"Your Story Has Power."

Chanel Miller, the woman who was brutally raped by Brock Turner has released a book. She’s finally gone public with HER story. With her name. Can we just take a hot sec to imagine the bravery and the guts that must have taken? I can't speak for her but I can only imagine that a large part of her motivation for going public with her name and her story, aside from helping her to heal, was to encourage others who have gone through similar circumstances.

I want you to think about your story, who you are. What have you overcome to get to where you are today? What are you currently struggling with but refuse to talk about publicly? Is there a reason you don't want to talk about it? Maybe you're scared of what other people think. Maybe you're afraid of being vulnerable. But I'm here to tell you, sister, that there is someone out there that can benefit from you telling your story.

Your story has power. It has the power to heal, to give people strength and courage. Your story could have the power to break stereotypes, to help people better understand something foreign to them. Don't ever underestimate the power of your story and the power of authentic vulnerability.

When I started blogging, it was merely just to have something to do. Something to let me call myself a writer. But the more I shared my story, the more and more people told me they could relate. The more I shared my story, the more I heard people saying that they needed to hear someone else say it, that they needed to hear what I was saying, what I was experiencing to know that they weren't alone and that they could get through it too.

Friends, there is so much power in that. There is so much power in coming together as a community to share our stories. Our stories of triumph, our stories of failure. Our stories where we've been beaten down and picked back up. Our stories where we overcome.

If we were sitting on my couch sharing a cup of coffee, here's what I would say to you: I challenge you to share your story this week, however you feel comfortable. Maybe it's sharing your testimony in a group, maybe it's sharing through a photo challenge, and maybe it's leaving a comment on here, or DMing me on Instagram to share. Heck, maybe it's even getting the nerve to write the first blog post you've been too chicken to start for so long.