I didn't write a thing all of August.
The main reason why - I didn't feel incredibly inspirational. It was kind of a tough month work wise, I was not taking care of myself health wise and of course the summer heat made me feel an unshakable cloud of sadness. I started to wonder why I shut myself out of my own website? After all, I pay monthly to host my site on the internet- not vise versa. Why should I feel ashamed that things were not perfect, that I wasn't living an aspirational month, that things are not always shiny and exciting?
I critically reviewed my content and while I think it's quality - there has been an inherent lack of my own personality in my posts thus far. Afraid to offend or get too personal, I've kept things very surface level until now.
Some of my opinions are polarizing. That's fine. They are opinions after all. I get passionately fired up about many things, most of them related to politics, and again, I am investing in this place on the internet, so why should I tread carefully around subjects that ignite me?
I'm not saying this will turn completely political, (it will turn much more so, however), but that I'm no longer going to be 'afraid' to put my opinions on my own website (especially given they are all educated and well researched POV's, and I will admit it if ever they are not well researched)
The name plays into this too, which I have changed to be more personal. I was hiding behind a pseudonym because I didn't want anyone from my professional life to find my blog. I've changed that, although I'm sticking with the 'Alexis' moniker, as I've always hated being called 'Alex' (you get tired of hearing strangers say "oh I was expecting a guy"). I'm professionally going to be sticking with Alexandra, a name that has taken me a while to love but whose meaning I personally resonate with (it means "defender of mankind"), and on my site, it's just Alexis.
I'm excited for this change, and to be myself- imperfections and all.