This is my 100th post. It’s hard to believe I’ve come that far already.

My intention in starting this blog was to raise awareness of various chronic illnesses, particularly the ones I suffer from. Endometriosis. Adenomyosis. Celiac disease. Infertility. Depression. Social anxiety disorder. That stupid brain tumor. Yet I’ve also found that I find myself writing so much because it is healing. Being able to get my thoughts down, and sometimes having people respond with a “Me too!” is very liberating and encouraging.

So I mainly want to say thank you.

Thank you to my 71 followers, who have taken a chance on my new little blog and listened to and appreciated what I have to say. Thank you for encouraging me through my hard times with loving thoughts and comments at a time when others just ignored it or pushed me away.

Thank you to my friends, for still caring about me despite all that’s happened this year.

Thank you to my family, who loves me unconditionally with a love that keeps me going.

You know, I just finished a fantastic book called Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig, in which he chronicles his struggle with depression and anxiety in a unique yet entirely relatable way. I’ve never read a book quite like it and highly recommend it. I have bookmarked an insane number of pages in the book to go back to when I need a pick me up or a voice of reason from someone who has been there. But right now I want to share this passage with you, because I think it will resonate with everyone, regardless of whether or not you have experienced depression and anxiety.

“Being good feels good because it makes us remember that we are not the only person that matters in this world. We all matter because we are all alive. And so kindness is an active way in which we can see and feel the bigger picture. We are ultimately all the same thing. We are life. We are consciousness. And so by feeling part of humanity, rather than an isolated unit, we feel better. We might physically perish, like a cell in a body might perish, but the body of life continues. And so, in the sense that life is a shared experience, we continue.”

Matt Haig, Reasons to Stay Alive

Thank you all for sharing life with me. I’m honored to be a part of life with all of you.

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