The past 4 years of my life have consisted of pretty much non-stop travel. There were lots of dramatic ups and downs. I always wrote it down, and I always thought about sharing it.

But I didn’t share it, even though I thought about it frequently. I put it off, I told myself nobody would be interested, people would judge me for my thoughts, my writing, my experiences.

Historically, I have put a ton of energy into caring about people that simply don’t matter in my life. I have always really cared about how people see me. It always mattered to me if people thought I was cool.

I decided to move toward not caring about what people think of me. And my life is so much better.

In your life, not everyone is going to think you’re freaking rad. Some people will be annoyed by you, and some people will think you’re lame. Yeah, it can sting. But will these thoughts make you better? Probably not.

It took me 4 years to start putting myself out there and doing what feels right because I didn’t want people to think I was uncool. I didn’t want people to judge me.

I bought this domain in May after breaking up with my boyfriend. Even then, it took me six months to say “ok, I’m doing it”. It mattered so much to me when I finally launched this blog. It felt like a risk.

We deserve to celebrate letting go of things that no longer serve us.

The people that don’t like you don’t matter. Putting yourself out there isn’t about them. Putting yourself out there, is about yourself. It’s about doing what you love with the world.

Move in the direction of your goals. If you’re not hurting anybody, there’s no good reason for people to judge you. They might do it anyway. It doesn’t mean you’re doing it poorly. It means they need a hobby. Let them go.

I’m a sensitive person, and it was hard for me to start putting myself out there. But of the few people that care enough to think negatively about me, are they important to my life? Are they helping me get to being the person I want to be? Not at all.

I decide not to dwell in negativity or judgment. It took me years, but I am finally okay with people thinking I’m lame. They’re allowed. They matter less and less to me every day.

And yeah, here’s a mirror selfie.

What does matter to me is to share my stories about the outdoors, travel and what I’ve learned. I want reading this to inspire you to do something you are scared of doing. To put yourself out there, whatever that means to you. That is what I care about.