detail?) but when it comes to sharing my thoughts... Let's just say that you can forget it. My thoughts are a private place.

But then I thought to myself, okay Ashley, don't you think it's time to do some sharing? Don't you think you'd be a little better off with some of those things written down? You know, to make some space in that head of yours for newer, better thoughts?

Yes, I talk to myself. But that's okay, isn't it? I mean, sometimes I'm the only one who makes sense. And sometimes not even I know what to think of my own thoughts. But alas, I've ran off on a tangent. Where was I?

Right, I was talking about making space, about clearing out all the cluttered thoughts and plots and long, tiresome rants. It's scary to let it all out, because I know that once I start it opens the floodgates. There's no halfway when you dive into the innermost demons of creative thought. It's either full throttle or nothing at all.

So, what do you think? Do you want to hear more? Do you want to discover the stories I've kept under lock and key? Do you want to see the girl with blood dipped in ink and a mind made from the universe?

Am I really ready to show you?

Am I ready to find my voice?

Am I ready to be vulnerable?

The answer, as frightening and exciting as it may be, is yes. Yes, I'm ready. Because sometimes, being vulnerable is the only way to discover how great you can become.