On Creating My Own Path

 Large charm necklace: c/o Origami Owl, small shine charm necklace-shine shop, sandals-c/o Blowfish

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. For all of your support yesterday. I didn't even copy and paste those. I typed them out so my fingers could feel each little thank you. If you haven't read about our launch of Threads yesterday, click here.

I'll tell you what, going out on a crazy business venture that you put everything into is exciting, scary, and feels absolutely liberating. Yesterday I think I felt more nerves than I have in a long time. The process of stepping out into the unknown is crazy. Yet in the midst of the chaos, it's so peaceful going after what you know in your heart to be right. We each have our own paths. Some of us follow them, some of us don't. Forging your own path is scary, but boy, it's better than strolling along someone else's.

There are a few things that have helped me in my decisions and more importantly, have been a huge influence for me to keep pursuing my choices even when things got hard. I put all of those things into that little locket above. But seriously, I did! My locket is full of charms of things that are important to me, and I want to share some of them with you because they have been a vital part of how The Shine Project has become what it is today (and what it will become in the future):

The Letter "M"- Mike. I honestly don't know who, where, or what I'd be without having Mike in my life. To all you women power people out there, this has nothing to do with me needing the support of a man or only feeling confident when I have one. This has everything to do with waking up next to someone who every single day encourages me to keep going, who believes in me more than I believe in myself, and who gives me the liberty to accomplish whatever it is that I want because he trusts in me that much. It has changed my life.

A Heart with Family inscribed- My family is completely wild, crazy, and so supportive I can't even tell you. I really think that my sister Brooke is my biggest fan, and even if I was the dumbest person on earth she would still be proud to be my sister. Is my family perfect? Ha. No. But we love each other. And dang it we want to see each other succeed. One time when things got really hard a few months ago for me, and I was weighing out moving forward with Threads and this project, and not, my  mom said, "Ashley, when have you ever cared about what is the 'easiest' or what other people say? Get over it and do your thing." So I did. And I can't thank her enough for reminding me what I'm all about.

Star- Shine on.

Typewriter- The whole reason I started The Shine Project last January was because I wanted to influence the world for good with my writing. My dream has always been to be a writer. Because I followed that goal of mine, it has transformed into so much more than I ever expected it to be. But that's the thing. We all have talents, and we have them for a reason. When we develop them and strive to influence other people with them, opportunities open up. People come into our lives that we wouldn't expect, and we find ourselves in circumstances that we only dreamed about. You just have to get yourself out there.

The other charms in my locket are a dog paw (Um, Oliver changed my life last July! I never had wanted an animal!), a camera, ice cream cone (duh), and the number 3-because it's my lucky number. You can create your own locket with things that are important to you here.

Don't be afraid to create your own path. Tell your own story. Support others while they're writing theirs. Thank you for choosing to support me.

Shine on.