If you haven't caught up with me in a while, I hope you are surprised when you see me because of how much I have changed. I hope I have an aged appearance with wrinkles that indicate the salt of tears and the stretch of laughter. But more importantly, I hope my wild ideas have ballooned and my once rigid tendencies have softened. I hope I've changed my mind about quite a few things. I hope I've given up on stories not meant for me. I hope I've embraced the adventures that were absolutely meant for me. I hope I have been molded by more love, more grief, more anger and more amazement.

I hope of all the things you say to me in earnest, "You haven't changed a bit," isn't one of them.

IMG_4069 2.JPG — Here’s Me-

evolving into the next version of me at Elm Street Tattoo.

I don't know where we received the idea that changing (appearance, favorite meals, goals, go-to sex positions) was a negative thing. No, no...please change! Please evolve, progress, unfold out of who you were! Your next iteration is the best yet.

To get you considering how you have changed, here is a short list of ways I have:

- I changed my relationship with food and my definition of "health."

- I used to think I wasn't racist. Now I work to understand and reduce the harm caused by my racism.

- My favorite holiday was 4th of July - now it's Halloween.

- I've evolved so many of my ideas around sex and sexuality and I work to continue to do so.

- My go-to shoes went from boots to sneakers (I still love my boots though!).

SO, TELL ME DEAR ONE, HOW HAVE YOU EVOLVED?

With love and encouragement,

Celeste