New Shoes
I forgot my shoes.
​
If you've followed this journey at all, you know those pink sparkle Chuck Taylors have been everywhere — carried in my hand through every reel, every milestone, every moment I needed a little courage I wasn't sure I had. So, when I walked into my first author's event after publication and realized they were sitting at home, I felt it immediately. That quiet, creeping whisper: Who do you think you are?
​
I stood there without them and felt like an imposter.
​
Then I opened my mouth and told Terri's story. And one friend and her husband — showing up gallantly, the way good people do — anchored me in the room. And somewhere in the telling, I remembered what the shoes were always trying to remind me: the belief was never in them. It was in me.
While planning the launch, I had an idea. What if the next chapter had its own shoes?
​
A hummingbird on one side. Music notes on the other. Pink sparkle laces that are just a little too short — because the road to where you're going is never quite what you planned, and that's exactly the point.
​
I carried those new shoes onto the stage at The Book Launch presenting them the way you introduce something that matters: slowly, with intention, with full knowledge of what came before.
​
The original shoes belonged to the dream. These shoes belong to the author.
​
Because here is what I know now that I didn't know at Sparkle Party Number One: success is not a moment. It's a road. And the road requires GRIT.
​
Growth is not linear. Embrace your mistakes — they are your best teachers. Remember your why, even when the path disappears beneath your feet. Invest in working smarter, not just harder. Tenacity means never forgetting to believe in yourself, even on the days when belief is the hardest thing to find.
​
I am published. I am award-winning. I am still becoming.
​
And I am sharing my story in a way my crooked smile never could.
​
Are you creating?