I’ve always been known to hang with folk older than myself, and be wiser than my years. But there’s something about experiencing shit in life that when you reflect back on it, you can’t help but admit (and maybe laugh at the fact) that you really needed to go through that to understand that wisdom that was passed down. In some ways its playful and in others it gets real deep, but most of you know what I mean. We love when a good lesson comes full circle in life.

At this time of year, when my birthday comes around and Taurus season is in effect, a fire ignites in my soul and I start acting up, usually in a good way. This year I think it’s really good for me, because I’m learning to take care of myself in various new ways and I’ve learned so many valuable life lessons in the past few years especially. In a sense, it feels like I didn’t have time for those past couple years to stop and reflect and understand what’s really going on and important for me in that moment – I was sort of flying on autopilot. But recently, my mindset has shifted and I’m feeling confident and positive about what my future brings, mostly because I know it’s my persistent efforts that got me where I am today. Plus, I’ve been making lots of notes in the background to prepare me for these next steps. As I said, valuable life lessons, even if some I don’t fully understand yet.

One of the biggest maturity lessons I’m overcoming is the need for validation from others, and in particular my friends and people I already know. I think that for a long time, I’ve had a very limited scope of the world, and of who my audience is when I speak or share my art. But the reality is that the world is vast, and the entirety of it is the artist’s audience. I’ve realized it’s not typical to think the way I do, to see the world the way I do, to express myself the way I do; but also that I don’t give a damn if I know so and no one else does yet. Humans having the Web and being able to share our unfiltered thoughts and selves into basically whichever form we desire, is all that we ever needed to be whoever we want to be.

What life has taught me to reinforce this lesson is that being able to express the most fearless and authentic version of yourself while being successful is the cream of the crop, and that is how I want to feel. I no longer feel the need to compromise how I create or share my work for the sake of my current list of followers or friends or whatever. I no longer feel the need to gain validation from an audience I’ve already gathered before, because all that energy should be directed toward just being the best and purest form of myself and attracting new people to it who feel the energy I’m putting out.

I’ve been doing good about keeping myself sharp, but I know it’s not good enough for my standards. I know I have to set the bar higher for myself and put in the work to reach that level of strength, success and inner peace that I need and desire. But here is the blessing through it all: I know what it is I want and I’d bet on myself for getting there.